Potato Parsnip Pancakes

Super easy recipe, great side to eat with soup!

 

Ingredients

- 2/3 cup light olive oil or peanut oil, for frying

- 3 medium Idaho potato, peeled and shredded

- 1 small parsnip, peeled and grated

- 1 small onion, peeled

- 1 egg, beaten

- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped

- 1 tablespoon chives, finely sliced

- 1 tablespoon dill, chopped

- 3 tablespoons matzo meal, all-purpose flour, or cracker meal

- Salt and pepper

 

Directions

- Heat about 1/3 cup of oil over medium to medium-high heat.

- Drain the shredded potatoes and parsnip, pressing them down in a colander to get their moisture out.

- Place the mixture in a bowl; using a box grater, grate the onion directly into the potato mixture so the onion juices fall into the bowl as well. Add the egg, parsley, chives, dill and matzo meal to the bowl and season with salt and pepper.

- Combine and drop enough batter into hot oil to make 2 1/2-inch pancakes. Add more oil, as needed, and fry cakes in batches until deeply golden on each side.

- You will get about 16 pancakes. Drain cooked pancakes on paper towels and arrange on a platter.

 

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- Actually followed this recipe as written, but did cheat with some dried herbs instead of fresh!

Bacon Bleu Cheese Dates

OH MY GOODNESS!! Was at a party ate one of these without knowing what they really were… DELICIOUS!! And I didn’t even think I liked dates or bleu cheese. :) Super easy appetizer. Enjoy it for the holiday season!

Ingredients:

- 1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half

- 1 pound pitted dates

- 4 ounces bleu cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice dates in half, and open them up. Pinch off pieces of blue cheese, and place them into the center of the dates. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside. Secure each one with a toothpick. Arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- Let the dates rest out of oven to cool off before serving. They will be HOT!

- I had to broil them for a few minutes to get the bacon crisp. Just watch them carefully.

Roasted Cabbage Wedges

I am always happy to find a new way to eat a vegetable. This one looked delicious (and cheap) so I gave it a try. YUM!! This will definitely become a repeat. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ingredients:

1 t. olive oil

2 T. bacon bits

2 T lemon juice,

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 Cabbage head, quartered

Directions:

- Mix all ingredients together except cabbage.

- Place on piece of quartered cabbage on large square of foil, spoon about 2 tablespoons of mixture on top, making sure to get it in the nooks and crannies. :) Repeat.

-Wrap tightly in foil and bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- This would be super easy to do on the grill!

- Had this two nights since we had 4 pieces and there was no way my kids would eat it. I made it with different seasonings – with and without lemon juice and overall it was just good!! So, no matter what you actually use, the technique is just good for cooking cabbage!

- I cooked mine for about 20 minutes and it was still crunchy, the way we like it. So bake accordingly.

Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately, things have been a bit crazy and the budget is pretty limited so haven’t been being to adventurous. BUT… here is one recipe I ran across and had all the ingredients to… well almost. And it was for the crockpot. Kid friendly… enjoy!

Ingredients

1 (32 oz.) bag frozen tater tots
1 (3 oz.) bag bacon pieces
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

- Spray the bottom of your crock pot.

- Do the following layers in crockpot: tater tots, cheese, bacon, chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper), cheese, bacon, tater tots, cheese, bacon.

- Pour milk over the top.

- Cook on low for 4 hours—might need additional time if you started with frozen chicken pieces.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- Seriously?! The layer chart gave me a headache so I dumped everything in the crockpot—reserved out a handful of cheese for the top—and gave it a big stir. Really… is all that layering necessary… I think not.

- I didn’t have tater tots so used a bag of shredded hashbrowns instead… pretty sure my version was healthier.

- Needed more salt and pepper. (Probably b/c I used the hashbrowns instead of tater tots.)

 

** Original recipe from: www.thecountrycook.net **