One Potato, Two Potato

Crash Hot Potatoes

(recipe from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients
12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender. (I take the lazy route and "steam" the potatoes with a little water in my Pampered Chef large micro-cooker---easy, breezy).
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available. (I like mine "bald," with just kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper).
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

This will become a favorite recipe, I promise.

Another day, another omelet

Today was a pretty typical eating day for a Sunday spent mostly at home, so here's what went down.

Breakfast was a 3-egg (1 whole + 2 whites) omelet stuffed with spinach, sauteed mushrooms and red onion, sharp cheddar and feta, and fresh tomatoes. Lucy had a pre-run wheat bagel with cream cheese and a banana.

Lunch was whole wheat orzo topped with barely sauteed fresh spinach in garlic oil, lots of freshly grated parmesan, and a few fresh tomatoes. Mine was also topped with a leftover grilled pork cutlet, and Lucy's with a Quorn (fake) chik'n patty. It was good, but needed a little something more---not sure what. Maybe just cooking the orzo in broth rather than water would have provided what I was looking for.

Dinner was stuffed peppers. The stuffing was a cumin-seasoned mixture of the leftover orzo, vegetable broth, Ro-tel, black beans, shoepeg corn, a little parmesan and some soy cheddar/mozzarella/jack mixture. And a side serving of roasted beets---more about that another day.

Snacks today were dry-roasted chickpeas, more roasted beets, and a Skinny Cow dulce de leche ice cream cup. Oh, and a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. It's good to have teenage girls around who like to bake cookies on the spur of the moment.

Mini Quiches

Fast and easy does it for me! And healthy is way up there on the list nowadays, too. I make these every couple of weeks with whatever I have in the fridge and freezer---you can use just about anything. I keep a few in the fridge to throw in my lunch bag--they're great at room temp; freeze the rest and take out as needed. They also make a quick breakfast or a good protein snack any time. Southwestern style seems to be my go-to variety, but maybe because I tend to always have those add-in's on hand; every variation I've made is delicious. Another combination not mentioned here is when I throw in left-over breakfast potatoes, center-cut bacon crumbles, tomatoes, a little onion, and whatever cheese I have on hand. Just look for whatever dibs and dabs you have left over and give it a go. Your lunch box or late-night snack monster will be so glad you did.

Kippy's Mini Quiches

(A filling foods WeWa recipe that is definitely NOT only for WeWa)

Start with: 1 c egg substitute or 4 large eggs and add-in choices such as:

• SPINACH QUICHE: 1 (10 oz) package chopped frozen spinach (squeezed dry); 3/4 c FF or soy cheddar cheese, shredded; 1/4 c diced red/green peppers; 1/4 c onions
• QUICHE LORRAINE: 1/2 c Canadian bacon, chopped, cooked until crispy; 1/2 c FF cottage cheese; 1/2 c FF or soy swiss cheese, shredded; 1/4 c roasted peppers; dash of ground nutmeg
• CHEDDAR BROCCOLI: 1/4 c chopped onion; 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli (squeezed dry); 1 c FF cottage cheese; 1/2 c FF or soy cheddar flavored cheese, shredded
• SOUTHWESTERN: 1 c FF cottage cheese; 1 small can green chiles; 1/2 c black beans or Mexi-corn

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray the cups of your 12-cup muffin tin or stone with cooking spray. Beat the eggs or egg substitute; fold in the add-ins. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fill the foil cups with the mixture. Bake at 350* F for 20 minutes, testing so that a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from cups to serve.

Note: these are freezable, microwaveable, portable, full of protein (and fiber when veggies are used), and contain no artifical sweeteners.

Cornbread Mojo

When our little mama died last year, a bunch of our old Lake Creek/Willow/Granite, Oklahoma friends gathered to visit with us. It meant the world to Sister and me. (And, Sister, just forget what that ol' mean Opal said to you!!!!) Linda Dillahunty wrote a note in the book about coming home with us (meaning with Melissa) after church one Sunday. That was our biggest socialization time when we were growing up---someone coming home with you after church on Sunday morning, and then going back to church Sunday night from where they would go back home. Anyway, Linda said that our mama had cut up pieces of cornbread and fried them, and that it was the best thing she ever ate. She went home and asked her mother to do the same thing. Now, isn't that just a silly thing to write about in a funeral book? To the contrary, that is the BEST-EVER remembrance! What Linda said in that little note captures the essence of my childhood in so many ways. And, truly, Mother's fried cornbread was a delicacy that I enjoy to this day----but I thought everyone did. I am a cornbread nut (thanks a lot, mama) and am on the never-ending quest for the perfect cornbread. By the way, anything with sugar DOES NOT COUNT, thank you very much. If God had meant for cornbread to have sugar in it, He would have called it cake. Leslie and I both have Crescent Dragonwagon's cornbread cookbook, courtesy of a visit to the Clinton Presidential Library gift shop, and I love to read about cornbread almost as much as I like to eat it. But, alas, my foodie loves, healthier eating forays, and Weight Watchers adventures all evolve. Enter the Wonderful World of POLENTA. Ahhhh, this is a food that makes Leslie's mouth water. She went through a phase where she would text me almost daily what she was serving on her creamy polenta that night: swiss chard, spinach, dog-poo......doesn't matter, it all tastes good on polenta. Thanks to mama's fried cornbread, I now fix a double batch of creamy polenta (it's just coarsely ground corn meal, salt and boiling water, folks; whisk, whisk, whisk; cook it a tiny bit longer than you think you should) and spread half of it out flat in an olive oil-sprayed bar pan, let it cool on the counter, and then cover it with plastic and put in fridge. After it's set, or even after a day or two in the fridge, I cut it in wedges and lightly fry it in a little olive oil or spray in a skillet. Just until golden brown on both sides. It's got the crunchy nuttiness of Mama's fried cornbread on the outside, and its own creamy polenta-ness on the inside. H-E-A-V-E-N with a bowl of pinto beans. So, here's to ya, Mama!

Oh, and someday remind me to tell you about Grandma Lucy Murray's skillet hoecakes. Sadly, I never learned how to duplicate them, but I figure that can be a retirement project. I do know that Grandpa liked to have one crumbled up in a big tall glass of cold buttermilk, with lots of pepper sprinkled on top. I like that, too. Oooooh, another way to eat polenta!

Black Bean & Poblano Dip

Thank you, WeWa, for another easy go-to recipe. For a little more heat add a fresh jalapeno or a little chipotle chili powder. It's great as dip, or on top of pork chops or tenderloin. I don't think Jakey is interested in feeding it to Baby Noah...in fact, maybe not much interested in him at all.

Ingredients

	2 cup(s) poblano chile, fresh, seeded, deveined, chopped (about 4 medium)
	14 1/2 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
	1 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, leaves
	1 tsp table salt
	1 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped
	1 cup(s) tomato(es), chopped
	2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender; process to desired consistency. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.
• The other way I fix a quick black bean dip for either my home-baked tortilla chips or for carrot sticks, is to just throw a can of rinsed black beans, a palmful of cumin and related seasonings, a big handful of fresh cilantro, and a cup of plain greek yogurt into the food processor. Sometimes I also include a can of diced green chilies. This looks beautiful in a hollowed out red or green bell pepper if someone is coming over to munch with you. Add some Coronas and limes, and you're set. Hey, if you'll come over I'll fix it NOW.

Grilled Flank Steak with Onions

This Weight Watchers recipe has turned me into a flank steak lover. I cook mine a little more than shown in this photo. Let me know if you try it this weekend. Just be sure to buy extra flank steak....or you'll be sorry.

	1 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
	2 tsp dried oregano
	2 tsp minced garlic
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
	1 1/2 pound(s) lean flank steak
	3/4 tsp table salt, divided
	1 large red onion(s), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
	2 spray(s) cooking spray

Instructions

• Mix vinegar, oil, oregano, garlic and pepper in a ziploc bag. Add steak; turn to coat, making sure steak is coated with vinegar mixture. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  
  
• Heat outdoor grill. I used my grill pan on the stovetop.
  
  
• Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Coat onions with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  
  
• Grill steak, turning once, until medium rare, about 15 minutes, or longer for desired degree of doneness. Let steak rest for 10 minutes. Do not even be tempted to skip the resting part.
  
  
• While steak is resting, grill onions, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and tender, about 7 to 9 minutes.
  
  
• To serve, thinly slice steak against the grain and place on a serving platter; scatter onions over top. Yields about 3 1/2 ounces steak and 1/3 cup onions per serving.
• 
  
• (If you're wondering what the green diamonds mean in the ingredient list, it's a Weight Watchers thing to show those are "filling foods"---something I should eat lots of and don't have to count points for. It's a GOOD THING.)
• 
  
• Hey, why are they called red onions when they're really purple?

The Best Meal Will Ever Made

Borracho Beans

The day Will was born, I went to the hospital in Russellville, Arkansas to see him and was met in the hallway by his daddy---who could hardly talk for being so busy puffing out his chest and strutting around like a banty rooster: "Yep, I got me a boy." Randy was one proud papa. Fast forward to Ft. Worth (aka Cow Town for you non-Texans) and a military pilot who can cook as good as he can fly. He thinks this might be the best meal he has ever made. His mama Leslie has raised a foodie, and she says it will be a lucky girl who latches on to him (I'm so sorry, Will, but she really did say that). He credits Homesick Texan for the basic recipe, and Will's own tweaks are at the end. There is nothing better than a pot of pinto beans, and these look about as good as they get.

Frijoles a la charra
Ingredients:
6 cups of cooked pinto beans still in its juice.
4 slices of bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes or one 14 oz. canned, diced tomatoes with sauce
3 jalapenos, chopped
2 chipotles in adobo, chopped
1 cup of chopped cilantro

Method:
1. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp.
2. Add tomatoes, jalapenos, chipotles and cilantro to the skillet, and cook on medium for 10 minutes.
3. Let tomato-bacon mixture cool, add one cup of bean juice (or water) and then puree.
4. Stir puree into beans and let simmer together for 20 minutes.
5. Alternatively, if you prefer a chunkier texture, you could skip the puree step and add the tomato-bacon mixture straight to the bean pot.

Borracho beans
Ingredients:
1 big pot (6 cups) of frijoles a la charra (see above)
1 12 oz. bottle of dark beer, such as Modelo Negro.

Method:
Add bottle of beer to pot, stir and cook for ten minutes.

Will's notes:

Stage One. I used salt pork. One fresh Jalapeno with seeds. Soaked beans for over 24 hours.

Stage two. Cooked beans for one hour. In other pan, 4 pieces of thick bacon split longwise in half, then about 8 times up the length. When the bacon was crisp, added 3 fresh jalapenos diced w/o seeds, one can of regular rotel, and two chipotles in adobe chopped. I found these in a can in Central Market. Added that to beans for 10 minutes and then added one Shiner for an additional 10.