Broccoli & Cheese Potato Skins

Another Friday night in Trolley = another fun night with the neighbors!  I made these potato skins this past Friday and I think they were really good!  They take a little bit of time between cooking the potatoes; scooping out most of the potatoes and re-stuffing but it's worth it!  I added some bacon to these and decided to saute the broccoli, garlic and red onion before stuffing the potatoes.  The end flavor was really tasty!

(Not a great picture but by the time I remembered to take 1 - they were already half gone!)

Ingredients:
6 whole Russet potatoes
4 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
5-6 bacon slices
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.  Pierce potatoes a few times with a fork & cook in oven for about 1 hour.  Remove from oven and place on cutting board to cool for about 15 mintues
Meanwhile, cook bacon and place on paper towels to drain excess grease.
Leave about 2-3 tbsp bacon grease in pan and saute red onion.  Add in broccoli and garlic and saute for about 4 - 5 minutes
Once potatoes are cool, use a serrated knife and cut in half.  Scoop out about 80% of the potatoes - leaving a little in the potato skin
Melt butter then brush insides and outsides of potatoes.  Place potatoes on cookie tray and broil them for about 8-10 minutes until the insides of the potatoes get a little brown
Add some of the scooped out potato to the broccoli; onion mixture.  Chop bacon into smaller pieces and add into broccoli mixture.  Stir to combine everything.
Scoop broccoli mixture into potato skin.  Top with shredded cheese & bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Roast

I saw this recipe and just had to try it!  How do you go wrong with bacon wrapped - anything?!  It turned out really nice and moist!  It's not my favorite pork roast (unbelievably) but I would make it again.  I served it  with my stuffed red bliss potatoes and broccolini.

Before the oven

When it came out

Our dinner

Ingredients:
1 pork loin (1-1/2 lbs)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1/4 lb bacon thinly sliced
1 cup white wine
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pat roast dry with paper towels
Season pork with salt & pepper
Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat & sear pork on all sides
Rub pork with rosemary and wrap with bacon, overlapping pieces slightly.  Tie pork with kitchen string
Roast in oven, basting occasionally with cooking juices, until internal temp reaches 145 degrees, approximately 35-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and place on serving dish
Place roasting pan on stove top over low heat and add the wine.  Deglaze the pan by scraping bits of pork off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon
Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a small sauce pan & skim off any fat.
Drizzle sauce over pork & serve.

Zucchini Cakes

I was glancing through some food websites and tripped on one that tries to "skinny" down recipes.  I love looking at how she cuts calories on some of my favorite recipes!  I have made 3 things now and each of them taste delicious!  I made these zucchini cakes after work this week and was surprised at how quickly they can be made!  These would be great as an appetizer or side dish.  They can also be made ahead of time; frozen and reheated.  I'd definitely reheat them in the oven - not microwave.  Anyway, the site can be found here.  I only had 1 zucchini and this made 10 "cakes".  Next time, I think I'll triple the recipe!

Edited to add that I've made these several times now and added (in addition to the zucchini and other ingredients already listed below) - shredded / chopped carrot; chopped bacon and sauteed mushrooms.  I did each in separate batches to see what we liked best.  All of them are delicious and well liked!

(Original recipe with just zucchini)

(Original recipe with just zucchini)

(Updated recipe with carrots; bacon and mushrooms)

 Ingredients:
1 zucchini, grated
1 large egg
1/4 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used Italian Seasoned)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray
Grate the zucchini into a clean kitchen towel (I tried using paper towels and it didn't work.  You really need to use a kitchen towel)  Wring out the zucchini to get rid of the excess water.
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients & season with salt & pepper
Fill each muffin tin and push down with a spoon so the mixture is packed in the tin
Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the tops are golden brown
Use a plastic knife or rubber spatula to remove from the tins

Enjoy!

Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

We had quite a crowd to celebrate B's 1st Communion this past weekend and we did all the cooking ourselves (quite a change from the "me" a few years ago that would have gotten party platters and been satisfied with that!).  I intended to make these on Saturday night for dinner but between being exhausted and realizing we had plenty of food, I decided to wait.  I made these yesterday after everyone left.  B helped me make them too which made for a fun part of my Mother's Day!  They were so amazing!!!  They're definitely not on the low calorie menu that I should be following a couple weeks before Memorial Day but, they were well worth the "cheat" on the diet!  I found the recipe here for them.

This is the mixture before we formed them into biscuits

 Here they are when they first came out of the oven

Here they are - ready to eat!

Ingredients

• 2 cups  All Purpose Flour
• 1½ tsp  Baking Powder
• 1 tsp  Salt
• ¼ cup  Butter
• 10  Bacon, slices fried
• 1  Egg
• ½ cup  Milk
• 4 tbsp  Vegetable Oil
• ½  Onion, chopped
• 1½ cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F / 177° C.
Cook the bacon & remove to cool.  Chop bacon into small pieces once it's cooled.
Saute the onion in the same pan as the bacon (draining off a little bacon grease before)
In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, cut in the butter until it is mixed in well.
In a small bowl mix the milk, egg, and vegetable oil then add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
Add the bacon, onion, and cheddar to the mixture and mix everything well together.
Take big spoonfuls of dough and fill a muffin pan that’s been well buttered and bake for 25 min.
This recipe yields 15 biscuits.