No-Fry Fries

Ingredients:

2 large russet potatoes, peeled

2 T. olive oil

3/4 t. coarse sea salt

Recipe:

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Cut potatoes in half horizontally; cut each half into 1/3-inch thick fries and place in a bowl of cold water.

3. Remove from water and dry thoroughly. Toss with oil and sprinkle with salt.

4. Place fries on a cookie sheet. Roast until browned and cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 minutes.

Rating: 4 of 5

I thought these were fine, but not amazing. LaDon, on the other hand, could not get enough of them. It's a super easy fry recipe and the results are better than others I have tried. And, they are really, really good with ranch. 

Source: Self, No-Fry Fries

Sugar Cookie - Keeping its shape

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

2 c. sugar

2 large eggs

seeds from 1 vanilla bean OR 3 tsp. vanilla

5 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

Recipe:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed, use the paddle attachment. Mix until thoroughly incorporated - for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. (Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you'd like a light and fluffy cookie, that's ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking: not ideal if you'd like the cookie to hold its shape.

2. Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again.

3. Cut open your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Add to mixing bowl. Alternatively, add liquid vanilla extract. Stir briefly.

4. Sift your dry ingredients together. 

5. Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. When the dough clumps around the paddle it's ready. It's also important at this stage not to over mix the dough.

6. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

7. Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat.

8. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will hold their shape better when baked.

9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

10. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.

11. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!

Rating: 4 of 5

These cookies were great. I really liked the flavor - don't ask how many I ate. And they really do hold their shape pretty well! Ally and I had a blast decorating these for one of her friend's birthday. As much as I like this recipe, I do have a love-hate relationship with sugar cookies because of the in-and-out-of-the-fridge  process that happens.

Source: Sweetopia, Sugar Cookies

Corn, Black Bean, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

1 7-10 oz. package grape tomatoes, chopped *

1 avocado

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

2 1/2 T olive oil

1 T. red wine vinegar **

juice from 1 small lime

3/4 t. sea salt

1/2 t. coarse black pepper

*I just used a few Romas

** I'm just now realizing that I never put this in! I love red wine vinegar too!

Recipe:

1. Toss chopped avocado with juice from 1 small lime.

2. In a large bowl, combine avocado, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn and cilantro.

3. Stir in olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.

4. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

Obviously, it's a super easy recipe to throw together. I have to say, when I made this, I thought it was fine, but it didn't wow me at all. But, typing up the recipe, I realized that I totally skipped the red wine vinegar. So, I'm sure with the vinegar in there it would have added that little extra something I was looking for.

Source: Center Cut Cook; Corn, Black Bean, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

Mom's Scones

Ingredients:

1 c. warm water

1 c. warm milk

1 T. dry active yeast

3 T. granulated sugar

1/4 c. melted butter, cooled

1 T. salt

5-6 c. bread flour

vegetable oil for deep frying

Recipe:

1. Combine warm water and warm milk. Stir in the sugar. Add yeast and stir lightly.

2. Allow yeast to activate, about 10 minutes. 

3. In a stand mixer, fitted with a bread hook, add milk mixture and melted cooled butter. Add the salt.

4. Start the mixer and add the flour one cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be slightly sticky but workable.

5. Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel. Set in a warm place allow to rise until double.

6. Pour your oil in a large pan (with sides deep enough to fully immerse the scones) or a deep fryer and heat slowly over medium-high heat. 

7. While the oil is heating, roll the dough out onto the counter, without flour, into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

8. You may choose to butter the counter lightly. Using a pizza cutter, cut into squares or triangles. 

9. Heat oil to between 350-400 degrees and cook scones until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Rating: 3 of 5

These weren't great, but they were still good. I think the thing I didn't like about them is that it's just SO much fried food at once. We ate these with honey-butter which was really, really good. I didn't like the scones so much after they were cooled. They were best hot. I'd have to tweak this recipe a little bit before I would make it again.

Source: Make It Do, Mom's Scones

Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients:

6 Italian sausage or chicken sausage

2 green peppers

1 red peppers

1 large red onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans Italian diced tomatoes

2 T. Italian seasoning

bread

noodles

mozzarella cheese

Recipe: 

1. Split between two bags, seal, mix, lay flat, freeze.

2. To cook: add drizzle of olive oil, cook on low 6 hours, serve over hot noodles or fresh French bread with mozzarella cheese.

Rating: 3 of 5

This one was fine, but not great. I felt like it was lacking in taste....as funny as that sounds. We had it on bread, but I think next time we'll serve it on Italian herb and cheese bread or something. I just thought it was a very bland dish. But, it has a ton of potential with some tweaking. 

Source: Ring Around the Rosies, Sausage and Peppers

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. lime juice

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded

8-10 flour tortillas

1 lb. Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

2 c. green enchilada sauce *

1/2 c. heavy cream **

* I didn't have green enchilada sauce, so I used green salsa.

** Didn't have any heavy cream on hand, so I combined milk and melted butter

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

3. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of pan to create a thing layer on the bottom.

4. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and a generous amount of shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

5. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the heavy cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and top with reserved cheese.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. 

Rating: 4 of 5

These were pretty good. LaDon said they were the best enchiladas he's had to date....of course, that could be because he has a love affair with cheese and there is a LOT of cheese in this dish. I thought the taste was different, but good. The honey and lime weren't super strong, but there were there and made a nice combination with the chili powder. I'd make them again.

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything, Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Best Burger Ever with Secret Sauce

Ingredients:

Burger:

2 lbs. ground beef, 85/15

1/2 c. grated Monterrey jack cheese

1/4 c. BBQ sauce

season salt, to taste

cracked black pepper

onion powder

Secret Sauce:

3/4 c. mayo

1/4 c. ketchup

1/4 c. relish

2 T. Worcestershire

seasoned salt

hamburger buns

cheese slices

lettuce

avocado

tomato

other hamburger toppings

Recipe:

1. Combine the ground beef, grated cheese, BBQ sauce, and seasonings. Shape patties that are about 1-inch thick.

2. Then is it very important to push a 1/2 inch indent into the center of the patty - this is what prevents the patty from becoming a dome. These burgers stay extra moist because the BBQ sauce and cheese are mixed in with the meat.

3. Wait for the skillet to get super hot and then apply a very thin layer of butter to the pan. Place the patties on the pan, indent side up.

4. Reduce heat to medium and allow patty to cook for about 4-6 minutes, but make sure it doesn't burn. Then flip the burger over and cook until done.

5. For the sauce: combine all ingredients and whisk until well mixed. Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking.

6. Assemble the burgers and serve with toppings.

Rating: 3 of 5

I actually wasn't that impressed with this burger recipe. It could be because we had the most amazing burgers the week before, so expectations were a little skewed. But, yes, these burger were juicy, and had pretty good flavor. One thing that drove me nuts about this recipe is that there was no specific measurement for some of the ingredients. It's not that big of a deal, but it is helpful.

Source: Little Miss Momma, Best Burger Recipe Ever with Secret Sauce

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

Ingredients:

Bread Dough:

1 T. yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

1 1/2 T. sugar

1 t. salt

4-5 1/2 c. flour

3 T. vegetable oil

1 egg yolk

Garlic Butter:

1/2 c. of real butter

1 1/2 T. garlic bread seasoning

shredded mozzarella cheese

Recipe:

1. Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly.

2. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk and combine. Add 3 c. flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger.

3. Knead, either by hand or in mixer for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.

4. While dough is rising, combine butter and garlic bread seasoning. Set aside.

5. Roll dough into a rectangle that's about 18-20 inches by 6 inches. Smear garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle with cheese.

6. Roll up jelly-roll style and then use dental floss to cut into 12 equal slices. Place each slice in a muffin tin. Cover with a clean cloth. Preheat oven to 350 and allow rolls to rise while the oven is heating.

7. When the oven is ready, bake for 18-22 minutes. When you notice the cheese getting brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the rolls. This will keep the cheese from burning although it will get pretty brown on top.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

I really liked these, but because I made them so long ago and can't remember exactly what it was that I did and did not like, I'm afraid to give them a higher rating. Guess I'll have to make them again! With that being said, I really did like the cheesy mess between each layer of bread and I did like the seasoning. I made these for the missionaries one night and our newest Elder declared that "[they were] the best rolls [he's] ever had!" So, they must be good, right?

Source: Our Best Bites, Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls