Friday, October 1, 2010

I've Been a Busy, Busy Bee...

Bzzzzzzzzzz.......

I felt like I was neglecting my cooking skills early in the week, so I wanted to make up for it and prove my cooking prowess.  

I was up at 5:30 a.m., showered and then read my daily devotionals.  Once I donned my faux purple crocs (they are my kitchen working shoes), I was ready to do some serious business.  

First, I prepared a rub for a pork roast I had thawing in the fridge.  The recipe for the rub can be found HERE and is absolutely awesome!  It says to marinate it 1 - 3 hours, I just do it in the morning and let it sit in the fridge all day and plop in into the oven when I'm ready to cook it.  Pork roasts, when found on sale, are a nice economical meal, but you feel like you are living "high on the hog" as my dear husband always says.  

Next on the list was scalloped potatoes.  I often neglect this recipe for some reason.  It's not difficult to make, especially if you have a food processor.  Dice up your onion with the chopping blade, then slice the potatoes with the slicing attachment.  Super easy and one casserole dish usually will last two meals.  I learned how to make these by watching my mom. Recipe follows the friendly potato chef...


Homestyle Scalloped Potatoes

  • Potatoes peeled and sliced (amount depends on the number of people you want to serve; I did 6 potatoes)
  • Onion finely diced
  • Flour
  • Butter
  • Milk (I used skim milk)
  • Salt & Pepper
  1. Spray your casserole dish with cooking spray
  2. Alternate layers of potatoes, onion, flour*, dots of butter, S&P until your potatoes are gone.  
  3. Pour milk over the potatoes to cover
  4. Bake covered for 60 minutes on 350.  Stir and remove lid.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes.
  5. Remove from the oven and let stand for approx. 10 minutes.

*For the flour, I just use a spoon and sprinkle it over the potatoes.  You don't want to overdo the flour, it's just to thicken the potatoes as they cook.

Note:  You'll want to leave some room at the top of your dish as this casserole has a tendency to bubble over, and all over, the bottom of your stove.  :-)

Once I had the casserole complete, I covered it and put it in the fridge with the marinating pork roast.  Hubby felt like a king at dinner tonight and I had everything prepared by 7:30 in the morning. 

Joy in the "early bird catching the worm". 

HDP