I am a Couch Potato

I had a productive business conference last week. I networked with some important people and was able to put faces with names that I had only seen on my emails. But, the most important part of my trip was, of course, the food. I only stayed one night, so my options were small. I did discover one thing I didn't like and one that I did.

For dinner, I ordered a Blue Cheese Burger with Sweet Potato Chips. As much as I like Blue Cheese as a dressing, a slice melted upon my burger was not as tasty as I had hoped it would be. The Sweet Potato Chips were just the opposite. I wasn't going to order them at first and just opt for the French Fries, but the ladies I was with said they were wonderful. I ordered them and they were right. These were fried, but once I got home and did a little research, I found that they can be baked and you can sprinkle them with a variety of spices, herbs, or toppings each giving a different taste.

I think the best thing is that the baked Sweet Potato chips are so much more healthy than the greasy potato chips that I love to munch on while watching television. Now, I can be a different kind of "couch potato" by enjoying a healthier version.

Below, I have put both a fried recipe and a baked recipe, depending on your preference.

Enjoy,
Carol

Sweet Potato Chips

2 medium size sweet potatoes

Wash and slice pototes into thin slices, usually about 1/8 inch. The thinner you slice them, the crisper they can be.

Baked:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, or parchment paper works fine, too. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay potato slices on the cookie sheet and spray again with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for about 15-30 minutes, no need to turn the chips over. Since oven temperatures vary, check often to keep them from burning. When done, remove from oven and sprinkle with toppings, if desired.

Fried:

These can be fried in a deep fryer or in a skillet on the stove. The oil should be around 350 degree and clean oil should be used. Place the potato slices carefully in the hot oil. Fry until a golden brown, usually 1 1/2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. While chips are still warm, sprinkle with any of the toppings below, or one of your own choosing.

There are a variety of toppings that people have told that they like. The chips that I had at the restaurant didn't have any toppings on it and they were great.

Toppings:

powdered sugar
salt
garlic
cinnamon
cajun spices
paprika
granulated sugar
brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg mixture

Eating out

I'm leaving tomorrow for a two-day out of town business conference. I don't know what restaurants we will be going to, but I hope to come home with ideas for some new dishes. See you when I return.

Carol

Pizza and Football

I want to thank Mindy Wilson for interviewing me on her Groovy Inclinations blog. I received so many nice responses and the main comment was about the pizza cookbook that I have in the planning stages.

It's hard to concentrate on more than one project at the same time, but it looks like I may have to do just that. In the future, if you see a romance novel written by me and the characters are enjoying pizza, well you'll know what two books I was working on at that time.

Right before sitting down to write this entry, I was going through my all of my pizza recipes. You can't imagine how hungry that made me for pizza. And, what a perfect day to make some. There's football on all afternoon (Go Colts!) and a couple pizzas for my husband and I to munch on during the games would hit the spot. Yes, I know it's much easier to have pizza delivered, but it wouldn't have that great homemade taste, not to mention prepared just the way I like it.

Below are a couple simple recipes for dough and sauce. Now, if we just don't lose power today because Hurricane Ike has made his way to the Midwest.

Ciao,
Carol

Basic Pizza Crust

1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. lukewarm water
1 T. yeast
1 t. salt
1 T. vegetable oil or melted margarine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water until the yeast is dissolved. Set aside. Combine the salt and vegetable oil/melted margarine and gradually add the flour. Mix well.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to desired size and thickness. Place it on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Take it out and while still hot, spread the sauce and add choice of toppings and cheese. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Very Basic Pizza Sauce

1 lg can tomato sauce
1/4 C. olive oil
1 t. oregano
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/8 t. garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and heat on top of stove until just warm. Spread on top of crust, add toppings, and bake. I tend to like extra oregano on my pizza and usually sprinkle a little on top after I add the mozzarella cheese.

I've Been Profiled

I am very pleased to announce that myself and my cookbook, Masters & Disasters of Cooking has been featured on a blog. Mindy Wilson has posted an interview with me on her Groovy Inclinations blog. I hope you all will clink on the link and visit. Thanks.

Carol

Short cuts

It's Labor Day weekend. The end of a long summer and a day for family cook-outs. I'm no different. My brother is grilling ribs tomorrow and I was thinking of making a dessert to take. I got thinking about all the short cuts we take now when it comes to cooking. I don't think I have made real mashed potatoes in years, but instead make instant when come out just as good. Then, there is slaw and potato salad. It's so much easier to pick up a container from the deli at the market. Although, I still think my potato salad is better than the deli's.

Then, there's dessert. It's so easy to use to ready-to use crusts when making a pie. Again, I think my homemade crust is better, but so much trouble to make. At Christmas, I used to make cut-out sugar cookies with my daughter when she was young. Now, I can buy a cookie mix or a tube of cookie dough to slice. Even easier are the cookies that are already cut and you just place them on the baking sheet.

What made me think of this is when I was at the market yesterday evening. I had just paid for my groceries when the clerk said something to the lady behind me about the huge pie she was getting. I looked on the moving counter and I admit, it was the biggest pie I had ever seen and boy did it look good. I think it was a caramel topped apple pie. I can't even imagine all the work it would take to make that from scratch.

I do love to bake and I always make pumpkin pies at Christmas from scratch, with the ready-to-use crust. But, with it being so hot on this Labor Day weekend, I would be crazy to run the oven to bake a pie. So, on the way to my mom's tomorrow for our cook-out, I think I will stop by the grocery store and see if they have any of those pies left.

Have a great holiday weekend and I can't wait for the cooler weather of fall.
Carol

Garden Harvest

I know I was supposed to post last weekend after returning from my business trip, but you know how tired you can be after a long drive. I had hoped that I would have eaten some fantastic dish while I was away and could come back to tell you all about it. Unfortunately, I ate fast food most of the week in my hotel room.

What I did come back to was neighbors and friends supplying us with fresh vegetables from their gardens. I definitely welcomed that because we weren't able to put a garden out this year due to my surgery in the spring. So, what I have included today are two of my favorite recipes using zucchini. The first one is how my mom fries zucchini. I could eat every slice, if I let myself.

The second recipe is for Zucchini Casserole from my late aunt. She used to fix several of these at a time in disposable aluminum pans and freeze them to fix when she had company. I sometimes fix and freeze one to bake when we get home from a vacation so I don't have to cook supper that evening.

Fried Zucchini

4 eggs
3/4 C. milk
1 1/4 t. salt
2-3 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced
2 1/2 C. flour
vegetable oil

Mix eggs, milk, and salt together to make batter. Dip zucchini into the batter and then roll in flour to coat. Fry in hot oil until lightly brown. Drain on paper towel, then service warm.

Zucchini Casserole

2 C. grated zucchini

1 C. grated carrots

1 C. diced onion

1- 8 oz. container sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 stick butter or margarine

1 pan of baked cornbread

Mix sour cream and soup together. Set aside. Crumble half of the cornbread on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer zucchini, onion, and carrots on top of cornbread. Pour sour cream/soup mixture on top of layers. Then, crumble the rest of the cornbread for the top layer. Melt the butter and drizzle it over the cornbread. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees.

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Out of Town

I had planned on posting a new recipe this week, but I have an out of town business trip and will be gone all week with no computer access. I'm feeling the withdrawal already. I'll make some notes while I'm gone and try to get something new posted next weekend.

Carol