Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

For this recipe, I started with this recipe that I found online.  This is such an easy recipe, full of good stuff that you feel good feeding your family - which in turn makes me feel good - another win-win recipe!  I would only change ONE thing about this recipe, but I'll get to that later...

For this recipe, you'll need:

• sweet potatoes
• brown sugar
• garlic powder
• olive oil
• sea salt

Preheat oven to 450.  Wash sweet potatoes, peel, and cut up.

When your sweetie potatoes look like this, you're ready.  Doesn't take too long at all!

Here's the part I would change from the original recipe - mix together olive oil, garlic powder , and brown sugar (I used a few tbsp of olive oil, about a tablespoon of garlic powder, and a tsp of brown sugar) DO NOT add salt!!  Trust me, friends, it makes it WAY too salty!!  You're better off saving the salt to sprinkle on after roasting - you'll thank me for this tip - it will save your sweeties!!

Put sweet potatoes in the olive oil mixture and toss to coat.

Place wire racks on rimmed baking sheet and spray with cooking spray - I used olive oil spray, as usual/

Place sweeties on tray.  Because I used the wire rack, I didn't have to turn everything during cooking, which made it super easy.

Bake for 25-30 minutes - don't they look yummy??  They were delicious!  Sprinkle with a little sea salt and you're set.  Something you can feel good about!

Italian Pork Sandwiches

So life continues to get in the way of my blogging, but I promise, this recipe is worth the wait!  It's easy, it's different from my normal fare, and my family LOVED it!  Winner winner, pork chops for dinner!  (I couldn't resist :)

I got this recipe from my trusty edition of Everyday Food magazine.  This was the first recipe I've tried from the magazine and it was SO yummy!  In fact, the next few recipes will be from Everyday Food, and they're ALL yummy!!  Let the feasting begin!

For these yummy sandwiches, you'll need:  

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs (I used Panko, the japanese breadcrumbs, bc that's what I had, but you could use any kind.  I really liked how the panko turned out, though)
• coarse salt and ground pepper (used regular salt bc I'm out of my grinder at present)
• 4 pork cutlets (Original recipe called for the 4 cutlets, I ended up using about 6 thin sliced pork cutlets, this made it super easy to fry up)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced (I used provolone bc that's what I had)
• 4 ciabatta rolls (I couldn't find ciabatta, so I used some fresh rolls from the bakery - they were perfect!)
• 1 cup marinara, warmed
• 2 cups arugula (I didn't use arugula bc I thought my people wouldn't eat arugula.  Of course, that led to my husband saying he would eat arugula when it came to dinnertime - so now I know ha)

Place flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in three separate dishes.  Season flour and breadcrumbs with salt & pepper (and garlic powder if you're me).  Coat pork in flour, shaking off excess, dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumbs, pressing into meat.  Place pork on wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (more on that later).  Your fingers will get good & coated with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, as well - that just means you're doing it right!

Turn on your oven broiler.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high.  Cook pork until a deep golden brown, about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through.  It took me about 3 batches to cook all the pork, and since I was using 6 pieces of pork, I had to add a little more oil at the end.  

Doesn't that look yummy??  Can you smell it through the computer??  Because it's that good!!

I lined a plate with paper towels and put the cooked pork on it to drain for about a minute.  Top pork with a slice of cheese & broil cheese until melted (about a minute, or if you're like me - about 3 minutes, forget about it, almost burn it, then pull it out of the oven just in time.  I digress...)

Place pork chop on roll and top with marinara.  This picture doesn't do it justice - this sandwich is delicious!  More on those sweet potato fries to come...

Solutions

Sometimes the world's problems can be solved by a huge pot of homemade tomato meat sauce.  Pretty sure I'm onto something here.

Pepperoni Calzone

One of my friends shared this recipe with me and I couldn't wait to try it!  The original recipe calls for sausage, but since I prefer pepperoni, I thought I'd try to change it up a bit.  Plus, I didn't have parmesan cheese, but it was fine without it.  I'm sure that would add great flavor, but I didn't have it on hand that day.  Also, instead of minced garlic, I used fresh.  Turned out great!  And better yet, the fam LOVED it!  This was perfect for an easy weekday meal, but I also think it would be great for football watching parties in the fall or whenever!

For this super easy yummy recipe, you'll need:

• 1 lb frozen bread dough
• pepperoni
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup mozzarella
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 egg
• olive oil 
• italian seasoning (to taste)
• garlic powder (1/4 tsp or to taste)

If you're grocery-shopping-challenged like me, you'll want to know that this is what the dough looks like.  It can be found in Cowtown at Tom Thumb (this is the only place I've found it - and I looked 3 other places!!  So take my advice friends, just go to Tom Thumb on Bryant Irvin & it's right there in the freezer case! :)  Plus it comes in a pack of 3, so I don't have to go back for awhile :)

I just took a loaf out the night before and put it in a covered dish in the fridge.  The next day it looked like this.

Since I was using pepperoni, I decided to crisp them up a bit.  I used about half a package of the pepperonis and sauteed them in olive oil, kind of like bacon - smelled yummy!!!  Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel, but SAVE THAT OIL for the next step...

Throw the garlic in the pepperoni infused oil to soften it for a few minutes before mixing it up in the recipe.  I love combining all the flavors in the oil!

Mix the ricotta cheese, basil, garlic and egg thoroughly and spread onto the dough.  I shaped the dough into a rectangle on a lightly greased baking sheet.  I used olive oil spray to grease it and it worked great.

After the ricotta mixture, layer the mozzarella cheese and pepperonis (or sausage, or whatever you're using :)

Fold the calzone over and pinch the sides to seal.  Then, I mixed olive oil with italian seasoning and garlic powder and brushed it on the outside of the calzone for flavor.  This wasn't part of the original recipe, I just thought it would add a little more flavor to the yumminess - and there's never too much garlic powder in my kitchen, right?  

Bake for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven until browned.  I thought it came out looking fabulous!

This side looked a little wonky, but the rest of it looked fabulous!  Haha!! 

Now hubby & little person absolutely LOVED this dinner!  And so easy!!  We will be having this again for sure!

I also heated up some tomato sauce with basil, italian seasoning, and of course garlic powder, for dipping - so yummy!  And super easy (have I said that already??)

Enjoy!!

Texas Mac and Cheese

This recipe is very similar to this recipe, but I made a few changes & it was so yummy that I had to share! I'm also happy to share that the family LOVED this take on macaroni and cheese & I loved that it had great flavor!  Not just same old mac n cheese, friends!  For this super yummy macaroni and cheese, you'll need:

•  24-32 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 3 tbs flour
• 3 tbs butter
• about 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder (more if desired, I just didn't want it to over power the mac)
• about 1/2 cup crushed cheddar crackers (I used cheez-its, but I've also used goldfish :)

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Melt butter over medium heat and thoroughly mix in flour.  See previous recipe for pics on how to make the roux and sauce.  Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly.  Lower heat and add 2 cups of cheese until melted.  Add pepper, chili powder and garlic powder.  Mix thoroughly.    

Drain macaroni and add to sauce.  Pour in a greased (I use olive oil) baking dish.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top.  Sprinkle crushed crackers on top of cheese.

Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 10-20 minutes, until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Our mac has half crackers bc our house is a house divided on liking the crackers.  I think they are so yummy, but, ahem, some members of the family prefer no crackers (even though they eat them in the leftovers lol)

Served with fresh broccoli - sooooo goooooood!!  Enjoy, Cowtown Friends!

Broccoli Feta Pasta

As you have probably noticed, I'm having a hard time adjusting to 2012!!  Hard for me to get into the swing of things bc 2012 has been cRaZy at our house and I've found myself just trying to keep up!  So here is a fabulous recipe that my husband and I stumbled upon on the Food Network one weekend.  It's a Sara Moulton recipe & it's super fast, super easy, and super yummy!  My family loves it!  And I love it because it's SO easy!

You'll need:

• 5 oz crumbled feta cheese
• pinch (to taste) crushed red pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 13.25 oz thin spaghetti (or angel hair)
• 2 heads fresh broccoli

So easy:  just steam cook your broccoli in a small amount of boiling water until desired tenderness.  I had forgotten how fresh broccoli goes from a dull green to a brilliant green in just a few minutes!  I'm a nerd, but I think it's so pretty!

Then, boil your spaghetti (original recipe called for angel hair, but all I had was thin spaghetti & it worked fine) for half the time on package.  Drain spaghetti and put it the boiling chicken broth (original recipe called for veggie broth, but I used my homemade chicken broth that I have sitting in my freezer awaiting times like these).  Cook for a few more minutes in the broth until pasta reaches desired doneness.

Add cheese and crushed red pepper.  Mix thoroughly and serve.

My picture isn't that fabulous bc I was SO hungry and ready to eat!  The Mister loved this recipe and I loved that it took about 15 minutes from start to finish with practically zero prep!  Plus, I used whole grain spaghetti plus the fresh broccoli, I have to believe it's pretty healthy :)  

A good way to start the new year!  I'm hoping this is the beginning of more consistent posts on Cowtown Cooking in 2012 :)  Happy New Year!

Top 5 Favorite Recipes of 2011

I thought I would organize a little countdown of my favorite recipes from this blog this year - granted, I started this blog in August so it's really just half a year, but when I went through all the recipes I tried, I was surprised that these were the ones I deem the yearly best!  You'll be surprised - they aren't all sweets!! :)  But the ones that aren't sweets have cheese, so I guess that's my vice.  Good thing my new year's resolution is not to cut back on cheese :)

So, no need to wait any longer, my top 5 goes like this...

5.  Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

A family favorite, these are easy, yummy & everyone will eat them - bonus!!


4.  Baked Penne with Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce

I just loved the flavor of this recipe.  I had never tried italian sausage in my tomato sauce before this recipe - and now I'm hooked!


3.  White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

These need no explanation!!  Go to the store.  Get the ingredients.  Make these now!!  You. will. not. regret. it!!


2.  King Ranch Chicken

Just looking at this picture makes me want to stick a fork in my computer.  We will be having this again next week, I do believe.  Insanely good, especially for all you Texas friends who are King Ranch Chicken Enthusiasts.

1.  Texas Peach Cobbler

I picked this as number one bc it combines several favorites:  the Cream Biscuits for the topping, the sweet fruit, but not too sweet, and Blue Bell Ice Cream (a staple in our house).  My husband said it was like an old fashioned cobbler, not too sweet.  I have to say, that's how I like 'em!  This picture also reminds me that I need to try some other cobblers with this recipe - maybe some sort of berry??  Or...??  


So, tell me Cowtown Friends, what recipes are on your top 5?  


Happy New Year, Everyone!!!