Breakfast Burritos ~ The Low Sodium Way

One wouldn't think that it was very difficult to eliminate the majority of sodium from a diet, but I'm here to tell you that it's harder than it sounds!  My biggest difficulty has been bready things ... you just can't find them on the shelves without high levels of sodium.  That's no bueno for this girl!  I've been a bit slack what with Christmas and New Years and the kids being on holidays.  But now that those are all but finished, I'm getting back on track.  I'm going to be revamping our favorite recipes into Low Sodium versions.  Tonight's breakfast burritos were a perfect start!  I loved having a big win!  And though there was no bacon involved, the homemade 'sausage' was a very tasty and quite acceptable substitute. 

I used a few kitchen gadgets to accomplish this but you could totally make these without those gadgets ... it just might take you a bit longer than it took me.  There are lots of components, none of them complicated ... and no real measurements, it depends on how many you are cooking for ... you'll work it out !

Potatoes:  Spiralize potatoes.  (You could also chop or chip or whatever!) Shallow fry in hot olive oil til crispy.  Set aside.

Breakfast "Sausage":  To 500g pork mince add 1&1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp crushed sage (I would have used fresh if I had it), 2 tsp fresh thyme, 1 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped), 1 TBLS brown sugar, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.  Mix.  You could make these into patties but I just tipped the meat as it was into the hot pan that I had just cooked the potatoes in.

Eggs: Scrambled. Do these at the end so that they are hot when you serve

Tomato Salsa: For this one I diced two tomatoes, 1/4 of a red onion (finely diced), 1 clove of freshly minced garlic, 2 handfuls of fresh coriander,  pepper and the juice of one lime. Mix.

Flour Tortillas: I made the dough in the Thermomix but you could mix it by hand.  370g flour, 180ml lukewarm water, 40g olive oil, 1 tsp sodium free baking powder.  Add to TM bowl, blitz speed 5 for 10 seconds.  Knead setting for 2 minutes.  Tip dough out, roll into big ball then divide into 8 equal portions.  Roll with rolling pin.  Fry in hot, dry (no oil) flying pan for 1-2 minutes or until it bubbles, then flip.  The second side never takes as long.  AND the first tortilla never works!  Note to self: make a small one to be 'first one' that goes in the trash!

Top the tortillas with whatever combo of the above ingredients you want ... we add Avocado and Sour Cream too. Fold it up and eat it ! So good !!

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

I found this recipe at A Year Of Slow Cooking. You all know about that blog right ? No ... well, you need to go check it out !! The blog author, Stephanie, made a new years resolution to use her crock pot EVERY DAY for the year 2008 !! And she did it ! So, yeah, no shortage of crock pot recipes over there !!!

I modified the recipe just a little ... here's how I did mine.

2.5 lbs (just over a kilo) potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pinch chili powder
1 quart chicken broth ( i used water and stock cubes)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, to add at the end
crumbled bacon, spring onions and avocado to serve

Put everything minus the cream cheese, bacon, spring onions and avocado into the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4. (I did high last night) The potatoes should be fork-tender. Add the cream cheese and put lid back on to let cream cheese melt.  I left it for about 20 minutes.

Cook the bacon.

Get your stick blender into the crock pot and blend everything together.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, spring onions and avocado !! Delish !!

My husband who "doesn't like soup" had two helpings of this last night and took if for lunch today !! Soon he will have to stop making the "i don't like soup" statement because he likes many many soups now !!

Veggie Fish Bake

Veggie Fish Bake

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

4-6 medium to large potatoes, peeled and sliced approximately ¼ inch thick
4 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced approximately ¼ inch thick
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced approximately ¼ inch thick – separated into rings

Spray large baking dish with Pam (I used olive oil Pam).
Layer potato slices in the bottom of the dish. Next, evenly spread the carrots and then the onion rings over the layers of potatoes.
Melt 2T of butter and stir in 1t of dried basil and 1t of dried dill weed. Sprinkle butter mixture over veggies. Evenly spray another layer of Pam over the veggies. Cover and bake until potatoes feel like they are approximately 15 minutes from done. (I baked them for approximately 40 minutes)
Meanwhile, melt 2T of butter and stir in 1t of dried basil, 1t of dried dill weed, salt and pepper (I used white pepper cause I like it best), and 3t of lemon juice (I didn’t feel like squeezing fresh, so used the bottle and it turned out fine).
When the potatoes feel like they are getting close to done, place four fish fillets (your favorite white fish…can’t remember what I used!) over the veggies. Spread the second batch of butter mixture over the fish. Recover and return the pan to the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish is flaky and done.
Meanwhile, chop two medium tomatoes (I chopped mine rather small). When the fish is finished, sprinkle the tomatoes over the fish. Recover and return pan to the oven for 5 minutes.
Serve.
DELISH!!! EVERYONE in the family went back for seconds!! My mom used to make this when I was a kid (only fish recipe I recall liking as a child!), and I stumbled upon it the other day when looking for meals I could eat while on my post-gall bladder surgery restricted diet. It was such a hit that it's going on the make again soon list! :-)

Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup

I saw this recipe over at the flour sack and just HAD TO TRY IT ! I am so glad I did ! This is one delicious soup. I made a few adjustments though. I LOOOOOVE roasted garlic and decided that it would be amazing in this soup ... it was.

Here's how I did mine ...

3 blobs of butter (I didn't really measure, just scooped)
1 leek, sliced (I just slice til I get up to the dirty bits)
1 bunch of spring onions (They needed to be used up but they were a good addition)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 whole garlic heads, chop of the top (you know, the part that holds them all together)
6 cups chicken stock
a bay leaf
salt
pepper
700g (1.5lb) potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
450g (1lb) red potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
1/2 cup cream (although, I didn't measure and may have used a little more)
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a hand full of fresh chives, minced
garlic chips ... (thinly sliced garlic, shallow fried in olive oil til golden brown)

Preheat oven to 200C (400F), wrap your two garlic heads in tin foil and let roast in oven til softened. (I think it took about 30/40 minutes) Prepare rest of ingredients.

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add leaks and spring onions, cook til soft. Stir in garlic and cook another minute or so, til it smells GREAT ! Add broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Partially cover and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and continue to simmer til potatoes are tender. 15 minutes ? 20 ? Pull out the bay leaf. By now, your garlic should be roasted. Squeeze garlic out of the skins into a small bowl. Smush it up with a fork. Put it, along with the cream and thyme into the soup. Check your seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Use your zoop zoop (stick/immersion blender) to process the soup til creamy ... leave a few potato chunks if you like. Sprinkle with garlic chips and fresh chives.

Potato Bake

I'd never had potato bake before coming to Australia. I love it.
But don't make it very often, usually only when other people
come over so we don't eat the whole thing by ourselves !!

Here's what you need :

Potatoes, I have no idea how many, I just cut as I go
Grated Cheese, I use a mixture of Mozzarella and Tasty (Cheddar)
Minced Garlic
Cream
Onion, sliced
French Onion Soup Mix

Ok ... get ready, this is a very technical recipe. With very specific measurements !

Mix the french onion soup and cream with a blop of minced garlic.



Slice your onion and potatoes. Like I said, I just slice the potatoes as I go. (I use a mandolin slicer to get them thin and uniform) And as you can see, I don't bother peeling the potatoes.



Do layers of cream, potato, onion, cheese, cream, potato, onion, cheese, etc .... til you get to the top of your baking dish.



Make your last layer cheese.

Cover and bake in a 180C/360F oven for about an hour. (or until potato is tender) Remove cover and bake another 10 minutes or so to brown the cheese on top.

Pumpkin Salad

Whipped this little beauty up for dinner tonight.

Whole little potatoes onto a baking sheet, covered in olive oil ... on a hot oven (200 C) ... I think they took about an hour to bake. When they came out of the oven, I sprinkled with a chunky salt.

Chopped up some pumpkin, cooked it coated in olive oil in the other half of the baking tray I used to make the roasted cauliflower. Took about 45 minutes ... in the same oven as the potatoes. I turned it down to about 180 when I put the pumpkin/cauliflower in.

The salad was spinach, rocket, pine nuts, avocado, feta cheese, & red onion. Then the pumpkin. Then some nice balsamic vinegar. And then some crunchy fried noodles.

Easy peasy. Done. Delicious.

Yummy Cajun Potatoes

I found this cool cookbook at the library that I'm really enjoying cooking out of. It is called "The Cooking Book" ... I found these potatoes in there ... I mostly did everything as the recipe said ... except that I had potatoes that were going off and needed to be used so I did ALOT more potatoes than called for.

a few potatoes, unpeeled (they used 4- I used about 12 !)
1 lemon, roughly chopped into large chunks
lots of garlic cloves, peeled (they called for 12, I did more!)
3 red onions, cut into wedges
4 bay leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons tomato puree
salt and pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground oregano (we used this because we didn't have dried and for some reason didn't use fresh out of the garden ...)
1 tsp dried thyme (next time we'll use fresh thyme and oregano !!)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
6 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven. 200C or 400F

Cut the potatoes ... Mine were small to medium size so I cut them into 1/4's lengthwise. Boil a big pot of water with a pinch of salt and then drop in your potatoes for 3 minutes. Drain and put in big roasting tray. Add the lemon, garlic, onions and bay leaves.

Whisk your remaining ingredients together. Add 6 tablespoons of water and whisk again. Pour over the potatoes and mix it around to make sure everything is coated.

Pop 'em in the oven for at least 45 minutes ... turn 'em a couple of times.

Serve piping hot !

I served them with my Dad's Famous Ribs that were amazingly delicious, cole slaw and corn on the cob. YUM YUM YUM !!!

Ruth's Potato Pizza

A friend of mine had been telling me about her favorite pizza ... I decided one night to give it a go. It was yum, although our rosemary seemed a bit bitter so we added some fresh parmesan cheese ...

It is dead simple.

Pizza dough ... we used a whole wheat, thin crust that I make in the bread maker.

Top that with a drizzle of good olive oil, thinly sliced potatoes, a nice salt and plenty of fresh rosemary. Bake ... ours took about 10 minutes in a 200C oven.

Sprinkle with freshly grated Paremsan cheese !!

PS ... if you're wondering why I didn't post the second half of my two week menu, it's because I never shopped for it so we never ate it !! It's been a total FLY BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS week and I've hated every minute of it !!! Two week menu planning when I have to shop weekly (because of fresh ingredients needed) is not going to work for me !!

BUT ... I got an iPhone4 this week and I have downloaded some cool apps and I'm going to start using them to get more organized !

AND ... a cool thing I did yesterday ... I was wandering around the shop after work, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I NEVER DO THAT !! NEVER EVER !! Couldn't think of anything. Pulled out the iPhone, opened my Whole Foods Market app and found this recipe, bought the ingredients, made the dish and am thrilled with this new option for disorganized shopping !

Jamie's Potato Salad

I tried this a while back and loved it. Such a fresh fresh salad. And simple. This is in Jamie's "Jamie at Home" cookbook. I changed it just a little bit ...

Boil a couple of potatoes til just cooked. I was serving four so I imagine I did four potatoes and one for the pot ! I didn't bother peeling them.

Mix the zest of one lemon and 1/2 of it's juice with a splash of vinegar. He suggested red wine but I used cider vinegar ... or maybe I used rice wine vinegar. I can't remember now. It won't matter. Just use a splash of the vinegar of your choice ! Add three splashes of olive oil. Taste it. Need more ? Add it. Add 2 tablespoons capers and salt/pepper to taste.

Pour the dressing onto the potatoes, toss to coat and top with a small bunch of fresh dill or fennel tops ...

LaZy FriEs

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

Well, I didn't take any pictures, so I'm opting for the long-winded thousand word approach instead!

The Problem:
Oven fries are clearly superior to their french relatives in the not making-my-bottom-expand-beyond-the-realm-of-my-pants-in-an-alarmingly-rapid-fashion category. However, the advantage of deep frying potatoes, as opposed to baking them, is that they need never be turned. I HATE trying to turn over a hundred strips of potatoes so I can get a nice even crisp. It takes forever as I slowly melt in the ferocious heat of my oven.

Question:
How does one make oven fries that are uniformly crispy and golden on the outside and soft on the inside, without an unwanted pile of effort?

Solution:
Lazy Fries.

I thought to myself, what if I made potato slabs instead of continuing to cut them into fries? Would they be too big to adequately dispatch my need for fries? The answer, of course, was no - they were fantastic! And waaaaaaay easier than traditional oven fries.

Here's what I did:

3 Large or 7 Small Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise
4 T vegetable oil*
Salt
Pepper

*it's important to use vegetable oil because olive oil can overwhelm the potato-y flavor, which is an essential part of wonderful fries.

Soak the potatoes in hot tap water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat a heavy bottomed cookie sheet with 3 T of the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dry potatoes thoroughly and place in pan (be very careful not to overcrowd!).

Cover pan tightly with foil and bake at 475 degrees F for 5 minutes. Take off the foil and continue baking for 10-15 minutes, rotating pan after 10 minutes. Flip potatoes over once they are browned on the pan side. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until the other side is similarly done.

Season with additional salt, as desired. Serve hot.



So there you go! Lazy Fries. And it only took me 330 words to get there!

Shepherd's Pie

500g beef mince (ground beef)

1 onion - finely diced
garlic - to taste
1 can cream of mushroom soup
green beans - frozen or canned.
4 cups mashed potatoes
cheese - to top

Preheat oven to 180c/350f.

Put potatoes on to boil.

Brown the mince with the onion and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add soup. Pour mixture into a casserole dish. I like a big round one but any will do.

Add a layer of green beans.

If you haven't already drained and mashed your potatoes, you should do that now ... if they are ready. If they aren't then wait ... raw potatoes don't mash well. Or taste good. I add a bit of milk and a scoop of butter ... but just make your mash like you would normally. Add to casserole, on top of green beans.

Top with cheese. Bake. Uncovered. 20 ? 30 ? minutes ... til bubbly !

YUM YUM YUM !!!

NOW ... I need some advice. I checked the cream of mushroom soup can and while there are no icky preservatives, I'm just not sure how a can of condensed soup that lives on a shelf for years and years could be good for us. SO ... I want to try and substitute something else in it's place. I'm wondering if I could do a white sauce ... maybe with some sauteed mushrooms in it ?

What do you all think ? Any other ideas ?

Also ... has anyone ever frozen white sauce ? How'd it taste when thawed and then used ?

Spicy Potato Pizza

This was a little experiment ... I liked it ok the first night ... I liked it lots as leftovers !

I used my whole wheat pizza dough ... and then the recipe for spicy potatoes ...

All I did was thinly slice a potato or two ... just enough to cover the top of the pizza. In a bowl, I mixed a bit of olive oil and the spices:

1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp salt

Add the potatoes. Let them sit while you roll out your dough ... then add your potatoes to the top of the dough. I drizzled all the olive oil and spice mixture onto the top ... there wasn't a heap left ... you really just want them coated ... Put your pizza into the oven. 200c/400f ... for about 15 - 20 minutes.

While that's cooking ...

2 tbls oil
1 or 2 tsp black mustard seeds ( I never measure these, just pour 'em in ... )
3. 4, 5 (??) garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbls sesame seeds

Get your smallest frying pan and heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds. I use a combination of black and yellow seeds. Fry the mustard seeds a couple minutes ~ til they splutter. Add the garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes. I like the garlic to begin to turn brown. Then add the sesame seeds. Fry for a couple of minutes ~ til they begin to turn brown. Remove from heat.

When the pizza comes out of the oven, top with the mustard seed mixture !!

**

We think this needs something ... maybe a sauce for the base. Don't think tomato will be good, that's why I didn't use anything. Any ideas ?? A cream base ? A pesto base ? Help us out here ... this could be an AMAZING pizza if we could just find that 'something' it needs !!

Go Go Gadget {chip cutter} Video

A quick, easy, yummy (and healthy - er) version of hot chips.

Super simple ... preheat oven to 200C/400F
Chop up some potatoes ... see videos below for easy chopping method !! (took me TWO minutes)
Lay on a baking tray or two ... do not overlap them ... the bottom ones don't cook well.
Drizzle with oil ... I like olive.
Bake til they are the way you like them ... mine take somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes.
Pull out of oven ... sprinkle with crushed sea salt.
Eat immediately !
We dip ours in vinegar ...

PS ... please ignore the dork factor. I have my video voice on !

Salt and Vinegar Oven Baked Chips

Well, four days into the whole unprocessed thing and we needed a TREAT.
I searched recipe after recipe and finally combined about six ideas to make these little beauties !

Here's how you do it ...

Using a mandolin slicer, finely slice 5 medium sized potatoes (or however many you want). I did 5 for the 4 of us. It made heaps. Put the slices into a long rectangular dish and top with 2 tbls vinegar and 2 tbls olive oil. Let soak at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 200C. Line cookie sheets/baking trays with baking paper and then top with crushed sea salt. Lay potatoes in a single layer (not touching but pretty close) on top of the salt. Bake til golden brown. Ours took between 10 and 15 minutes ... but watch them closely, you don't want them to burn !! I can't wait to try these with a bunch of different flavors. I think we will do Cajun or Moroccan next !

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

I got this recipe from fat free vegan.com
She has got an incredible collection of vegetable recipes ... as one might imagine !

I left these in all day and they were delicious.
The ones on the bottom of the crock pot got a bit toasty on the bottom tough.
Next time I will wad up balls of tin foil and put them on the bottom
and I think all my problems will be solved ...

at least where crock pots and potatoes are involved.

I did sweet potatoes too.
And then I just topped them with what we had in the house which happened to be :
Frozen peas and corn ... that I heated, of course !
Greek yogurt, grated cheese and a tiny bit of bacon.

Here's how I am going to do it next time.
Wad balls of tin foil and put in bottom of crock pot.
Wrap potatoes and sweet potatoes in tin foil and put in crock pot.
Turn crock pot on low. Come back in 8-10 hours.

Antonio's Garlic Potatoes

The other night for 'date night', I planned a roast dinner.
I did lamb in the crock pot. I cooked it according to this recipe, but only did the lamb.
I also did Australian Roast Veggies.
Potato, Pumpkin, Onion and Garlic .... oh man, do I love roasted garlic !



We had a bit of a dilemma though ...
it was date night which doesn't involve the kids !
Roast veggies are best eaten hot
so I couldn't really feed them to the kids
first and then eat ours an hour later.

I put my thinking cap on and thought "Ahhhh yes, Antonio's garlic potatoes !"
I whipped some up for the kids ... and served them lamb, garlic potatoes on a bed of baby
spinach and rocket, with a quickie greek salad ... tomato, feta and kalamata olives.



How to make the potatoes. Peel Em. Chop Em. Fry Em. Seriously ... Olive Oil. Garlic Salt.



I did a little video because you have to hear the sizzle !

Baked Potato Soup

I got this recipe out of the Rachel Ray cookbook my cousin, Jill, got us for Christmas !
You can find the original recipe here.
Here's how I did mine ...

10 slices bacon, chopped
2 big leeks, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
8 sprigs fresh thyme, removed from stems
1 tablespoon paprika, plus additional for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 kgs potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups chicken stock

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Spring Onions, for garnish

Cook bacon until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve.

Cook leeks and garlic in the bacon fat until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the thyme, paprika, some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add potatoes and stock to the pot and boil til the potatoes are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. When the potatoes are tender, puree the soup in a food processor. I had to do this in about 5 batches as this makes a LOT of soup !

Serve the soup in a bowl or mug topped with some of the two cheeses, reserved bacon, and a sprinkling of spring onions.

We used sour cream tonight but we won't again.

** Tomorrow when I have the leftovers for lunch, I'm going to put chopped avocado on top !!

PS ... I served this soup with Roasted Cauliflower and Brocolli !

Baked Potato Bar

This is such a quick an easy meal.
I did it for the kids the other night.

All you do is ...
Bake the potatoes.
You know, wrap 'em in tin foil, into a hot oven for 30 minutes or so.
Have a bunch of stuff out to top them with.
I cooked a bit of bacon.
Cheese and sour cream and the kids were set.

Normally I'd do beans, salsa, avocado as well ...
Olives
Mushrooms
Onions and Chives
Garlic

You name it ... it can go on top of a baked potato !!

McClaines Potato Salad

This is another recipe that I had posted on my other blog that is now private so am bringing over here. Full of sour cream and mayo so not especially healthy ... but very very yummy.

--1/3 cup Italian salad dressing (as you practice with this recipe you can see if you want a bit more...I usually measure out 1/3 cup and then douse in a few more shakes)

--7 medium potatoes, cooked in jackets, peeled, chopped into cubes, makes ~6 cups (the key is taking the jackets off while the pots are still hot...I use a fork to hold the hot potato and a sharp knife to peel)

--3/2 cup sliced celery (optional...J. hates the celery, so a lot of times she and I leave it out)

--1/3 cup sliced green onion or regular onion (I'm not sure when I put green onions in...usually I put the regular...mom leaves them big chunks, I like them really little...adds the flavor without an overwhelming bit of onion)

--4 hard boiled eggs

--1 cup mayonnaise (real is best)

--1/2 cup sour cream (KEY...don't skimp)

Pour Italian dressing over warm, cut potatoes; chill 2 hours (best if chilled over night...you can cook the pots and put them in the fridge over night to marinate then throw it together the next day...the marinating is the secret to this amazing potato salad).

Add celery and onion.

Chop eggs; add.

Mix mayo and sour cream; fold gently but thoroughly into salad.

Add salt and celery seed to taste (I ALWAYS skip this step...but if you taste it and think it needs it, go for it).

Chill until serving. (If you've only chilled the pots for 2 hours, then chill the finished salad another 2 hours before serving)

Asparagus Hash

This is not my recipe...I tore it out of the February 2008 issue of Oxygen Magazine.
I made it for the first time this evening and we loved it. Very yummy and a great "one-dish-meal." I took the skillet right to the table on a hot pad.

1 tbs. olive oil
2 red potatoes
1/2 bundle asparagus
1/2 med. yellow onion
1 small red bell pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Add olive oil to a frying pan, on medium heat.
2. While the oil heats up, wash and shop the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Scoop them into the pan and place the lid on. Remember to flip them regularly.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the asparagus, onion and red bell pepper into small 1/2 inch pieces.
4. Check to make sure that the potatoes are partially cooked before adding the other ingredients. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes from the time you put them in the pan.
5. Once you have added all the veggies to the pan, sprinkle on the garlic, rosemary, basil, and salt.
6. Let the hash browns cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

*I added real minced garlic instead of powdered. I also used my mortal and pestle to combine the dried rosemary and Himalayan sea salt.
Very yummy dish!