Smashed Potatoes

I saw this on the internet the other day and just had to try it. No real recipe actually.

Just boil as many whole red potatoes that you need. I poked holes in mine so that they would boil faster.

Let them cool once this is done. If you have company coming for dinner that night, good to do this in the morning, and just wait until right before dinner is ready to finish.

Grab a cup or glass. After sitting your potatoes onto a cookie sheet, take the bottom of your cup or glass and press down on each potato. They will start to crack as you smash them. That is alright. At this point, I added a little bit of butter to each, salt, and garlic salt. I then misted them with olive oil. I then added some parm cheese (dry), and also some dried chives. I baked them at 350* for 15 minutes. I then pulled them out and added some cheddar cheese. I put them back in the oven for 5 minutes. It would have been really good with some freshly made bacon bits. ENJOY!!!

Asian Chicken Salad

Finished product. It is so good and so light. Enjoy!

Dressing:
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. salad oil
1 tbsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. white vinegar

Combine first six ingredients, toss gently. Mix dressing in covered jar or bowl by shaking thoroughly. Pour dressing over other ingredients and toss again. Can be made ahead and put into a tupperware bowl. When ready to serve just add noodles and dressing.

I make this ahead and just have it ready in the fridge.

**** I use the same amount of oil, however, I melt the sugar in just enough water to dissolve it, otherwise it will not dissolve in the oil. I add a bit more sugar and vinegar that this calls for. It really is by taste so play around with it. It also is supposed to have MSG, 1 tsp. My stomach and MSG fight a lot so I just omit it from the dressing all together.







2 chicken breasts shredded
1 - 2 heads of lettuce shredded (cooled)
1 bunch of green onions chopped (I omitted because my husband doesn't care for them, but they are really good in the salad)
2/3 cup sliced almonds. You can toast these, we prefer them not toasted
1 1/2 c. Chinese noodles

Mix all the ingredients from above, saving some of the almonds to garnish the salad. Toss gently, then add dressing. Go slowly as you may not want to use all of it. Again do it to your family's taste. Toss again. When tossed, add the almonds for garnish, and enjoy! I usually also garnish with some of the green onions.

Enjoy!!!

Zucchini stirfry

My mom and my mother in law are two of the best cooks. Very different styles of cooking, but both great in their own right. This is one of the easier dishes that my mother in law makes that we love to eat. We eat a lot of it during the summer when there is an abundance of zucchini around. No real recipe, you do it to your liking.

This is a half package of bacon and an onion. I ended up adding a second onion later and chopped garlic but didn't get a picture of it. Sorry, new to this.


Now slice as much zucchini as you would like into the skillet. I used 4 medium zucchini here.


When the zucchini is almost done to my liking, I add fresh mushrooms and cook until I like the tenderness of the zucchini.


When the zucchini is the right consistency for me, I turn off the stove and add fresh chopped tomatoes. I don't want them to really cook, just get warm.

The end result is delicious. I hope you enjoy this dish, from my mother in law's and my home, to yours.

Summer time is Carne Asada Taco Time

Carne Asada is a cut of meat at the grocery store or butcher/meat shop. It is a thin slice of steak basically. The trick is, it can't be too thin or too thick. The second trick is to not let me cook it, but let my husband. He is really good at this, and me, well, I am not!!!

There is a seasoning that we put on the carne asada that we find in the spice section of the grocer, and also in the international food section at times.



While my husband is hard at work at the bbq, I fry the corn tortillas for the shells of our tacos. It does not take too long. I put them on a paper towel to drain off the oil. The grease splatters at times so make sure that there are no children around.


When the meat is done from the bbq, I slice it into thin slices and make it into tacos. I slice of meat will generally make two or three tacos, so it goes a long way. These are perfect my daughter tells me, except there were no olives, as she is my olive girl. OOOPS! Hope you try these as they are quick, easy and tasty. No recipe needed, just fill them with what you would like. If you haven't had carne esada before, you are in for a treat.

Tropical Rum Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

One of my husband's favorite things to eat is banana bread. I don't get a chance to make it very often. However, tomorrow our son is coming home for the day and I wanted to have a treat for him to eat while he is here, so this is a great chance to show them both I was thinking of them.




First mash up 1 1/2 cups of ripe bananas. The bananas that are getting spots or have a lot of spots are perfect for this. After mashing (about 3 to 4 bananas depending on the size) set aside.

Cream together 1 cup of butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until light and well blended.

Add 3 eggs and beat some more

In a bowl combine 4 cups of flour + 2 Tbls, 1 1/2 t baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. When you have gotten that combined well, mix it in with the butter mixture. When well blended, add 1/2 cups sour cream, 1/4 cup rum or 3 T. rum flavoring, and the bananas. Blend well. This is where I now put in 1 cup walnuts, ( I prefer macadamia nuts but I was out) 1 cup of coconut, 1 cups of chocolate chips. I then pour into "3" prepared pie pans and bake at 350* for one hour.

I got the basic recipe a long time ago off of cooks.com and tweaked it to my family's liking. Here is the basic recipe I started with.



1 cup butter ( I don't use margarine in this recipe but you can substitute if you prefer)

1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. bananas, mashed
4 c. flour (plus 2 tbsp.)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional
1 tablespoon Butter Schnapps or Banana Liquor (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add bananas and beat. Mix dry ingredients together (baking powder, baking soda and flour).

Add the well-mixed dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. Beat until smooth. Beat in liquor, if using.

Stir in chopped nuts last.

Pour into 2 large greased and floured loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. To test for doneness, insert a sharp knife into center of bread. If it comes out clean, bread is done.

This bread is very moist and freezes well.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I joined a recipe exchange here

http://nowthatswhatscooking.blogspot.com/

I received this recipe in the mail and tried it for a 4th of July picnic. It was wonderful. It does not show me who the recipe was from as of yet, but I should know by tonight maybe.

I have had this salad before and it is WONDERFUL. The salt from the pretzels and the sweet from everything else make a nice combination for the food lovers in all of us. I would, as well as everyone at their picnic, would give this two thumbs up. I had no left overs to snack on during the weekend. This recipe is easy to make and is something that is very quick also, so you don't have to spend too much time in the kitchen. I wish I would have gotten a photo of it before it was being consumed but people were too quick for me to catch that. I will be making it again in a couple of weeks and will try then.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels

3 tbsp. sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

9 oz. cool whip

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 cups boiling water

6 oz. strawberry jello

20 oz. frozen, unsweetened strawberries

Directions

Mix the pretzels, 2 tbsp. of sugar, and 3/4 cup of butter together and press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees farenheit for 8 minutes. Let cool.

Combine the 8 oz cream cheese, 9 oz. cool whip, and 1 cup of sugar and mix well. Spread on the cooled pretzel crust.


Mix the jello and 2 cups boiling water together, then add the strawberries (do not thaw the strawberries beforehand!) Stir until the berries soften and the jello starts to thicken. Gently pour the jello mixtute on top of the cream cheese. Refrigerate.

Serves 16.

Amanda