Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips

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New Year’s Eve was never a huge deal in our house when I was a kid.  Except that we always had soda, chips, and dip.  Which was really unusual in our house to have.  So as an adult, I do the same.. except I think I have a little more fun with it, by making homemade chips.  These are super addictive and WAY more yummy than any that come in bag.   This seasoning blend is great on popcorn too or any time you would use a premade ranch seasoning blend.  I’ve even roasted thin potato slices and it’s great on those too! 
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HOMEMADE SOUR CREAM AND ONION SEASONING BLEND (AND CHIPS!)

Sour Cream and Onion seasoning blend:
3 T buttermilk powder
2 T onion powder (toasted onion powder from Penzey’s is my favorite)
1 T garlic powder
1 T dried dill weed
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar

To make potato chips:
Potatoes, gold or russet, sliced thinly
Oil, for frying

Have a bowl of water standing by.  Slice the potatoes using a madoline or a thin blade on a food processor, place the slices in the water as you work so they don’t turn color.  While they are soaking (this removes the starch so they get crisper) whisk together all the seasoning ingredients and place in a shaker.
Heat oil to about 350 degrees using a fryer, or a dutch oven with a couple inches of oil.
Working in one batch at a time, remove some potato slices and dry well on a tea towel.  Fry for a couple minutes until lightly golden brown.
Remove to a wire rack set over a cookie sheet and let oil drain off for a minute.  Place in a bowl and gently toss with seasoning.
Repeat with remaining batches.

Holiday Sausage Rolls

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Sausage rolls are mainly from England and Ireland, making appearances in a couple other countries as well.  Basically they are sausages wrapped in pastry.  A tasty finger food served for parties and holidays.  Sausage rolls are usually made with puff pastry but I like making them with pie crust.  Especially my pie crust 🙂 Super flaky, buttery, and makes my hubby one happy guy.  My 8 year old is becoming quite the pie dough expert and I can’t wait to make these with her again for the upcoming holidays.
These are a great appetizer for taking to parties or serving before a holiday meal.  You could even make them ahead of time, a few days even and rewarm in the oven before hand.  If you want to make them further ahead of time, I would bake them, then freeze.  Thaw in the fridge and then rewarm in the oven at 350 degrees. (You could probably bake straight from the freezer okay).

HOLIDAY SAUSAGE ROLLS
makes 32 pieces

Double pie crust dough, a double batch of this recipe
Egg wash (one egg beaten with 1 T water)

Filling Spices: (OR use a seasoned pork sausage and skip the seasonings.. but this makes them super yummy!)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried fennel
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried sage

Filling:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg

Grind spices in a spice grinder if desired.  mix with remaining filling ingredients until well combined.  Divide into quarters.
Roll out half of the pie dough on a lightly floured surface to about 9 by 13 inches.  I have a silicone mat this size I use for a guide.
Cut in half lengthwise.
Shape one quarter of the filling into a log and place on the center of one of the strips of pie dough.
Repeat with another quarter of filling on the other half.

Holiday Sausage Rolls

Brush the length of pie dough and wrap around filling snugly to seal.
Holiday Sausage Rolls

Cut each roll into 8 equal pieces.
Holiday Sausage Rolls

Place rolls on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Cut slashes in top if desired and brush with egg wash.
Repeat with remaining half of dough and filling.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and pastry is golden and flaky.

Oven Fried Cauliflower

Oven Fried Cauliflower
I love these cauliflower poppers I made awhile back but since I don’t fry food that often I had to try this baked cauliflower I found on pinterest.  Of course, I had to change it up since we don’t like super spicy food, and I wanted it to be something the kids would eat too.  Oh, yum.  I could eat a plate of these for dinner and nothing else.  Even my hubby, who despises cauliflower ate seconds.  Super quick and easy and yum!  Next time I’ll be making my roasted kale chipotle dip to serve with them.

OVEN FRIED CAULIFLOWER

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

Batter:
1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup water
dash Frank’s hot sauce (or your favorite)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried onion powder (I only use Penzey’s toasted onion powder!)

Coating:
2 T melted unsalted butter
dash hot sauce (more for spicier)
pinch smoked paprika
salt to taste

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non stick coating.
Whisk together batter ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.
Add all the florets and toss with a spoon or spatula until they are all coated.  (You should have the batter coating the florets without a lot of excess.)
Pour out onto baking sheet and spread out in a single layer. (If you had excess batter, remove the florets by hand so you don’t have a lot of extra batter on the baking sheet.)
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix together the coating ingredients.
Brush the cauliflower with coating and return to the oven for 5-8 minutes.  Cauliflower should be crispy.
Serve immediately with dipping sauce, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Persnickety Plates

Maple Bacon Crackers

Maple Bacon Crackers
I’ve seen the original version of this everywhere and wanted to give it my own twist.  In the original recipe a full piece of bacon is wrapped around each cracker and there is no maple syrup or black pepper.   A full piece of bacon seemed a bit much to me (for one little cracker too).  Even though the bacon isn’t wrapped around the cracker they stay together just fine, I didn’t have any issues with them separating.  The maple syrup almost candies the bacon and adding the black pepper gave some bite with all that sweet.  If you like things spicy I would even use red chili flakes instead of pepper.  These are great served at room temperature and if you want to make them ahead for holidays or a party just put them in an airtight container after cooking and cooling and bring to room temperature when ready to serve.  I did make some plain Parmesan crackers (see variation at bottom of post) and some with brown sugar but no syrup,  but these were most definitely our favorite!

MAPLE BACON CRACKERS

1 sleeve club crackers
1/2 lb thin sliced bacon
1 cup brown sugar
maple syrup, for drizzling (1/2 to 1 cup)
black pepper, to taste

Line a baking tray with foil and place a wire rack on top.  Spray with nonstick spray.
Line crackers on wire rack and top with about 1 tsp of brown sugar on each cracker. (I was making half Parmesan crackers on this tray)
Maple Bacon Crackers
Cut bacon in quarters, so they are about the same length of crackers.  Place a piece of bacon on each cracker.
Drizzle with maple syrup, about 1/2 to 1 tsp on each.  Sprinkle with black pepper.
Maple Bacon Crackers
Bake at 250 degrees for about 45 minutes.

For Parmesan crackers:
Top crackers with 1/2 tsp grated Parmesan and top with bacon, then black pepper.  Bake as directed above.

Maple Bacon CrackersHAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Rosemary Popcorn

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I love popcorn.  I know it’s not considered a dessert but in our home we eat it for dessert pretty often.  One way to make it even better is by popping it with infused oil.  Rosemary is my favorite and once you try this you’ll agree.  It is so addictive.  We’ve had a number of different poppers, including a fancy pot with crank on top to stir but a plain ol pot will do just fine.  If you want to air pop your popcorn you could do that and just drizzle with the oil when it’s done popping, but cooking the kernels in the oil really gets the flavor in there.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make popcorn.

ROSEMARY POPCORN

For Rosemary infused olive oil:
1 cup olive oil
3 to 5 rosemary sprigs

For popcorn:
1 cup popcorn kernels
1/2 cup olive oil
sea salt and/or grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil and rosemary in a small pot over medium high heat.  Once it reaches a simmer continue to cook for 5 minutes.  Let cool and strain.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To pop popcorn pour 1/2 cup rosemary oil in a large pot.  Place over medium heat and add a couple kernels.  Cover pot and wait for both kernels to pop.
Once they have all popped you know the oil is hot enough.  Remove popped kernels and add the 1/2 cup of kernels and cover.  Shake occasionally until kernels have stopped popping.
Drizzle with additional rosemary oil and sprinkle with sea salt and /or grated Parmesan cheese.

Herb Hummus

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I recently taught a cooking with herbs class and I knew hummus had to be on the invite list.  Hummus is kind of my go-to snack when we have company.  I always have cooked chickpeas in the freezer that I cook from dried beans pre-measured in 1 cup amounts. It is incredibly easy to change the flavor of since chickpeas don’t have a strong flavor.   I don’t normally have tahini on hand, but if you do and prefer, you can substitute that for the sesame seeds.  Tahini is just ground sesame seeds, which you can make in your food processor, and while to stuff from the store shelf is smoother than I can get, I think the texture of my hummus is fine.
You could do many different combinations of fresh herbs, or even throw in a couple spoons of fresh basil pesto which is one of my favorite ways.
Hummus isn’t limited to just being a dip, you can also use it for a spread on sandwiches or wraps (I particularly like it paired with warm naan bread!).

HERB HUMMUS
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 T sesame seeds
2 T sour cream
3 T  lemon juice
3 T olive oil
1/2 cup fresh baby dill
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Place everything in the bowl of a food processor (or blender) and puree until smooth.  Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or rice crackers.

Marinated Mozzarella

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Have you ever bought something only to say.. hey, I could make that.  Well, I do that A LOT.  It has become a bit of a hobby I suppose.  The good thing is no matter what it is, the homemade version pretty much always tastes as good if not better.  And knowing exactly what went in it and being able to adjust the flavor to our liking? That makes it way better in my book.  This was a quick experiment and quickly a favorite.  The first attempt was too good to fiddle with.  And the flavor only got better a day or two later.  Serve on sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, in pasta, pasta salads… or with a spoon.  Not that I would know about that…
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MARINATED MOZZARELLA

1 1/2 cups olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh herbs (I used a mixture of basil and parsley)
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
pinch black pepper
1 lb fresh mozzarella, cubed

Combine all ingredients except mozzarella in a large jar, cover and shake to combine.
Add mozzarella, cover, and refrigerate.
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Steak Tacos with Roasted Pineapple Salsa

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Have you ever combined 2 of your favorite things only to find they are even more amazing together?  Yep, that’s these tacos.  Usually on taco night I make a lot of salsas and sides, but not if we’re having these.  They are so good, all by themselves.   I dare you not to love them!
You can read more of  my tips for making steak tacos  here. 

STEAK TACOS WITH ROASTED PINEAPPLE SALSA
To serve:

Small corn tortillas, warmed in a dry skillet briefly
Cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

For Roasted Pineapple Salsa:
1 pineapple
1/2 large red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, optional, or 1/2 green bell pepper
3-4 T lime juice (from about 2 limes)
zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Put broiler on to start heating, with the oven rack about 8 inches from heat.
Skin, core, and slice pineapple into 1/2 inch slices.
Put on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Slice onion into 1/4 inch slices and place on baking sheet.  Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds.
Cut into quarters and add to baking sheet.
Make sure everything is in a single layer and broil for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until slightly charred.
Let cool to room temperature then chop roasted ingredients.
Add lime juice and zest and add salt and pepper to taste.

For Lime Marinated Steak:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs skirt steak
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Skirt steak usually comes in long strips.  Cut into a couple pieces and trim any excess fat off.  Put in a bowl with remaining ingredients and rub marinate into steak, turning a few times to make sure it’s coated well.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or ideally 6 to 8 hours.
Get either a griddle or heavy pan hot over medium high heat. (Cast iron works well).
Drizzle a small amount of oil on pan, and when hot, remove steak from marinade and cook until well seared, then flip and cook until well seared on second side.
(Cook in batches if needed, don’t crowd the pan).
Let rest for a few minutes on a board, then chop.

Cauliflower Poppers and Roasted Kale Chipotle Dip

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So I guess there’s some big competitive sports game coming up? Eh?  I did not grow up in a home where sports were a focus.  So luckily I married a man who could care less about men chasing a ball, hitting each other, then slapping each other on the behind.  🙂  Recently we were eating out a restaurant for dinner as a family and they happened to have a football game on a TV playing.  My 6 year old looked at it for a minute then exclaimed “What are those silly men DOING?!!”
But in case you are a football fan I wanted to share these 2 tasty recipes which (I would imagine anyways!) would make a great superbowl snack.  Or if you live in a home like mine… a tasty treat when you take a break from playing “Mermaid Island” or putting on a puppet show! 🙂
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Using cornstarch in the batter keeps the cauliflower poppers crispy, and by using the cauliflower raw they won’t get mushy inside either.
You can add more heat easily in both recipes by increasing the hot sauce in the cauliflower batter, and the chipotles in the dip.
Just remember the dip will get a tad spicier as it sits.  I like to make it at least an hour to overnight before serving if possible.

ROASTED KALE CHIPOTLE DIP
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely crumbled kale chips
1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped (about 1 to 2 T)
zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk all ingredients together until well combined.  Cover and chill briefly.

CAULIFLOWER POPPERS
1 cauliflower, cut in florets
1/2 cup corn starch
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
few dashes hot sauce, more if desired
Oil, for frying

Whisk together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and lemon zest in a medium bowl.
Add the lemon zest, water, egg, and hot sauce.  Whisk until smooth.
Heat a couple inches of oil in a wok or cast iron skillet with high sides over medium high heat. (Or deep fry).
When oil is hot dip the florets in the batter and carefully drop in oil.  Work in batches so you don’t overcrowd the oil.  Flip once during cooking, when golden brown remove from oil and drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or paper towel lined plate.
Repeat until done.  Serve hot.

Recipes by My Stained Apron

Smoked Salmon (or crab) Puffs

 

 

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We love to have a homemade Chinese style dinner for New Year’s and this time I wanted to try my hand at making crab puffs (also called crab rangoons).  Except I swapped out the crab for smoked salmon.  Results? So good.  They came together so quickly and were a big hit.  They would be great made with crab as well.  If you prefer more of a cream cheese flavor in them you could even reduce the salmon or crab to just 2 Tablespoons.    This makes quite a few so they would be perfect for a dinner party as well and stay crisp for quite a while.

SMOKED SALMON (OR CRAB) PUFFS
8 oz Cream cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped smoked salmon (or crab meat)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
12 oz pkg small square wonton wrappers (about 48 wrappers)
Oil, for frying
Honey Ginger Dipping Sauce, for serving (Or sweet and sour sauce)

Mix the cream cheese and salt together in a small bowl, mixing well to soften the cream cheese.  Gently fold in the salmon or crab until well blended.

Place about 1 tablespoon in the middle of a wonton wrapper.
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Brush the edges with a little water (use a brush or your finger dipped in water).
Fold in half to make a triangle and working from the inside out, seal together pushing all the air out.
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Make a pleat on each side of the center point to make a crown shape.
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Heat oil over medium high heat (Use a deep fryer, wok, or high skillet.  You want the oil at least an inch or 2.)
When oil is hot, fry in batches until golden brown, flipping once if needed.
Remove to a wire rack or paper towel lined tray.
Serve with desired dipping sauce.

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