Baked Potato Wedges

I made this once a few weeks ago and have been craving it ever since so I made them again last night. They were just as good as I remember.

potatoes cut into wedges (I usually do 2 or 3 for the 2 of us)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.

2. Toss all ingredients in a ziploc bag until the potatoes are covered. Place on the baking sheet in a single layer.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes flipping half way through.

English Muffins

Luckily for us, and you, there is a great recipe to make your own english muffins. They are so good! I could eat the whole batch in one day. Try them!

1 3/4 cups milk, warm

2 TBS sugar

2 tsp instant yeast

3 TBS butter, softened

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 to 4 1/4 cup flour, all-purpose or whole wheat

1 tsp baking powder

Combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Cover with a towel and let proof for 5 minutes. In a electric mixer with the dough attachment add remaining ingredients and mix throughly for about 5 minutes. Do not add more flour, the dough will be sticky. When mixed scrape dough from the bowl one a lightly floured counter top. Fold dough over a few times until it forms a smooth ball. Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and lay out on a surface sprinkled with corn meal. Roll out to desired thickness. (The muffins rise a little so roll them about 1/4" thinner than what you would like the finished product to be.) Cut out circles with a 3" cutter. Re-roll and cut out the leftover dough. Cover the muffins with a damp cloth and let rest for 20 minutes.

Heat frying pan to low-med heat. Sprinkle pan with cornmeal. Cover pan and cook muffins for 6-7 minutes on each side.

Cool on a cooling rack. Store muffins in fridge or freezer.

Chicken Cornbread Bake

I found this recipe in our newspaper in the kids section of the comics. It sounded good so I thought I'd try it. We both really enjoyed it and it's easy enough that I can see it making appearances in our dinner rotations. It has a Mexican/enchilada taste.

1 cup pre-shredded four-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 14.75 oz cream style corn
1 8.5 oz box cornbread mix
1 4 oz chopped green chilies, drained
1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine 1/4 cup of cheese and the next seven ingredients in a large bowl, stirring just until moist.
3. Spray 9x13 inch baking dish; pour in mixture.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Pierce surface with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top.
5. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
6. Bake for 15 more minutes until cheese melts.
7. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
8. Top each serving with some sour cream.

Lime White Chocolate Cookies

I had lime white chocolate cookies on a plane and they were so good I just had to find a recipe. This one is very good.

1 cup butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice
1tbs lime zest
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and yolks in a large bowl.

Blend in flour, baking powder, salt, lime juice and zest. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll into walnut sized balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Country Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cooked ham
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a saucepan combine all ingredients. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until beans are tender.

(I would use ham lunch meat and we love these beans. I'm sure if you used real ham they would be even better.)

Lime Squares

Key Lime Bars
Martha Stewart Living

1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice , (about 23 Key limes total)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)
2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.(Leave oven on.)

Make filling: Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating dish halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Cut into 2-by-2-inch bars. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime.

These were soooo delicious! I made them for a baby shower and I got so many compliments on them. They are involved (squeezing all those limes) but taste so good! I used regular limes, about 12 of them and the bars still tasted great. 

Spaghetti Sauce

I found this recipe and was pleased with it. It's not perfect so I'm still playing around with the spices, but here's the version I tried. It's very easy!

1 chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter
2 15 oz tomato sauce (I used 2 8oz cans and 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomato)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in butter. Then add rest of ingredients and cook until hot.

Next time I'm going to try and cook minced garlic in with the onion.