Zucchini Cakes

Recipe from Ami Ant

Ingredients:
- 1 large zucchini, grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Adobo spices
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Steps:
(1) Remove excess liquid from freshly grated zucchini by placing them between paper towels and squeezing.
** There will be a LOT of excess liquid, so I suggest you squeeze over the sink.
(2) In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
(3) Heat a large pan on medium, and spray with Pam. Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-inch (diameter) patties, and drop onto the sizzling pan. Cook each side for about a minute and a half, or until the outside is golden brown.
(4) Finish the cakes off in the oven — stick them on a baking pan and broil them for 1-2 minutes.
(5) Serve hot, alone or with ranch dressing.

Changes I made:
1 small zucchini & 1 small yellow squash
1T finely chopped red onion
No Adobo spices – used garlic powder and Tony Chachere’s

Cracker Barrel Potato Casserole

1 (2 lb) bag frozen southern style hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
McCormick's Season-All salt
1/2  cup melted butter (or margarine)
1 1/2-2 cups colby cheese or cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
Spray a 13" X 9" X 2" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
In a bowl, combine soup, cheese, butter, onion, salt, and pepper. (or one of mixed season salts from above).
Gently fold the potatoes into the mixture and pour into prepared pan.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until heated through and top is browned.

Above is the original recipe – course you know I can never leave well enough alone, so here are my changes…

32oz country style hash browns
same amount of onion (used my food chopper to get it chopped fine)
½ c green pepper, chopped fine (used the food chopper again)
a few shakes of Tony Chachere's ( ½-1 T maybe)
a few shakes of black pepper (to taste)
same amount of butter
2c colby/jack shredded cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup (healthy one-reduced whatever on the label)
1 lb ground sausage – browned, drained, and crumbled

Make sure you use a LARGE mixing bowl.
I stirred it a few times as it cooked – took longer then 40 minutes to cook/brown – I think the hash browns I used slowed it down – they took a while to get tender.

Crash Hot Potatoes

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (we use a different combination each time and top it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese)
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Bacon Wrapped Potato with Honey Scallion Sauce

Recipe from Aaron McCargo, Jr.

2 large Idaho potatoes
Canola oil, for frying (about 2 cups)
8 slices applewood smoked bacon, cut in 1/2 vertically
16 toothpicks
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Cut each potato into 8 wedges and parboil until fork tender.

In a preheated large saute pan, heat oil on medium-high heat. Wrap each potato wedge with 1 strip of bacon and secure with 1 toothpick on each end. Pan-fry in oil until bacon and potato are golden brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes, turning frequently with tongs to brown all sides evenly. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix butter, honey, black pepper, scallions and parsley. Stir with a spoon until fully mixed. Toss potatoes in the glaze. Remove toothpicks and serve.

I used regular thick cut bacon - found you only need half a slice per potato wedge

Food Network's picture

Pan-Fried Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil (I used olive oil)
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Place the green beans in a large saucepan or pot with one inch of water. You may place them in a steamer insert if you have one. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 5 minutes, they should still be firm and bright green.\

In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and sugar; set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until starting to brown. Add the green beans and stir to coat with the oil. Stir in the soy sauce mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes uncovered to reduce the sauce. Transfer the beans to a serving dish and pour the sauce over them.

Recipe and picture from allrecipes.com

Baked Corn Casserole

½ c butter (melted)
1 16 oz can cream style corn
1 16 oz can whole corn (with juice)
1 16 oz pkg cornbread mix
1 8 oz ctn sour creeam
1 c shredded cheese

Mix first 5 ingredients together and pour into a greased oblong baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (or until center is firm to touch)
Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake until melted
Serve
This works well when you have to feed a lot of people, not a family of four friendly recipe

Iree’s Baked Beans

1 28oz can baked beans {must be baked beans NOT pork and beans}
1 cup Honey BBQ sauce any brand
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 lb. Ground beef
onion - diced well.
Brown ground beef and drain
In a large pot (or crock pot) mix together all ingredients and allow it to simmer a few hours for flavors to blend
Enjoy!!

Grandma Simon's Corn Fritters

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½  teaspoon salt
1 egg
¼  cup milk
½  tablespoon butter, melted
1 cup corn, drained, crushed
Mix the dry ingredients, gradually adding the milk and well beaten egg.
Beat thoroughly and then add the melted butter and corn.
Drop by spoonfuls into hot deep fat and fry until well browned.
Drain on brown paper. Serve with maple syrup.

Fresh Green Beans, One Way

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

1 lb green beans
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons bacon grease (can substitute 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (can substitute regular table salt; use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
Ground black pepper
Snap the stem ends of green beans, or cut them off in a big bunch with a knife if you’d like. Just don’t tell Granny. Melt bacon grease in a skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp. You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can caramelize.

How To Make Perfect Steamed Rice

From Madhu Menon, the chef and owner of Shiok Far-eastern cuisine

Long-grain rice - 1 cup
Water - 1.5 cups

First, you need to wash off the excess starch from the rice. This will prevent it from making a sticky mess. Put the rice in a deep bowl, and in your sink, run cold tap water over it. Once the bowl is full of water, use your fingers to swish the rice around. The water will start getting murky. Now gently pour this water out. Repeat this process till the water is mostly clear. This will take at least 4-5 washes.

Now fill it up one last time. Don't wash the rice again. Just leave it in there, covered with water, for about 30 minutes or so.  After the soaking, you will notice that the rice grains have turned a nice milky white.  OK, let's drain the water out carefully again. Try and get as much water out of the bowl as you can without pouring out the rice grains as well. This takes patience.

On to cooking the rice...

Put the rice in a heavy-gauge pan that has a flat bottom. This bit is important.  If your pan is made out of some thin flimsy metal, your rice will get nicely burnt at the bottom while the grains at the top may not cook properly. You also need one with a tight lid, or else the precious steam will leak and your rice won't cook right.

Now put in the water. Normally, a long-grain rice recipe calls for twice the amount of water as rice. Why then are we using only 1.5 cups of water? Because our rice has already been sitting in some water for a while, and has absorbed a bit of it. Moreover, there is still some leftover water after you drained it, because no one can drain it absolutely dry.
I like to add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the rice, but this is your choice.

Put the pan on medium high heat. Wait till the water boils and starts bubbling. Now turn the heat down as low as you can, cover with the tight lid, and let it just sit there for about 15-20 minutes. Resist the urge to lift the lid and peek at the rice. No, I'm sorry, you can't have even one peek! If you do that, I will rap you on the knuckles with a cane, you hear?
After the 15-20 minutes is up, turn off the heat. No, you still can't lift the lid. Now you have to let it "stand" for another 10 minutes or so. This will help the rice to "settle" so you don't have dry grains on top and wet grains at the bottom.

After 10 minutes, lift the lid, admire the rice (yes, it will look that good), take a fork and fluff the rice. You will have nice separate grains without having used any oil, butter, or other fat in the cooking process.

Your rice is ready to serve with whatever you choose.
This method of cooking rice is known as the "absorption method".

Deep-Fried Eggplant

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (seasoned)
2 egg (seasoned)
2 tablespoons milk or water
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumb (50-50 mix of bread crumbs and panko)
fat, for deep frying

Beat egg and milk together.
Peel eggplant and cut into slices
Dredge in flour.
Dip in egg and milk mixture; roll in crumbs.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately

Seasonings used in flour and eggs (all to taste): pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian Seasoning, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning