Roasted Potatoes and Onions

 

Who doesn’t love a good potato recipe? If you don’t, you’re not normal! Potatoes are delicious, an all American food, right? Well, I’ve roasted them with rosemary, parmesan, herbs and just salt and pepper so I thought I’d throw in some onions, lots of garlic, more herbs and make roasted potatoes seem new with a roasted potato AND onion dish. Throw in the onions and it’s a totally different dish. It’s like it’s brand new and you’ve never seen it before. Okay, if you don’t think it’s creative and fresh, don’t tell me! Either way, this was really tasty and the onions caramelized a bit and made it even better. And oh, don’t forget the punch from the garlic. De-lish! Give this one a try. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds red skinned potatoes, cut in 1 1/2 to 2-inch chunks
• 1 large sweet onion, cut in large chunks
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (or whatever herbs you choose, I added rosemary too)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Spray a large shallow baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease. Heat oven to 400°.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or food storage bag; toss to coat thoroughly.

Arrange in the baking pan or cookie sheet

 

and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until potatoes are tender and nicely browned.
Serves 4 to 6. Enjoy!

 

Roasted Broccoli

I wouldn’t normally get excited about broccoli, but let me tell you, I’ll never go back to the old way I cooked broccoli! This way was delicious and now there is no turning back! I found this on Pinterest a few months ago and have been meaning to try it, but always forget. Well, tonight was the night and boy am I pleased about it! It couldn’t have been easier and roasting it in the oven gave it such great flavor.....the garlic didn’t hurt either! I mean, it is broccoli and how excited could we all get about broccoli, right? Well, now I’m not going to eat broccoli because my body needs a green vegetable in it, now I’m going to eat it because it’s delicious and I love it! How about that?? My dad my be fainting right now because I was a very picky child. Not anymore, I’m all grown up!

 

The pinner who pinned this said she’d never cook broccoli any other way and I was like....”yeah right. What’s so great about roasting some broccoli??” Boy was I wrong. This was crunchy and flavorful and just delicious. I highly recommend giving this a try! It’s so easy, you can’t mess it up.

 

Ingredients:

 

Fresh broccoli crowns (whatever quantity you need)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 
Chop up the into edible size pieces and place in a bowl or large zip lock bag. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and add minced garlic. Toss so that broccoli is well coated with all ingredients.   Then spread on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. 

Roast at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy! Trust me, you’ll love it!

Spicy Chicken Legs

 

I'm baaaaack! I’m sorry to keep you hanging for such a long time, but hopefully I can get back to regular cooking and blogging soon. I know you’ve missed me.  :-) Okay, well at least I’ve missed telling you about my latest and greatest recipes that I’ve found. This one is from one of my favorite cooks now, The Pioneer Woman. She cooks some great and simple stuff. Love her show and her cookbooks. I wish I had a little extra house like she does too. I’ll live in her “lodge” any day of the week!

 

I love chicken and dark meat chicken is just the bomb! It’s so juicy and delicious. Yes, I know the white meat is better for me, but if I want some awesome flavor I’m going for a thigh or a leg. That’s what the money is! As my friend, Guy, would say. Let’s get to cooking some spicy chicken legs......

 

Ingredients:

 

• 24 whole Chicken Legs
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Hot Salt or Cayenne (or your favorite seasonings)
• 1/2 cup Lemon Juice

Instructions:

Melt 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan. Pour ½ cup of lemon juice (fresh or bottled). Now add your seasonings. In this case, 1 tablespoon of Morton’s Hot Salt (which I did not have). You can use whatever seasonings you have on hand. You could use minced garlic, salt and Cayenne pepper. If you want them spicy, like the name says, then go with Cayenne if you don’t have Hot Salt. Stir it together until combined.

Rinse and pat your chicken legs dry. With metal tongs, transfer them one by one into the butter mixture and place on a baking sheet.

 

Once all of the chicken legs are coated and on the baking rack, take a pastry brush and give them one last coating of the butter mixture. Sprinkle them with some more of your seasonings.

Place them into a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes. If they need a bit more color, turn on the broiler for a couple minutes and watch them closely. Remove them when they are nice and golden brown.

Wasn’t that easy? You and your family will thank me later. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less seasoning. I would go with a little more because the butter dilutes it a bit. I'll shake a little more on before I put them in the oven next time. Either way, they are delicious though! Enjoy!