Italian Wedge Salad

I LOVE the wedge salad at Johnny Carino's, so I was disappointed when the Carino's near us in Sandy closed. Disappointed may be too mild a word. I howled "Nooooo!" And acted like a drama queen which I usually try not to be.
Then I went home and tried to find a knock-off recipe that I could duplicate. There are a few out there, but none that had all the ingredients AND the dressing recipe. So, here for your eating enjoyment, are the closest recipes that I could find for the salad AND the dressing.

• 
  
• Italian Wedge Salad
• 1/6 of a wedge of crisp iceberg lettuce
• Top with:
• bacon crumbles (save yourself some time and get the pre-cooked bacon, it is so very worth it)
• candied pecans (NOT sugared pecans- there is a difference!)
• Gorgonzola cheese crumbles
• diced Granny Smith apples
• diced roma tomatoes

Top with GARLIC RANCH dressing from allrecipes.com

This guy even has instructions on how to make candied pecans should you not be able to find them at a store.

Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potato fries. I really love them. I could eat an entire large dish of them all on my own. Did I mention I really like them?

So, I was really excited to find out how easy they are to make at home WITHOUT deep frying, so they are healthier too! We tried this recipe last week and it worked perfectly.



Cut your sweet potatoes until they are fry sized. Let potatoes soak in water for an hour – half the day. (optional, but it does make them better) Preheat oven to 425°.

Sprinkle baking sheet with corn starch. Drain water from fries. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil in a plastic bag and place a handful of fries inside. Shake to coat fries with oil. Place on baking sheet. Repeat until all fries have been coated with oil. Spread fries out on cooking sheet so that air can circulate. If fries are too close together, they will not get crispy. Sprinkle the top of fries lightly with more corn starch.

Cook for 15 minutes or until crispy.

Hasselback Potatoes

My husband likes to watch the Food Network and experimenting to make interesting new dishes. Me, not so much. So, the other day, after he and my daughter saw a show featuring these Swedish potatoes, and my daughter wanted to make them the next day, I was not so excited. However, I looked up the recipe online, and they turned out to be super-easy, which is important. I simplified the recipe a bit more to make clean up simple. And, even more importantly, they were super-yummy too!



4 medium potatoes, scrubbed (leave skin on)
olive oil
salt
garlic salt
grated Parmesan cheese
chopped chives for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425˚F (220ºC).
Slice each potato crosswise at 1/8-inch intervals, cutting to within 1/4 inch of the bottom.
Be careful not to slice all the way through. The potato will fan out a bit as it bakes.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Brush with oil, making sure to brush in between each slice of the potato. Sprinkle with salt, garlic salt and parmesan, again making sure to sprinkle between each slice.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes. The inside should be cooked thoroughly and the skin of the potato will be a bit crispy.
Garnish with additional parmesan and chives, if desired.

Zuppa Toscana

When my family visits, they like to visit Olive Garden for dinner. I am fine with their meals, but what I really love is their Zuppa Toscana soup. An internet search produced the original recipe, but it made nearly FIVE gallons at a time - just a bit more than my family eats at a typical meal. I adapted it and made a few slight changes to come up with the recipe that follows. Now you just need to pick up some soft rolls (from All Seasons!) to dip in your soup in place of breadsticks and you are all set for your very own OG experience without leaving home!

Zuppa Toscana

Yield: 2 1/2 qts (10 cups)

2-3 slices diced bacon

1/2 lb ground sausage

¼ - ½ tsp crushed red pepper (according to taste)

¼ lb yellow onion, grated (~1/2 onion)

2-3 minced cloves garlic

5 cups hot water

2 TB chicken soup base

1 1/4 lbs yellow potatoes, ¼” sliced (~2 large russets)

2 oz (1/8 lb) fresh kale, 3/4” cut (~ 1 cup, chopped) 

½ cup heavy cream (or milk)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp mustard powder

Cook bacon in microwave; save grease. Preheat pot to Med-High heat. Add sausage & red pepper. Cook until internal temp reaches 165 F, approximately 10 minutes. Break up large pieces. Remove from pot & drain well. Place bacon & onion in pot. Cook until onions are transparent, approximately 15 minutes. Add garlic puree, sauté 1 minute. Add water and chicken base. Stir with whisk until base is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Reduce heat to Med. Break up potatoes with masher. Add kale, sausage, and cream. Simmer 5 minutes.

*mustard greens also work in place of kale

Squash Casserole

I must have been in a generous mood when I first tried this casserole, because it is a little more adventurous than I usually am. However, the entire family liked it - even the previously winter-squash-and-green-pepper-hating ME. It was simple to prepare and, surprisingly, the only complaint was that we wanted MORE. 

Squash Feta Casserole

Ingredients

2 cups winter squash, cut in half

2 eggs

1/3 cup heavy cream

4 green onions, chopped

½ - 2/3 of a green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

2 strips bacon, chopped

cracked black pepper to taste

*optional* sliced tomato 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium (9x9) casserole dish.

In microwave, heat squash for 9 minutes to soften. Remove from heat, and cube. In a medium bowl, blend the eggs and heavy cream. Mix in the squash, green onions, bell pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Top with feta cheese and sliced tomato, if desired. Season with pepper.  Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

Country Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is my husband's comfort food. His mom made it growing up, so eating it means that all is right in the world. If you aren't a fan of deboning chicken (like me), just substitute boneless chicken breasts as mentioned in the recipe. It uses lots of fresh veggies and herbs, so you can feel good about feeding it to your family. Having grown up in a home where our soup usually came from a can, I can say that if you can plan ahead enough to make soup from scratch, the flavor is soooo much richer and more satisfying.

My husband's family always served this recipe with scones to soak up the broth, but we often grab some of the yummy Vosen's rolls from All Seasons when we have this planned.

Country Chicken Noodle Soup

2 onions chopped

2-3 carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. basil (or 2 tsp. fresh, chopped basil)

¼ tsp. leaf thyme

3 TB dry parsley flakes (or 3/4 cup fresh, chopped parsley)

1 10 oz pkg frozen peas

1 2 ½ lb whole fryer

(or 1-2 lbs boneless chicken breasts)

4 cups water

1 cup noodles (egg noodles)

Place all ingredients in crock pot, except noodles, in order listed. Cover and cook on low 8 hours (high 4-6). One hour before serving, remove chicken and cool slightly. Remove meat from bones and return meat to pot. Add noodles and turn heat to high. Cover and cook 1 hour.

Gran's Spinach

This was my Granny's go-to recipe, the one that came with her to all the family gatherings. We all loved it, but as she got older, the horseradish got stronger, so we ate smaller and smaller portions. Maybe she did that on purpose so that she had more left over for later! Since we aren't horseradish fans at my house, we substitute garlic instead, and enjoy Gran's classic dish with a little less "kick."

Gran’s Spinach

6 slices bacon                                         

2 bunches spinach        

1 TB grated onion  

1/2 c sour cream

3 oz. cream cheese 

1-2 TB horseradish sauce OR minced garlic (for a more mild taste)

*optional* substitute fresh horseradish instead (Gran likes even more!)

 Preaheat oven to 350°.  Brown bacon & crumble.  Cook spinach and onion according to directions on box.  Drain.  Soften cream cheese.  Mix everything together & place into greased pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.