Bacon Hasselback Potatoes

This recipe was fantastic!! It came from the November issue of food network magazine.  The recipe below makes 12 servings (1 potato each).

Image by Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
4 slices thick-cut bacon, each cut crosswise into 9 pieces
Kosher salt
12 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
1 stick unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp finely chopped  fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Directions:
1.  Lay the bacon pieces on a baking sheet and freeze until hard, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2.  Using a sharp knife, make crosswise cuts in each potato, about 1/8 inch apart, stopping about 1/4 inch from the bottom.
3.  Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook 4 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and carefully transfer to a baking sheet and let cool slightly.  Pat the potatoes dry then insert 3 pieces of the bacon into the cuts of each potato, spacing the bacon evenly and letting it poke out of the top.  Melt 5 Tbsp of butter and brush generously over the potatoes and in the cuts.  Reserve any excess butter for basting.  Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
4.  Transfer the potatoes to the oven and bake until the outsides brown and crisp, about 3 hours, basting halfway through with reserved melted butter.
5.  When the potatoes are almost done, melt the remaining 3 Tbsp butter and mix with the scallions, parsley, and garlic.  Spoon over the potatoes and roast for 5 minutes.  Take about of oven and serve.  Enjoy!

Jason and Beth's Rating: 9.5/10

Nutrition:
176 calories
8g fat (5g saturated)
20mg cholesterol
62mg sodium
26g carbohydrates
3g fiber
3g sugar
4g protein

Apple Cake

This recipe came from the apple insert in my food network magazine.  The recipe makes 12 servings.

Image by Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 apple, shredded and squeezed dry
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
8oz cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Directions:
1.  Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2.  Shred apple and squeeze dry then whisk with eggs, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla.  Fold into flour mixture.
3.  Bake in a buttered 9-inch round pan at 350F for 20 minutes, cool.
4.  Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt.  Spread on cake. Enjoy!

Jason and Beth's Rating: 8/10
Karinda's Rating: 8.5/10

Nutrition:
315 calories
17g fat (6g saturated)
57mg sodium
230mg cholesterol
36g carbohydrates
0g fiber
26g sugar
5g protein

Broccoli Stir Fry with Ginger and Sesame

I found this recipe on the blog: www.simplyrecipes.com.  They had a lot of good looking recipes.  The recipe below makes 4 servings.

Image by Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil (recipe called for dark sesame oil)
peanut, canola, or grapeseed oil
1 lb broccoli florets, rinsed, patted dry, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (we used pickled ginger)

Directions:
1.  Toast the sesame seed by first heat a small non-stick saute pan on medium heat.  Add the seed and jiggle the pan so they spread out into one layer.  Let them cook until slightly browned about 3-5 minutes.
2.  Mix the stock, soy sauce, and sesame oil together in a small bowl, set aside.
3.  Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large covered saute pan on medium high heat.  Add the broccoli, stir to coat with oil, saute for about 1 minute.  Clear a space in the middle of the broccoli and add the ginger and garlic.  Add a little more oil to the ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds, stirring until fragrant.  Then stir the ginger and garlic in with the broccoli.
4.  Add the chicken stick mixture to the pan. Bring to simmer, reduce the heat and cover.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes, until broccoli is still firm, but can be pierced with a fork.  Remove from heat.  Remove broccoli with a slotted spoon to a bowl.  Return pan to heat, increase heat to high and boil down the liquid until just a couple Tbsp remain.  Turn off heat, return broccoli to the pan, add the toasted sesame seed, toss with the liquid.  Put into serving bowl. Enjoy!

Jason and Beth's Rating: 7.5/10

Nutrition:
140 calories
12g fat (1g saturated)
0mg cholesterol
200mg sodium
5g carbohydrates
1g fiber
1g sugar
2g protein

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

This was another recipe from www.skinnytaste.com.  It was really good.  The recipe below makes 9 servings.

Image by Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
9 lasagna noodles
10oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
15oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and fresh pepper
32oz tomato sauce
9 Tbsp part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2.  Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
3.  Ladle about 1 cup sauce into bottom of 9x12 baking dish.
4.  Place a piece of wax-paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles.  Make sure noodles are dry.  Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle.  Roll carefully and place seam side down into baking dish.  Repeat with remaining noodles.
5.  Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tbsp mozzarella cheese.  Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts.  To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Jason and Beth's Rating: 8.5/10

Nutrition:
280 calories
8g fat (4g saturated)
60mg cholesterol
600mg sodium
35g carbohydrates
6g fiber
7g sugar
13g protein

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

This recipe is also from www.skinnytaste.com.  It was delicious!  The recipe below makes 15 biscuits.

Image by Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 cups bisquick
3.5 oz shredded sharp cheddar
2/3 cup milk

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Melt butter in a small frying pan, add half the garlic and saute on low heat about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and add parsley.
3.  In a large bowl, combine biscuit mix, cheddar cheese, and remaining garlic.  Stir in milk and mix (do not over mix).  Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfulls onto prepared cookie sheet.
4.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Brush or drizzle biscuits with melted butter.

Jason and Beth's Rating: 7.5/10

Nutrition (1 biscuit):
100 calories
5g fat (2g saturated)
8mg cholesterol
200mg sodium
12g carbohydrates
0.5g fiber
0.5g sugar
3g protein

Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake

I went searching for good food blogs and found www.skinnytaste.com.  It had so many awesome looking recipes.  This recipe makes 6 servings.

Image by Jason Hedlund

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
6 tsp Basil Pesto
2 medium tomato, sliced thin
6 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1.  Slice chicken breasts horizontally to create 6 thinner cutlets.  Season lightly with salt and fresh pepper.
2.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Line baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up.
3.  Place the chicken on prepared baking sheet.  Spread 1 tsp of basil pesto over each piece of chicken.
4.  Bake the 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.  Remove from the oven and top with tomatoes, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Bake for an additional 3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Jason and Beth's Rating: 8/10

Nutrition:
120 calories
6g fat (2g saturated)
40mg cholesterol
400mg sodium
2g carbohydrates
0g fiber
0g sugar
16g protein

Mustard-Glazed Salmon with Horseradish-Dill Sauce

We tried another salmon recipe from the book: "Mastering the Grill".  It was yummy.

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet (about 1 1/2 lbs) bones removed

2 Tbsp honey mustard

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp minced fresh dill

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup sour cream (we used Greek yogurt)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 large scallion, roots trimmed, finely chopped

1 Tbsp prepared horseradish

 4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl, combine the mustard, olive oil, 1 Tbsp of the dill, 1/4 tsp of the salt, and 1/8 tsp of the pepper.  Brush over top side of salmon.

2.  Grill the fish.

3.  In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, yogurt, scallion, horseradish, and the remaining 1 Tbsp dill, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.

4.  Cut the fish crosswise into 4 pieces and present the fish with the dill sauce and lemon wedges for squeezing.

Jason and Beth's Rating: 6/10

Nutrition:

330 calories

13g fat (2g saturated)

100mg cholesterol

300mg sodium

6g carbohydrates

0g fiber

5g sugar

40g protein