Salt Potatoes

I had my first SALT POTATOES Saturday along with a Pork Slider and a few bites of a Brisket Slider to taste. It tasted as though they were made with garlic butter.  The recipe was simple.. 4 pounds of small potatoes and 1 pound of salt added to the boiling water. I would dread wasting all that salt just to make enough potatoes for one meal. I do make my Garlic Raw Fries, and was more impressed with them actually. I think just boiling some potatoes with the skin on in regular salted water.. (a Tsp to a TB) and tossing the cooked potatoes in garlic butter would make an equally good side dish, they just wouldn't be as soft and fluffy.

Garlic Raw Fried Potatoes

Potatoes- as many as you want

3 TB Canola Oil

4 large cloves Garlic- sliced thick

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Scrub and dry potatoes but don't peel them.

Place oil in a cast iron skillet and coat bottom, then turn on low heat while you cut the potatoes in 1/2" cubes, and slice the garlic- not too thin!
Turn the heat up a little and add potatoes in a single layer, garlic, salt and pepper, cover with a lid and turn and stir every few minutes until potatoes are steamed tender. (Takes about 10 minutes) Sprinkle on about 1/4 tsp garlic powder, then remove the lid and let brown and crisp up nicely, flipping and turning several times. This takes another 10-15 minutes.

NOTE: This is my own recipe. I've made it in the past using canned whole potatoes, drained, patted dry and sliced thick.

Crock Pot Bake Beans

Last night Mom called me to see if I would make a crock pot of bake beans for a funeral dinner tomorrow. I agreed but I have no 7 pound can of Furman's Pork and Beans and only a 1/2 pound of bacon which I can't spare right now. Well as usual I have the brown sugar and ketchup and onion for the sauce. Since I work day shift I just make the bake bean sauce and give it Mom the day before and she mixes it with the baked beans in the crock pot and lets it simmer until she takes it to the church in late morning. See even though I don't attend the Methodist church I grew up in I still donate "bake beans" (as I call them) to the funeral dinners and bake pies for the church suppers. Right now I'm low on funds for the bake bean supplies so mom buys them. She has to prepare it at her house anyway if it's a weekday funeral. Here's the recipe:


CROCK POT BAKE BEANS

7 Pound can Pork and Beans

1/2 Pound bacon

1 Large Onion chopped

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Ketchup

2 Tb Mustard wet

2 Tb Worcestershire Sauce

Marjoram

Cut a pound of bacon down the center of the package and then cut one half into 1/2 inch slices. Now cook in a skillet until brown and crispy. Remove most of the bacon grease but leave about 2 TB. Now add the chopped onion and let it cook until soft and golden. Now pour into a small bowl and add the other sauce ingredients and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Make sure you taste this delicious sauce before you refrigerate it. I just LOVE this sauce! It's delicious! I should sell it!
When ready to make the sauce just mix it with the pork and beans (drain 3/4 of the sauce that the beans come in) in the crock pot set on HIGH and forget about for a while.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes- IBS

Peel a sweet potato or two and cut into 3/4 -1 inch cubes. Toss with 3 TB Canola or Olive oil, salt and pepper and bake on a jelly roll pan at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and flip the potatoes over and bake another 15-20 minutes to help caramelize the potatoes.

This is a favorite IBS menu item.. it's full of antioxidants and soluble fiber.

Creamed Spinach

16 OZ bag Frozen Spinach

1 TB Vegetable oil (I use olive, canola or safflower)

1 & 1/2 Tb Flour

1 Cup Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the spinach as directed and drain off the water.

Meanwhile mix the flour and oil in a small saucepan over low heat, when it starts to turn golden brown add the cup of milk, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened for at least a minute using a wire whisk and a silicone scraper. Serve immediately, with some butter or margarine. It reheats real nice too.

NOTE: I found this recipe in a old paperback German cookbook. Of course I used oil instead of butter in the white sauce to make it healthier.

Crock Pot Broccoli Casserole*

2- 10 OZ pkgs Frozen Broccoli- partially thawed

1 Can Cream of Celery Soup

8 OZ Shredded Cheese divided

1/4 Cup Chopped Onion- sauteed until tender

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Cup Finely crushed Ritz Crackers

2 Tb Butter melted

Mix all the ingredients except for the cracker crumbs and melted butter.Pour into greased crock pot.

Toss cracker crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle on top of Broccoli mixture.

Cover and cook on High for 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours. Then sprinkle remianing cheese on top and cook until melted about 15 minutes.

* Untried Recipe

Hash Brown Casserole

1- 2 Lb package Frozen Hash Browns thawed

1/2 Cup chopped onion

1/2 Cup Butter or margarine melted

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

2 Cups Sour Cream

2 Cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

Salt and pepper to taste or any other seasoning you like.

TOPPING

1/4 cup melted margarine

2 Cups crushed Cornflakes or cracker crumbs or stove top stuffing- just grind in the blender or processor.

Mix well to coat crumbs with butter.

Saute onion in 1/2 cup butter until tender. Combine sour cream and soup mix. Stir in the hash browns, cheese and seasoning.

Pour into a greased 9" X 13" baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for a half hour.

Meanwhile melt 1/4 Cup butter and toss with cracker crumbs. Remove dish from from oven and sprinkle topping over it. Return to oven for another 1/2 hour.

NOTE I have seen similar recipes with 2 cans of soup and one cup sour cream. The first time I made this I used one can of soup and 1 Cup sour cream and sauteed the onion in 1/4 Cup butter.