Cheesy Smashed Potatoes

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Cheesy Smashed Potatoes
Recipe Type: Casserole, Mashed Potatoes
Cuisine: American
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12-15
Cheesy potatoes, bacon, butter, and more cheese… what more could you ask for? These “smashed” potatoes are so decadent, you won’t be able to stop at just one scoop!
Ingredients
  • 3 lbs gold potatoes
  • 1 package uncooked bacon
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 cup 1% milk
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 8 oz. container light sour cream
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, minced
  • Additional salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Rinse and pat dry potatoes and cut into quarters. Place in a large stockpot with about 1 tsp salt and add enough water so that potatoes are covered by about 1 inch.
  2. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
  3. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet on medium heat, reserving bacon grease between “batches.” (There will be a good reason for this, I promise.)
  4. Set bacon aside to drain on a paper towel.
  5. When potatoes are done, drain and return to stockpot. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency (I like them a little chunky!)
  6. Add butter, milk, mozzarella cheese, sour cream, and parmesan cheese. Stir in reserved bacon fat (see? I told you there was a good reason to save that good stuff). Add a bit more salt in and fresh pepper, to taste.
  7. Stir in minced garlic and parsley, reserving a bit of parsley for topping later!
  8. Crumble bacon and stir in about 3/4 of it, leaving the remainder for topping.
  9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×13″ casserole dish with cooking spray and spread potatoes evenly. Top with peas, remaining bacon bits, and remaining parsley.
  10. Cover with foil and cook at 350 for 20 minutes, then 5 minutes without foil.

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Claire2 Comments

Cream Cheese Frosted Carrot Cupcakes

Make that traditional carrot cake mix a little more festive with some homemade cream cheese frosting! Perfect for Easter parties or just because cream cheese frosting is delicious any time of year. 🙂

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Cream Cheese Frosted Carrot Cupcakes
Recipe Type: Carrot Cake, Cupcakes, Easter
Cuisine: Dessert
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
Make that traditional carrot cake mix a little more festive with some homemade cream cheese frosting! Perfect for Easter parties or just because cream cheese frosting is delicious any time of year.
Ingredients
  • 6 oz. Neufchatel cheese
  • ~2 cups confectioner’s sugar, or to taste
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 box carrot cake mix, prepared according to cupcake directions
  • chopped nuts of your choosing, for topping
Instructions
  1. With an electric mixer, beat Neufchatel cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in vanilla.
  2. Frost cupcakes with frosting. Garnish with slivered almonds or walnut pieces.

 

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Brown Sugar and Pineapple Glazed Ham

Throw a few ingredients in the crock pot, set her to low for about 4-5 hours, and what do you end up with? A tender, fall-apart-in-your-mouth, sweet yet savory ham that’s perfect for Easter dinner when you have about a dozen other side dishes to give your attention to! Serve with extra pineapple on top, or some whole grain mustard on the side!

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Brown Sugar and Pineapple Glazed Ham
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Holiday, Easter, Ham
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
A tender, fall-apart glazed ham that you can prepare in the morning and forget about until it’s time for Easter supper!
Ingredients
  • 3-4 lbs spiral cut ham with glaze packet
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
  • Mustard or additional pineapple for serving
Instructions
  1. Spray the bottom of your crock pot with cooking spray.
  2. Spread brown sugar on bottom of the pot.
  3. Add ham, flat side down and rub contents of glaze packet over the top.
  4. Pour pineapple over top, reserving a bit for serving.
  5. Replace lid and set to low for 4-5 hours.
  6. Serve with mustard or more pineapple!

 

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“Angelic” Deviled Eggs

When Easter comes around, there are a few “must-haves” on the menu. Ham, for one (stay tuned for that post!), carrot cake, green beans, mashed potatoes (again, stay tuned!), and last but not least, deviled eggs! I have been trying to perfect my deviled egg recipe for years. It makes it hard though when you don’t really follow a recipe, and the possibilities for add-ins are endless, so you basically end up with a different version every time. (On a side-note, my Parmesan-Oregano Deviled Eggs recipe was finally featured on Allrecipes.com! You can check it out here!) Ok, shameless self-plug over. 🙂

So here I go again, trying to make another version of deviled eggs, hoping and praying that it turns out somewhat decently since we are having a few couples over tonight for an Easter potluck! This time around I decided to make “not-so-devilish” deviled eggs (shall I call them “angelic eggs”?) because not only am I making these for everyone else, but because I also want to enjoy a few! The recipe I chose/invented actually uses 1/3 less fat cream cheese and plain greek yogurt instead of the traditional mayo. I added a good amount of Dijon and some spicy brown mustard, dried dill weed, parsley, salt and pepper, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, and a dash of hot sauce. I apologize for not including exact amounts in the recipe below… that’s because I don’t actually know how much I added! That’s the best part of deviled eggs- you really can just eye everything you add!

“Angelic” Deviled Eggs
Recipe Type: Appetizer, Side, Snack
Cuisine: Healthy, Picnic Food, Easter
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 15-20
A “healthified” version of your classic deviled eggs recipe, perfect for Easter!
Ingredients
  • 10 hard-boiled eggs
  • 2 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese), softened
  • 3 oz. plain greek yogurt
  • 1 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
  • 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, or to taste
  • ~1/2 tsp dried dill weed
  • ~1/2 tsp dried parsley
  • ~1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • dash of hot sauce
Instructions
  1. Place raw eggs into a large saucepan and fill the pan with enough cold water to cover eggs.
  2. Bring water to a boil and turn off heat. Allow eggs to sit in hot water for 12 minutes.
  3. Rinse eggs under cold water (I actually allowed them to sit overnight!)
  4. Peel each egg and slice in half. Squeeze out yolks and separate into a separate bowl.
  5. Add cream cheese and mash with a fork until smooth.
  6. Add yogurt and remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
  7. Spoon filling into a quart-size ziplock bag. Snip one small corner off of one of the bottom edges with a pair of scissors.
  8. Fill the hollowed-out egg halves with the egg mixture by squeezing gently in circular motions around the edge of the well, working towards the center.
  9. Garnish with freshly minced parsley!

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Slow Cooker Pork Paninis, Two Ways!

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Slow Cooker Pork Paninis, Two Ways!
Recipe Type: Sandwiches
Cuisine: Cuban, Mediterranean
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-10
Two delicious sandwich recipes using slow-cooked pork tenderloin. Two styles- Cuban and Mediterranean! Enjoy one of these for your next potluck or dinner party. And great for using up leftover Easter pork loin, too!
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs pork tenderloin
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • For sandwich toppings:
  • 2 tbsp good quality dijon mustard (I used TJ’s whole mustard seed dijon)
  • 2 tbsp tzatziki sauce
  • 1/4 cup baby spinach
  • 1 tsp dry dill weed (or pickles- but Ben doesn’t like pickles so I had to be creative!)
  • 6 slices deli ham
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced peppers
  • 6 thin slices of tomatoes
  • 3 slices swiss cheese
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • 6 sweet bread sandwich buns, sliced
  • Olive oil
Instructions
  1. Place pork loin in crock pot.
  2. Mix soy sauce, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, mustard, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Pour over pork. Set crock pot to low for 7-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
  3. Just before assembling sandwiches, heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Reserve 3/4 of onions in a small bowl and set aside. Add peppers to remaining onion mixture and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
  4. When pork is ready, remove from crock pot and set to “warm.” Add 1 tbsp corn starch to crock pot and whisk in with remaining sauce until it thickens.
  5. Slice pork into thin slices. It should really just fall apart at this point! Spoon a little more of the juices on top of the meat to keep moist!
  6. Meanwhile, slice buns lengthwise and lay out on counter (I also toasted mine for about 1 min in the already hot oven!)
  7. Spread one side of three of the buns with dijon mustard (about 3/4 tbsp each), and the remaining buns with tzatziki (again, about 3/4 tbsp).
  8. On other half of the buns with mustard, sprinkle a pinch of dill weed or pickles, and top with 2 slices each of ham.
  9. On other halves of the buns with tzatziki, layer spinach.
  10. Next, layer a few slices of pork onto each sandwich.
  11. Cover Cuban sandwiches (the mustard ones) with a scoop of cooked onions, followed by a slice of swiss.
  12. Cover Mediterranean sandwiches (the tzatziki ones) with the pepper and onion mixture, followed by tomato slices and about 1 tbsp each of feta cheese.
  13. To each sandwich, drizzle a bit of the thickened sauce left over in the crock pot. The sauce should really just seep into the bread!
  14. Close sandwiches with other half of the bun.
  15. Preheat George Foreman grill (or panini maker, or just a regular frying pan!) to medium high heat, or about 350 degrees. Spread with olive oil or layer with tin foil.
  16. Place each sandwich on the press. Drizzle a bit of oil on top of each to prevent sticking.
  17. Press down (ya’ll know those tasty grill lines we’re going for!) and cook for 3-5 minutes, until browned and the cheese is melted!
  18. Slice in half and serve. These go just perfectly with the Corn and Sweet Potato Fritters (see previous post)!

DSC00980Pork goes in the pot!

DSC00994Onions cook.

DSC00996Peppers cook.

DSC010054 hours later…

DSC01007I don’t even like red meat and this looks amazing to me.

DSC01008Ben lost his self-control.

DSC01013Layer on the mustard, ham and pork slices.

DSC01016Add the onions and swiss, and little more of the sauce.

DSC01017Layer on the spinach, pork, peppers and onions, and some extra sauce for good measure.

DSC01018Andddd the tomatoes and feta!

DSC01021All set to cook!

DSC01030Ta-da! Perfectly pressed Cuban.

DSC01033And a delectable Mediterranean! Both served with my Corn and Sweet Potato Fritters on the side.

Happy Monday, everyone!

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Corn and Sweet Potato Fritters

Corn and Sweet Potato Fritters
Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Hispanic
Author: Claire McCormick of “Claire Tastes”
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10
A quick and easy side for your next BBQ or picnic! Perfectly spicy and great for leftover corn on the cob!
Ingredients
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp grated black pepper
  • 3/4 cup corn (frozen or leftover)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Grate sweet potatoes into a large bowl.
  3. Add oil and egg, and toss to combine.
  4. Add spices and stir until well distributed.
  5. Stir in corn.
  6. In a 9×9 casserole dish sprayed with olive oil or cooking spray, spread the mixture in a thin layer and pat down firmly.
  7. Bake, uncovered, at 400 deg for 30 min, or until top is brown and crispy.

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ClaireLeave a comment