Curried Hash Browns

Curried Hash Browns
Inspired from here

I thought I was buying hash browns but it turned out I bought shoe string potatoes... oh well!

1 bag hash browns
curry powder (1 1/2 tablespoon)
onion (1/2 onion, chopped)
garlic (2 cloves)
salt (1/2 tsp)
cumin (just a dash)
pepper
cilantro, chopped
olive oil

I cooked the onion a little bit on my George Foreman before I added them to the potatoes. I just wanted them to be tender. I added the hash browns, curry, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and onions to a big bowl and just mixed them together. I added a splash of olive oil, but I don't know if it was necessary.

I had to cook them in batches, but I added the cilantro to the top when it was done cooking.

Apparently one could smell them cooking 3 floors down and the whole building smells like garlic and curry. Oops!!

I realized before I cooked them all that there was WAY too many. So I got a quart bag and filled that with the mix-uncooked- and I froze them. I'll see if they freeze well! I have a feeling I will have to freeze some of the cooked ones. It's hard to cook for one person.

I loved them. They turned out a little more like fries than hash browns, but that was my fault. They still tasted delicious. I had to cook them about 5-7 minutes, but that was because they were frozen.

(<-- I froze some this way - pre-cooked.)

I tried this trick tonight:
 After serving the grilled food, make sure your grill is
unplugged, put a wet cloth, that can be washed, and
reused in the grill and close the lid. In 10-30 minutes,the grill will almost wipe clean.

It really worked! I left the rag on there for about 20 minutes and the grill was really easy to clean. 

Roasted Jalapeño and Lime Hummus

Roasted Jalapeño and Lime Hummus
Roasted Jalapeño and Lime Hummus
Makes about 2 cups

1-3 (or more!) jalapeños
2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15-ounce can chickpeas
3-4 tablespoons lime juice
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tahini (or substitute extra-virgin olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons minced cilantro (optional)
Pita wedges or tortilla chips for serving

Roast the jalapeños under the broiler, on the stove top, or on the grill. Flip every few minutes until the peppers are charred all over. Move them to a heat-proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes.

When the peppers are cool enough to handle, slip off the skin, split the peppers, and strip out the seeds. Slice the jalapeños into thin strips and set aside. Take care while working with these peppers because the jalapeño oils can really burn if you rub your eyes or touch your mouth. Wear gloves if desired.

Warm the chickpeas in the microwave for about a minute (this helps make the hummus creamier). Pour them them into the bowl of a food processor along with 3 tablespoons of lime juice, garlic, tahini, and spices. Begin processing and stream in the olive oil through the top of the machine. Scrape down and process again until the hummus is very smooth.

Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the sliced jalapeños. Taste and add more jalapeños, more lime juice, or more seasonings to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving. (This hummus can also be made several days ahead.)

Garnish with minced cilantro and serve with pita wedges or tortilla chips.

Jenna's Notes: 

I did not have Tahini so I added a tablespoon of olive oil in its place. I also didn't have coriander so I just left that out. Instead of buying Jalapeños, I bought Serrano peppers on accident. I added only this much -->

(I still grilled it on my George Foreman...) 

and it was plenty! I guess Serrano's are a little stronger than Jalapeños so I aired on the safe side! 

I didn't have a food processor here at college, so I did warm up my can of (drained...even though the recipe doesn't say!) chickpeas which made them easier to mash. I just added a little but of olive oil and lemon juice to begin with and it made it easy to mix together. Other than my few little notes, I followed the recipe to a T and it is g.o.o.d! I could eat it all in one sitting. I'm already thinking about going to buy more chickpeas!!!

Fajita Marinade

I bought Fajita meat the other day at the store and threw it in the freezer. I have everything for fajitas so I took it out of the freezer this afternoon and found a marinade on Allrecipes.com.

All recipes has a serving calculator so I typed in "2" (because I had 8 oz. of meat... I plan on freezing the rest after I grill it). If you click on the link, you can go to AllRecipes.com and make it for a bigger serving size. This recipe below contains the amount for 2 servings sizes.

I did everything according to to this recipe, except I didn't have a garlic clove. I added some garlic salt instead of the regular salt.

Fajita Marinade

1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice (I doubled this)

2 teaspoons water

3/4 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a large resealable plastic bag, mix together the lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and liquid smoke flavoring. Stir in cayenne and black pepper.
Place desired meat in the marinade, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Cook as desired.

I looked at a lot of the reviews and made a few changes. I added some cumin, beef bouillon, and chili powder. My meat was frozen so I placed it in the bag and put it in the fridge for 3 hours and then I grilled it on the George Foreman. It was very good, but I will add less lime juice next time.

Raspberry Sweet Tea

This will make 2 Quarts. Just double everything for a gallon. I made this in my ice tea maker. I put 4 tea bags (I like it a little stronger) and my 2 quarts of water in to brew. I added the sugar to the pitcher so it would dissolve. After it was done brewing, I added the lemon juice and the raspberry syrup. I did not have a 1/3 cup measuring cup so I found out that by using 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon, I could get an exact 1/3 cup! I may or may not have added a little more raspberry syrup... you'll never know for sure. Very yummy! My iced tea maker has a line where it suggests adding ice after the tea is brewed. So, I did that and put it in the fridge!

Raspberry Sweet Tea

8 cups water
3 tea bags
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup bottled lemon juice
2 T. raspberry flavor syrup (such as Torani or Davinci)
Bring water to boil , remove from heat add tea bags, cover and steep 1 hour.

Pour sugar into 2 quart pitcher - add steeped tea, lemon juice and raspberry syrup.

Cover and chill.

Kibbles and Bits

My roomie, Emma, and I made puppy chow tonight. We didn't have a bag to shake it in.... so... we used a garbage bag. IT WAS BRAND NEW. so. don't even worry! But, it really worked well. We added the powdered sugar and shook away! Another microwaved approved dorm recipe!

Kibbles and Bits

Beth's Favorite Recipes

1 12 oz box crixpix(or rice chex)

1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips

1 stick butter

3/4 c cream peanut butter

2 c powdered sugar

Mix the choc chips, butter and peanut butter together and melt in a double boiler or in the microwave. Pour this over cereal that has been put in a big bowl that can be covered(original recipe says to put in a paper grocery bag) Put about 1/2 c powder over the cereal mix. Put lid on and shake. Continue to add powdered sugar until all cereal is covered.

Masking Tape Brown Rice Casserole

Well, I am in college and I don't have an oven, so I had to modify this recipe for a microwave! It turned out really yummy and I'm so glad!

I used:

Two cups of instant rice

One can of Campbell's French Onion Soup

One "can" of water

2.5 teaspoons of beef bouillon

One stick of butter

1/4 ish cup of Parm Cheese

I put all the ingredients (except the parm cheese) in a 2 quart glass bowl and microwaved it. I stirred it every 2-3 minutes because my butter was frozen. It took about 10-12 minutes til the rice was tender, but I think that's because my roomie's microwave cooks differently than most. I did wait until it was done cooking to add the cheese and then I stirred that in too. YUMMY and dorm room appropriate!

Check out my mom's blog:

She posts a recipe every other day with pictures and notes on how my family liked the dish!

http://bethsfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com/

Original Recipe:

Masking Tape Brown Rice Casserole
Pauladeen.com

1-Can of Campbell’s Consume Beef Soup
1-Can of Campbell’s French Onion Soup
1-Cup of long grain Rice (Uncooked)
1-Stick of butter
½-Cup of grated Parmesan Cheese

Pour rice in a 9x9 square baking dish. Add Consume Beef and French Onion Soup. Then add a whole stick of butter to the center of the dish. Bake on center rack in a 350-degree oven for about 30-40 minutes until the rice has absorbed all the soup and the onions are on top. At this point pull out of oven and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes until cheese has formed a crust. Enjoy!

Roast Beef and Provolone

Well, I am back at school. This year, my only appliance that is allowed is a George Foreman.

I love roast beef sandwiches and I figured why not make a panini-like sand which!

Today, I made myself lunch and it was so good!

I found this bread on the day old shelf at Walmart for 75 cents the other day and I put it in the freezer.

This roast beef is from a store called Homeland in OKC. I am in love. Seriously! I've never heard of the brand before but it is so good. I could eat it every day!

I simply cut up the bread, added some olive oil on the outside pieces, put some fresh provolone cheese and roast beef and cooked it for 5 minutes. Simple and so tasty....
MUCH better than Sodexo!