Recipe

Scalloped Potatoes & Oscars Smokehouse

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Somehow in all my years of cooking and baking I never happened to make scalloped potatoes. How is that possible? Scalloped potatoes are like the mac and cheese of the potato world. How could I of all people not have ever made this? Well I have now, so all is right in the world.

Scalloped potatoes are full of bubbly, cheesy goodness that is not by any means on anyone’s healthy eating list. Maybe that’s why I have shied away from them in the past? I made these last week because a woman at work suggested them along with the wonderful amazing smoked pork chops that I got from Oscars.

A moment if you will to discuss Oscars Aridondack Smokehouse. The wonderland of smokiness in the northeast; located in Warrensburg, NY. The only place I have found an Irish style banger (THANK THE HEAVENS!), a good chorizo, smoked mozzarella, and all natural deli meat all in the same damn place! And it’s CHEAP! CanigetanAMEN! It’s my new favorite place.I had eaten their food before, since they service a few local places but now that I know where it is you can bet your bottom dollar I will be making a trip a couple times a year to stock up. I also hear that their rubs, and dips are to die for, perhaps the next trip I’ll be able to tell you for sure.

I digress.

These scalloped potatoes were devilishly delicious. I used my trusty Betty Crocker cook book as a guide and the only change I made was adding slightly more cheese because if you’re going to be bad you may as well be very bad.

Classic Scalloped Potatoes

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 55 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 6 Servings

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp flour
1 ½ cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 cups potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small sauce pan melt the butter and saute the onion until it just begins to become translucent.
Blend in the flour and allow it to cook for a minute before whisking in the milk and seasonings.Cook on low until the mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 cup of the cheese, mixing well and removing from heat.
Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of a lightly greased baking pan. Pour half the cheese sauce and then add another layer of potatoes. Cover the entire dish with the remaining cheese sauce, and leftover cheese.
Place it in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour and serve warm.

British Style Baked Beans

Honey Mustard Sweet Potato Fries

Green Beans 4 Ways

D4One: Orecchetti with Bacon, Clams and Kale

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Dont mind my unedited pictures again… i’m working on it … Still.

Sometimes I get cravings for something, and my whole world
is not right until I get my hands on that food. Lately it’s been seafood. I
think I’m going through summer with drawl or something. I have been patiently
waiting for chuck to be out of town to indulge. He doesn’t share my love of the
stuff, so why spend the money on him?

He was finally gone the other night so I went searching
through the cabinets thinking there were some scallops in there for my awesome
Scallop Carbonarra, only to find that there wasn’t. So I improvised a little,
and it was fabulous if I do say so myself. Normally I wait until I have tested
a recipe a few times before I post it up here to work out all the kinks but in
this particular case I think you would rather just give it a try yourself. It is
so easy but feels, and tastes so complex.

Orecchietti with Bacon, Clams and Kale

2 cups oreccheitte pasta.

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled

1 shallot, chopped

1 can clams and juice

1 cup chopped kale

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving ½ a
cup of the cooking liquid. In a large skillet heat oil and sauté bacon, and
shallot until the shallot begins to soften, 2 minutes. Add clam, juice and
pasta liquid to pan and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing it to reduce
slightly. Toss kale into the pan and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes,
allowing the kale to become bright green and wilted. Add the pasta to the pan, salt
& pepper, toss to combine and remove from heat. Serve warm with a sprinkle
of Parmesan cheese.

Lean Green Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup

By Jessica

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If I was ever on The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Cream of Soups, I would have to say that The House of Pizza in Gloversville, NY would take the cake. It’s a simple little place with a drive through take out window, owned by a delightful Greek family that also gave me the inspiration for my Perfect Broiled Haddock. They must just have the magic touch because for such a simple little place everything is so very good.

Now this wonderful soup I got it after the exclamations from a coworker, and she was on her mark. It was delightfully creamy, without feeling to heavy, perfectly seasoned, and green! Yes the soup is green because its packed with spinach, I’m sure the original recipe that I could not get is probably a little less healthy than mine, but I went with my gut, and made a pretty darn good soup if I do say so myself, that may not be completely clean, but is still a powerhouse of healthy.

One of the keys to making it rice and creamy is cooking the rice in the soup and stirring it alot, to make it startchy, similar to a risotto. The pureed spinach also helps to thicken it up, so you dont need to add alot of flower and cream. Also if left overnight it thickens up, and gets even more flavorful, so don’t be shy about cooking this ahead of time.

Lean Green Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
½ cup un-cooked rice
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ cup pureed spinach (fresh or frozen with 2 cloves of
garlic)
2 cups shredded chicken
2 tbsp half and half

Instructions

In a large thick bottomed sauce pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften.
Stir in flower, pepper, rice, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Stir in spinach, broth, and chicken bring to a simmer and cook stirring regularly for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through.
Reduce the heat, and gently stir in the cream, cooking for another 2 or 3 minutes.
Serve warm.

Brie en Croute

By Jessica

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I
don’t care what the cheese snobs say, I’m going to bring brie, and love
it, and I’m sure that everyone at the party will too. Even if it isn’t as good
as the European version it’s still pretty damn good.

Over
the years I have made, and eaten so many different kinds of Brie en croute, or
baked brie I couldn’t even begin to tell you all of them. It is one of my
favorite things to bring to a winter or fall event, all warm gooey and
delicious.

I
especially like to add it to most of my cheese plates, because it adds a little
something extra from just sliced cheese, and other sides.

This
recipe is the very first one that I ever made.

It’s
supposed to be standing up like a solid block, but sometimes when things come
out of the oven I get a little giddy with anticipation, a little over excited,
and forget that things need time to cool just a little. I suggest you let your
brie cool for 5-10 minutes, before you start cutting, or you will end up with
an oozy mess like I did.

But
that’s ok; it just means we had to eat it faster.

Pistachio
& Honey Brie En Croute

1 sheet pre-packaged puff pastry (Or croissant roll)

1 (8-ounce) wheel of Brie

½ cup chopped pistachios

¼ cup natural honey

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Play puff pastry out on a parchment
lined sheet. Place rie in the center of the pastry, and place the honey and
pistachios on top. Gently gather the edges of the pastry up and gather at the
top, squeezing together excess dough to enclose it. Brush the beaten egg over
the top and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry
becomes golden brown. Remove from heat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before
serving.

The Vermonter Panini

By Jessica

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There is so much on my mind right now, so
much I want to say, so much I want to do. There aren’t enough hours in the day,
and I am certainly not organized enough.

The house per usual is a mess. We are
messy people, chuck and I. We have some terrible habits, such as piling up
random stuff on our dining table and then eating dinner on the couch. I mean
you guys see some of the meals I create, and we seriously eat them on the couch
watching TV.

Maybe it’s the whole being surrounded by
unorganized mess, the flying opinions about my impending wedding, the idea of house
buying, the fact that I still haven’t gotten myself together enough to hang
curtains in our apartment, that’s the reason my head feels like a top that’s about
to take flight.

These days I haven’t even been up for
cooking, there’s no time! So here’s an sandwich that’s perfect for the season,
and easy enough for me to wrap my head around.

This is a sandwich I have been in love with for a long time.
Growing up in Upstate New York, and close to Vermont this type of sandwich is
offered at several restaurants in many different shapes and forms. This is my
version of it made in my kitchen and Chuck a true Vermonter approves. He
especially likes it dipped in maple syrup, I think he just loves the Monte
Cristo so much he now likes to add maple syrup to everything, but I would
suggest giving it a try its pretty good with or without the syrup.

The Vermonter Panini

2 slices hearty bread

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 slices thick cut maple bacon, cooked
1/4 lb Sliced Smoked Turkey Breath
½ tart apple, cored and sliced thin

Lay one piece of bread flat and stack the cheese, bacon,
apple and second piece of bread on top. Place on a preheated Panini press (or George
foreman grill if you are cheap like me) and grill until the cheese is melted.
Serve immediately.

Recipe

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