Purple Potato Salad

So, on Monday, I decided to perfect my smoked brisket ability, but that's a story for another blog. I will say that's what prompted me to want to make potato salad (and the fact that I have so many potatoes to use up from our garden). We grew red, gold and purple potatoes and I hadn't cooked with purples before so I decided this was a good time to use them up. Of course, you know me, I went to google to search for a recipe and the first one that popped up was from Food Network. I really like Tyler Florence's recipes, so I knew this one was a winner. 

A few changes/adds: Added turkey bacon. [I had some already cooked and ready, but definitely prefer pork bacon.] Added just a touch of cane sugar to balance out the salt and vinegar. Didn't use Parsley. [I really need to grow some indoors during the winter; I'm not really a fan of dried herbs.] Added sour cream for extra tang and creaminess. Used spicy brown mustard which gave it even more kick. 

So, if I'm blogging this, it means it ranks as one of my top favorite recipes for potato salad. [I have another one with pickles and red potatoes so that makes 2 favorites. :) ]

Please give this one a try!

2 pounds small purple potatoes

1 purple onion, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper, to taste

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/purple-potato-salad-recipe-1938543

Slow Cooker Refried Beans

 This is a simple recipe for homemade refried beans, however in the high altitude, I let them soak in cold water overnight first then turn on the slow cooker to get them cooking. I also used home processed lard instead of oil. Be careful to drain (and reserve) ALL of the liquid and then slowly add it back in until it reaches the desired consistency. In order to keep the beans in the pot, I just used an electric immersion blender to puree the mix. I didn't see salt in this recipe, so I added some. 

1 bag dry Pinto beans

Water

1 lb. pinto beans

1 sweet yellow onion

2 Tbsp. cooking oil

4 chicken bouillon cubes

2 garlic cloves peeled

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

6 cups water

Salt to taste

1/2 cup salted butter (wait to add this at the end)

Crumbled cotija cheese or grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

Fresh Cilantro or green onion (optional)

https://www.themagicalslowcooker.com/slow-cooker-refried-beans/

Chia Pudding

I've been reading about the health benefits of chia seeds and decided to try chia seed pudding. Oh my goodness, it was delicious. I just put some seeds in a mason jar, add the milk, vanilla, and maple syrup (which is the best sweetener!), stir and put it in the refigerator the night before and have it for breakfast. 

4 Tablespoons chia seeds

1 cup almond or milk of choice

½ Tablespoon maple syrup, honey or sweetener of choice*

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Toppings of choice: fresh berries or other fruit, granola, nut butter, etc

https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/basic-chia-seed-pudding/#wprm-recipe-container-33190

Potatoes Romanoff

Chef John's Youtube channel "Food Wishes" is one of my favorite cooking shows. Not only does he cook great food, but his sense of humor is just my style.

Last week, I came across  his video for Steakhouse Potatoes Romanoff and decided to cook it for Christmas. Usually I do mashed or scalloped potatoes, but this was a winner hands down. 

A few changes I made: 

1. I used Yukon Golds from our garden. They were smaller and so probably took 2-3 times as many as the russets. I put them in a 13x9 pan covered with foil rather than individually wrap them. Cooked for 1 hour then refrigerated overnight. The cold potatoes worked best for grating. 

2. Easy on the white pepper and cayenne if your guests aren't fond of spice. 

3. I used shredded Mexican cheese blend. Next time, I'll take Chef John's suggestion and shred my own white cheddar. 

4. I added mild - it's likely that my sour cream was too thick, but the milk helped thin it out and mix everything together. 

5. I forgot to buy shallots, so yellow onions worked fine. [Next year hoping to use onions from our garden.] 

1 teaspoon butter, or as needed

3-4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed

¼ cup minced shallots

3 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 ½ cups grated sharp white Cheddar cheese

1 ¾ cups sour cream

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/276526/steakhouse-potatoes-romanoff/ 

Slow Cooker Refried Bean Soup

So, we had a new tradition for Thanksgiving this year. I was asked to make burritos. I made tortillas, spanish rice and refried beans from scratch. However, the beans had too much liquid and ended up being a little runny, and I made too much (a whole pound of pinto beans!). So, I was looking for a good refried bean soup recipe and as always, Taste of Home had a great one!

Some changes I made were to substitute the stewed tomatos with rotel. Also added bacon, garlic and fresh, chopped yellow onion. I was out of canned black beans and didn't take time to soak and cook so I used canned Canellini beans instead. It worked out well. Also added redmond salt, pepper and, at the end, topped with broken tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro. 

The great thing about the slow cooker is you can keep it on the counter overnight and have leftovers the next day. 

*See separate posts for the tortillas, spanish rice and refried beans recipes. 

Refried Bean Soup

1 can (16 ounces) spicy fat-free refried beans

1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes, cut up

1/2 cup water

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles

1/4 cup salsa

Tortilla chips

Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas

Holy moly! I didn't think I would ever get to eat these again since fired food is off the menu. Air Fryer Chimichangas are the bomb! Super easy to make. Here are some of my mods: 

1. Make double the amount of sauce when cooking the chicken - it tastes amazing poured over top of them when they come out of the air fryer. 

2. It's ok to use cream cheese if you don't have Neufchatel-it's what I did. :)

3. We had a ton of green chilis in our garden this year so I added fresh ones to the mix. Yum! The rest went into my canned tomatillo green chili recipe that I use for chicken enchiladas. [I ended up with 17 quarts!]

4. I added some shredded cheese to the tops while cooking-nice touch!

5. This works best with an upright air fryer with trays that looks like a mini oven. [Also comes with a rotisserie attachment.] Worth the extra dollars.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/278702/air-fryer-chimichangas/?fbclid=IwAR2CnzKUgy3h1YCrnGLNQZCMvg-xZBJzI5OmquljLhr-TIS4-r-EBuYiR-s

Creamy Blueberry Gelatin Dessert

I love my inventory app. It alerts me to what’s expiring in the  pantry. This week it was grape jello so I went to Pinterest for ideas. I found this classic that I can’t believe I’ve never tried! I ended up making my own blueberry pie filling with fresh blueberries (quick and worth it!). With the crushed pineapple and cream cheese/sour cream topping with walnuts-this was crazy good. I mean, I’ve never had a dessert like it. The hubby said it is now his number one dessert-knocking blueberry pie to number 2. That’s saying a lot!

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/creamy-blueberry-gelatin-salad/