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Monday, May 20, 2013

Recipe for Easy Slow Cooker Italian-Seasoned Potatoes


An easy, flavorful potato side dish that can be prepped in about 5 minutes!

Makes 4 servings (can easily be doubled)
Ideal slow cooker size:  3 quart

3 large yellow potatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp home-made Italian dressing mix*

1.  Scrub potatoes until clean.  Cut potatoes into cubes.  Place in slow cooker.
2.  Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.  Use a spoon and turn to coat the potatoes in the oil and seasonings.
3.  Cover and cook on HIGH for about 2-3 hours or on LOW for 4-6 hours or until potatoes are tender  (the yellow potatoes will cook a lot quicker than russet so keep that in mind if you choose a different kind of tater)
4.  Stir the potatoes gently and serve!  (some of the seasonings went to the bottom of my crock so make sure to stir to get all the goodness evenly on the potatoes)

*Homemade Italian Dressing Mix
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp salt
In a airtight container, mix all ingredients and store with lid on tightly.


Review:
Potatoes are a great side dish to most any meal!  This recipe is super super easy especially since I always have the Italian dressing dry mix already prepped.  I like the yellow potatoes for this particular recipe but you could always swap them out with red or russets.  I'll be making this again for sure.  If you're in a hurry, you could oven bake these on a cookie sheet as well.  Probably at about 425 for 20-30 minutes.  4 stars. 



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Saturday, May 18, 2013

So so happy to have figured this out!

Check out this awesome tip that is so helpful...especially if you have kids :)



P.S.  Make sure to join in all the foodie fun on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Easy Meatless Dinner Recipe for Lemon Parmesan Pasta with Kale and Toasted Breadcrumbs using Kraft Fresh Take


As part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias®  I made this easy but totally delicious meatless pasta dish using Kraft Fresh Take (Italian Parmesan) for a no fuss weeknight dinner!


Have you see the  Kraft Fresh Take meal kits, yet?  It's an easy way to maximize flavor at dinnertime.  The cheese and breadcrumb mix gives you flavorful, crisp and cheesy dishes with easy preparation.

The cheesy/breadcrumb Kraft Fresh Take can be found in the refrigerated cheese section of your grocery store.
And for you coupon lovers out there...There will be an immediately redeemable coupon stuck on packages of chicken in the meat department. The coupon takes $1.00 off the price of one chicken item with the purchase of Fresh Take.  The coupons will run 5/1-7/31!

A few months ago I had the opportunity to go to a restaurant in Chicago called Balena's.  We ate family style and were served several different dishes.  The one that I'm still thinking about?  The Orecchiette with Kale, Lemon, Bread Crumbs and Chili.  It was SOOOOO good.  I was sad that I didn't have my own big ol' plate of it to scarf down.  I've been wanting to re-create it at home and I finally did!  Now I couldn't find orecchiette in my grocery store so I just used medium pasta shells.  It tasted amazing.  I hope that you will all try this delicious, vegetarian meal this summer.  It is bright and flavorful and can be served as an entree or a side dish.  I was a little nervous about using the kale because I've heard it can be quite bitter, but it was seriously sooooooo good!  Not bitter at all.  And the Kraft Fresh Take Italian Parmesan gave the meal the perfect amount of seasonings.  TRY IT, TRY IT, TRY IT!

Makes 6 servings

8 oz dry pasta shells (medium size), it will be about 2 3/4 cups to 3 cups
1 bunch of kale
8 oz cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large lemon, juiced, it will be 1/4 cup juice approximately
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 package Kraft Fresh Take Italian Parmesan Recipe

1.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add about a 1/2 tsp salt to the water.  Add the pasta to the water and boil for about 4 minutes.
2.  While pasta is cooking, trim the kale and chop (here are instructions on how to do that).  (I didn't use the entire bunch of kale, I trimmed it and then used about 8 cups)
3.  Add the kale in with the boiling water and pasta.  Boil for another 4 or 5 minutes.
4.  Using a colander, drain the water.  Transfer pasta and kale back into the large pot.
5.  Add the olive oil, tomatoes, lemon juice and ground red pepper to the pot.
6.  Open the Kraft Fresh Take package.  Peel open the center portion so that the cheese and breadcrumbs get all mixed up.
On one side is the seasoned breadcrumbs mixture and on the other is the Parmesan cheese.
Open the bag completely to mix the two together!














7.  Stir the Kraft Fresh Take into the pot.  Stir to coat the noodles.

8.  Pour the contents of the pot into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
















9.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes (if you like the past more soft and creamy then cover the dish with foil, if you like the pasta and breadcrumbs more toasted then cook uncovered)
10.  Serve and enjoy!
PERFECTION!
Summer is just around the corner!!  Check out this digital magazine to get some great ideas for summer (it includes ideas from Kraft as well).

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Brownies with Cookie Dough Frosting!



Do I need to say anything about these?  I didn't think so.
Go get the recipe by clicking here.
Now.



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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies


These are my most favorite cookies lately!  I love the chewy texture and the dough is the BEST EVER!  Click here to get the recipe!



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