Going Back for Seconds

 

If you can only have one serving of these potatoes, you are superhuman.

Herbed Greek Roasted Potatoes with Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

5 pounds potatoes, cut into wedges
6 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Sea salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
1 (8 ounce) package crumbed feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a large baking dish.

Stir the potatoes, garlic, olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until the potatoes are evenly coated; pour into the prepared baking dish.

Roast in the preheated oven until the potatoes begin to brown, about 40 minutes. Season the potatoes with the oregano and mint. If the dish appears dry, pour another 1/2 cup water into the dish. Return to the oven and bake about 40 minutes more. Top with the crumbled feta cheese to serve.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Cat Lady Cyndi. You can find it here. By the way, don't you get a kick out of some of the user names on Allrecipes? I sure do!

Notes: Holy cow, these were so delicious. Good, good stuff.

A Refreshing Taste of Summer

 

Don't you love summery recipes that you can still make whether it is actually summer or not? These two drinks recipes fit into that category.

Easy Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
4 1/2 cups water
1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries, partially thawed

Directions:

In a large pitcher, mix together lemonade concentrate and water. Stir in strawberries.

Source: Allrecipes, submitted by SUNAMITA. You can find it here.

Notes: Strawberry lemonade doesn't get any easier than this, folks!

Cucumber Punch

Ingredients:

2 medium cucumbers
3 cups water
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 liters diet ginger ale, chilled
4 1/2 cups diet grapefruit or citrus soda, chilled

Directions:

With a zester or fork, score cucumbers lengthwise; cut widthwise into thin slices. In a large pitcher, combine water and lemonade concentrate; add cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, transfer cucumber mixture to a punch bowl; stir in ginger ale and grapefruit soda.

Yield: 25 servings (4-3/4 quarts).

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: This is so good. You wouldn't think that cucumber and lemon would go together that well, but it really does.

I'll Have a Side Of...

Side dishes just round out a meal, don't they? Here is a yummy way to spice up your side of corn.

Rich Mexican Corn

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen corn
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the cream cheese and butter, and mix with the milk until smooth and bubbly.

In a medium casserole dish, mix the frozen corn, red bell pepper, and jalepeno peppers. Pour in the cream cheese mixture, and toss to coat.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and light brown.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by FITZGIBJ. You can find it here.

Notes: We only used 4 jalapeno peppers, and felt it was plenty. This was really flavorful, and a nice way to mix things up.

 

2016 Update: This is so good, you will make it again and again!

The Easy Way

So, one of these days I plan to make an authentic, from scratch version of chili verde. I have found a lot of great looking recipes. However, the authentic recipes also seem very labor intensive. As a result, for now I have chosen to go the easier route.

Here is a super easy slow cooker version of pork chile verde for you to try.

Pork Chili Verde

Ingredients:

1 boneless pork sirloin roast (3 pounds), cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 can (28 ounces) green enchilada sauce
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Hot cooked rice
Flour tortillas, warmed

Directions:

In a large skillet, saute the pork, carrots, onion, and garlic in oil in batches until pork is browned. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the enchilada sauce, jalapenos, and cilantro. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until meat is tender.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into pork mixture. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice and tortillas.

Yield: 8 servings.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: I just couldn't bring myself to use the carrots. They just seemed out of place. So, I skipped them. I loved this. It was really flavorful, and super easy. I bought the pork already cut into cubes to save me some time.