Day After Christmas Breakfast potatoes

Posted on by aurorameyer
Oven roasted potatoes for Day After Christmas Breakfast potatoes by Aurora Meyer on aurorameyer.com

Day After Christmas Breakfast potatoes

This dish originally started as a Thanksgiving side dish, but after the trial run, we decided it was much more suited for breakfast. While Christmas morning usually gets all the hype, these potatoes are perfect for the next morning or for brunch. Super easy, filling and delicious.
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Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 1/2 pounds russet potatoes rinsed and cut into 2-inch chunks feel free to peel if you like, we liked the skins
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil the original recipe called for duck fat, which we didn’t have
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 sprigs thyme fresh is best!

Instructions
 

  • Adjust oven racks to lower and upper position and preheat oven to 500°F. Place potatoes in a large saucepot and cover with cold water by 1-inch. Add 2 tablespoons salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until exteriors are tender, about 5 minutes. Potatoes should show a slight resistance when poked with a paring knife or a cake tester. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
  • Add olive oil to bowl with potatoes.
    Add oil to the potatoes for Day After Christmas Breakfast potatoes by Aurora Meyer on aurorameyer.com
  • Season with pepper and more salt to taste then toss with a large metal spoon until exteriors are slightly bashed up and coated in a thin layer of potato/fat paste. Divide potatoes evenly between two heavy rimmed baking sheets. Spread thyme sprigs over potatoes.
  • Add fresh thyme.
    Add fresh thyme to the potatoes for Day After Christmas Breakfast potatoes by Aurora Meyer on aurorameyer.com
  • Transfer baking sheets to the oven and roast until the bottoms of the potatoes are crisp and golden brown, about 20 minutes total, swapping top the trays top for bottom and rotating them once halfway through roasting. Using a thin metal spatula, flip the potatoes and roast until the second side is golden brown, another 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

My Opinion
Like I said above, filing, delicious and worth that extra little bit of effort for a great post-holiday breakfast.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Pumpkin Soup

Posted on by aurorameyer


In addition to the pumpkin ravioli we made for Halloween, we saved enough pumpkin to also make this delicious pumpkin soup, modified from this Food.com recipe. It was easy, filling and perfect for a chilly fall evening.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 celery ribs, diced
1 onion, chopped well
1 tablespoon flour1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/4 teaspoon nutmeg3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 lbs diced pumpkin, roasted and peeled
1 cup half-and-halfchopped green onion

Directions:

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery and onion and saute until onion is browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and cubed pumpkin. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Add to blender one cup at a time and blend until smooth. Add half and half and blend. Serve hot with green onion garnish.
My opinion:
Tasted closer to butternut squash soup than pumpkin, but still delicious. Next time we’ll increase the spices a bit more and use fresh ginger.

Shrimp Bruschetta Pizza

Posted on by aurorameyer


Every once in a while nothing sounds good for dinner. I’m uninspired or too tired to follow a recipe. That’s where a well-stocked pantry makes a huge difference. I threw this together on a whim and was surprised at how well it turned out.

Ingredients:
Refrigerated Pizza Dough
Jar of Bruschetta (or feel free to make your own)
Shrimp (at least 10, shelled and deveined)
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves minced Garlic

Directions:
Roll out pizza dough onto pan. Brush with olive oil. Bake for 2/3 baking time. While the pizza dough is baking, heat remaining oil in a medium pan over medium high heat. Add garlic. Stir until fragrant. Add shrimp. Cook until just before done (not curled all the way, not completely pink). Set aside. Once the pizza dough is cooked, spread Bruschetta over the dough and top with shrimp. Replace in oven and cook for the remaining time.

My Opinion:
This quick and easy dinner is filling and delicious. For a meal that requires little thought and only about a half an hour, it’s perfect. With a side salad I couldn’t have been happier.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Posted on by aurorameyer

This easy meal takes less than a half an hour including cooking time. It’s perfect for one of those rushed, weekday meals.

Ingredients:
6 ounces ground turkey breast
4 green or red peppers
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup shredded carrot
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced onion (red or white)
1/4 chopped baby spinach
1/2 cup wild rice (precooked)
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:
Cut the tops off the peppers. Take out the seeds and membranes. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add and brown the ground turkey. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Add the garlic and onions. Cook about 4 minutes, or until the onion in translucent and the garlic fragrant. Add the cooked rice, carrot, spinach. Heat through. Stuff the mixture into the peppers. Add stuffed peppers to an oven safe dish (we used a bread loaf pan). Cover with foil and cook 15 minutes. Remove foil and cook five more minutes.

My Opinion:
This dish was easy, filling and delicious. The only thing I’ll change is next time, I’ll add more Italian seasoning. The meat was well seasoned, but the rest of the dish needed a little more.