Greek Roast Potatoes

I've been on a mission to use potatoes lately.  If you can believe it, we still have a large number from last year to use up.  My parents planted so many on their farm that they supplied a small town food bank for pretty much the entire winter....

I make a lot of oven-fries and potato salad.   I've also made some perogies.  I've even made mashed potatoes and then used all the leftovers to make some delightful little garlic mashed potato logs (with cream cheese!!).  So, last week I decided to try and make some roast potatoes with Greek flavors.  These were inspired by our favorite Greek restaurant here in Calgary.  They were definitely different than those served there, but they were still delicious!  These are great for kind of a dreary day, as they cook low and slow in the oven.

-2.5 lbs (approximately) medium sized potatoes*, peeled and quartered

-3 tbsp olive oil

-2 tbsp lemon juice, plus the juice from half a lemon

-1/3 cup chicken broth

-1 tsp dried oregano

-1/4 tsp cinnamon

-2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Place potatoes in a shallow baking dish (I used a 9x12 glass baking pan).  In a small bowl, whisk together all other ingredients.  Pour evenly over potatoes and lightly toss around so they are coated.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 2 hours at 300F.  After 2 hours, uncover and spritz with the juice of half a lemon and turn potatoes.  Cover again and continue baking for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let them rest for about 10 minutes after removing from the oven, to let all the browned garlicky goodness caramelize up a bit.  Enjoy!

*I used Russet potatoes, but these would probably be even more delicious with a creamy fleshed potato, like a Yukon Gold

Bacon & Onion Perogy Bake

My love of perogies continues..... This time I'm not making perogies from scratch, as I did HERE.   I'm not using them as a pizza topping, as I did HERE.

This time, I'm dumping some frozen, purchased (gasp!) perogies into an 8x8 inch baking dish.  Then I'm topping them with a few not so healthy but oh so delicious ingredients, including BACON!!  Lastly, I cover them with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 short minutes for a perfect little comfort food dinner.

Here is the short, but magical list of ingredients:

-20 frozen perogies
-3/4 cup finely diced onion
-4 slices bacon, diced
-2/3 cup half and half cream
-1/8 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional).  But who doesn't like cheese?  Seriously.

-Spray a glass 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Place perogies in the baking dish and set aside.  Don't worry about arranging them nicely....just dump them in!

-Fry diced bacon until crisp.  Drain, reserving 1 tbsp of drippings.  Sprinkle bacon over perogies.

-Fry onions until slightly softened (about 5 minutes) in reserved 1 tbsp of drippings.  Sprinkle onions over perogies and bacon.

-Combine half and half, salt, and pepper.  Pour over perogy mixture.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 400F oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until melted.

This would also be amazing to garnish with some sour cream and chives (to make it almost like a baked potato!)  Adding some dill to the half and half mixture would also be something worth trying.

Shannon's BBQ Sauce

This household eats a lot of bbq sauce.  Well, we used to eat even more, but my husband seems to have switched his sauce tastes to that of the hot variety.   I can't say I'm a fan.  So, with summer pretty much here, I've come up with this super duper easy sauce recipe that goes amazingly well with pork, chicken, beef, or pretty much anything grilled.  Since I started making it about a month ago, I've also found myself dipping my pizza crusts, french fries, eggs, sausages....almost anything in it!   It's so easy to make.  This is a combination of 3 different recipes that I have torn apart, deleted, added to, and changed quantities to make it my own.

Don't let the amount of sugar scare you.  Commercial BBQ sauce has a TON of sugar in it too....plus a ton of other junk that I can't even pronounce.  All of these ingredients are pronounceable.  (Is that a word?)  Well, some people struggle with WORCESTERSHIRE.  I'm with you.  How does one really pronounce that word? 

Quite simply, you basically throw all of the goodness into a pot.  Whisk.  Boil.  Simmer.  Cool.  

Here you go:

-1 cup peach jam/preserves***

-1 cup brown sugar

-1 cup white vinegar

-400ml can tomato sauce

-1 tbsp ground mustard
-3 tbsp molasses

-1 tbsp lime juice

-1 tsp salt

-2 tsp chicken bouillon
-2 tsp onion powder

-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

-2 cloves minced garlic

-2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

-1 tsp pepper

-1 tsp chili powder

-1 tsp cumin

-1 tbsp horseradish

***This is a perfect way to use up the large amount of  Not so Pretty Peach Jam I have made previously.

As I said before, put all of these ingredients in a large sauce pot.  Whisk to fully combine, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce to low and simmer uncovered for approximately 1 hour, until mixture has thickened slightly and reduced.  Yield: ~3.5 cups  Store tightly covered in the fridge.

All ready to slather on something grilled