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Best Scalloped Potatoes Ever!

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Scalloped Potatoes

Best Scalloped Potatoes Ever!

These Scalloped potatoes are so easy and perfectly cooked every time. Precooking the potatoes in the pressure cooker for just 4 minutes ensures the potatoes are evenly cooked. When I have baked scalloped potatoes in the oven starting with raw potatoes, the finished dish was a disappointment.  The potatoes in the center never cooked through completely.

Once the potatoes are precooked,  the  slices are layered  in a casserole, napped with  a béchamel sauce and topped with cheese. A half hour in the oven and they are hot, bubbly and ready to be devoured.

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 Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped Potatoes
Course Side dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Passive Time 45 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Side dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Passive Time 45 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Scalloped Potatoes
Instructions
  1. Slice potatoes into rounds 1/4 inch thick.
  2. Pour chicken broth into pressure cooker. Put a layer of potato slices in the pressure cooker, sprinkle with salt, and scatter some green onions on top. Continue layering until all potato slices are in the pot. Seal the lid and bring up to high pressure. Cook for 4 minutes, starting the timer once high pressure has been reached. Quick release the pressure at the end of the cooking time and remove the lid, facing away from you so you don't get burned by the steam.
  3. To make the bechamel sauce, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for a minute till well combined. Add some fresh ground pepper and a pinch of nutmeg and stir to incorporate. Gradually stir in the half and half and bring to a low boil. Once bubbling cook until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat. If the sauce is lumpy, strain through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in chicken broth that remains in pressure cooker from cooking the potatoes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 400º. Layer the potato slices in a 9 x13 casserole. Pour the sauce over the potatoes. Top with the shredded cheese and Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbling.
Recipe Notes

I use a stove-top pressure cooker for this recipe. If you use an electric pressure cooker, you may need to increase the cooking time slightly.

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Eggplant Parmesan in the Slow Cooker

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Eggplant parmesan in the Slow Cooker

Eggplant Parmesan in the Slow Cooker

This Eggplant Parmesan is an all-time favorite at our house. It is a fantastic vegetarian main dish and leftovers heat very well. It does take some prep work (salting the eggplant removes the bitter taste) but then it cooks for two hours in the slow cooker unattended.  Then you can sit back and relax! However, if you happen to live with a carnivore like my husband, who does not count anything vegetarian as a proper meal, you have 2 hours to prepare “the meat”.

Print Recipe
 Eggplant Parmesan in the Slow Cooker
Eggplant parmesan
Course Main Dish, Side dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish, Side dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 2 hours
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Eggplant parmesan
Instructions
  1. Slice the eggplants into rounds about 3/4 inch thick. Lay slices on several layers of paper towels and salt liberally. Let sit for 30 minutes, then blot dry with paper towels.
  2. Spray both sides of eggplant with olive oil cooking spray and place in a single layer in a baking sheet . Bake at 425 º for 15 minutes, then turn over and bake for another 10 minutes until the slices are golden brown.
  3. Scatter some bread crumbs in bottom of a slow cooker, then place a single layer of eggplant slices into the slow cooker. Cover slices with spaghetti sauce, then with 2 provolone slices, then with some of the shredded mozzarella. Scatter some more bread crumbs and repeat layers till all ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of eggplant. Cover with more sauce and shredded mozzarella.
  4. Cook on high for 2 hours. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes

This recipe was adapted from a recipe for Sicilian Eggplant in Emeril Lagasses' cookbook, Cooking with Power.

For a variation, use Buffalo Wing sauce instead of Spaghetti sauce and use colby Jack cheese. Also very yummy!

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The Big Change

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The Big Change

Over the past 10 days I have been neglectful of my blogging but  it is because of new and exciting things happening in my life. After practicing medicine for 30 years in a Christian Health Center in Pittsburgh, I left my dear patients and coworkers to take some much needed time off. That was 4 months ago. Jim and I had two wonderful vacations in the late summer/early fall. My plan was to take the summer off and after our trips were over, I would get down to the serious work of figuring out where God was calling me next.

Too young to retire

It was surprising to me how many people assumed I was retiring when I left the Health Center. The 4 months off was very healthy for me. It was a time of peaceful reflection, and reaffirmed how much I love patient care. The longer I was off, the more I was longing to get back to the practice of medicine. However, much as I love the work, I want to do a bit less of it and be able to enjoy time with my family and friends. An opportunity came up to join my husband’s practice, and care for patients at a new office in Ellwood City. We are taking over the reins from a physician who practiced there for 45 years and recently retired.

My first day was November 7th and predictably the day before I started I had my usual pre-change meltdown. This is my pattern before any big change. It is irrational.  I knew once I started I would be fine but I always experience these jitters before a new school, job, role.

The first day was not without challenges, one of the biggest being going back to a paper record (a temporary situation). Much as we complain about computers, being on paper makes one realize how much we depend on on-line tools to deliver quality care. One day before I had even started at the practice, I was whining about being on a paper record. Jim said to me:”That’s it! You are fired!” He said I got this very sad look on my face and cried out: “But I haven’t even started yet!”  Luckily he reconsidered and I am now happily back to caring for patients in Ellwood City.

Ellwood City is a  little town about an hour Northwest of Pittsburgh. It is very different atmosphere than my previous inner city practice. I feel like I have gone back to a gentler, simpler time and place. The patients are very gracious about the change of doctors and I think I will be very happy there. I have survived another big change with God’s grace and the patience of my very loving husband.

The Challenge- Day 18

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The Challenge- to use up all the food in the house- Day 18

Food used: 1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts (from freezer). Leftovers from dinner party over the weekend including Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet, Scalloped Potatoes and Creamed Cabbage

Today was a day of rest. I reheated the leftover side dishes (see Kitchen tip for leftovers) Cooking the chicken breasts with some Teryaki sauce in the pressure cooker is a snap. The chicken takes all of ten minutes in the pressure cooker.

One of my favorite teriyaki sauces is Stonewall Kitchen Sesame Ginger Teriyaki Sauce.

 

Stonewall Kitchens Teriyaki Sauce

Stonewall Kitchens Teriyaki Sauce

 

Creamed Cabbage

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Creamed Cabbage

Creamed Cabbage:

I was looking for something to do with ¾ of a head of cabbage. Since everything is better with a little cream added, I googled Creamed cabbage. Up came this recipe for creamed cabbage and it was indeed suprisingly delicious, the name given to the recipe by its creator.  Also very simple and vegetarian. So many recipes for cabbage want to add ham or bacon. This recipe just lets the cabbage be the star. I did not have fresh ginger so I used ground ginger with good results. I also did not carmelize the cabbage as in the original recipe, but sautéed it until the leaves were wilted and tender.

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 Creamed Cabbage
Creamed Cabbage
Course Side dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Side dish
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Creamed Cabbage
Instructions
  1. In a very large pan, heat the butter over medium heat until it is melted and starting to bubble a little. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened.
  2. Stir in the ginger and cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Then, add in the cabbage, stirring well to coat it with the butter and other flavors. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes, until the cabbage has softened.
  3. Turn the heat to low and stir in the cream making sure to scrape any browned bits up from the pan bottom. Cover and cook over low for about 10 minutes. Uncover, add salt and pepper to taste. Then cook for a few more minutes, stirring once or twice, to let some of the liquid evaporate. Adjust seasonings as desired and serve.
Recipe Notes

adapted from Suprisingly delicious cabbage recipe on Food 52 website

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The Challenge- Day 17

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The Challenge- Day 17

Food used: 3 package boneless beef short ribs (from the freezer); Williams Sonoma Peach Whiskey Chipotle  braising sauce, 3/4 head cabbage, CSA green beans, CSA apples

Menu: Braised Boneless Beef Short Ribs, Scalloped Potatoes, Creamed Cabbage, Steamed Green beans,  Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet, Slow Roasted Plum Tomato Salad, Apple pie

We had a crowd over today for dinner, about 10 people in all. As usual I put my pressure cookers to good use for the beef short ribs and to pre-cook the potatoes before baking the scalloped potatoes.

Photos are courtesy of my best friend Debbie.

Apple Pie

Apple Pie

Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped Potatoes

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

Beef Short Ribs

Beef Short Ribs

Creamed Cabbage

Creamed Cabbage

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

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Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet

 

My daughter, Kristen, was vegetarian for a time in college. One year, when she was home for Thanksgiving, she was following a vegetarian diet. Being a physician, I always worried that she was not getting an adequate amount of protein. This dish was the protein part of her Thanksgiving meal.  I found the recipe in a Cooking Light magazine, and I still have a tattered copy of the recipe that I use often. The recipe called for pancetta but I left that out on behalf of my vegetarian. It is very yummy, healthy and perfect for a vegetarian main dish. It is a bit of a project but well worth the effort.

Kristen is now dating Arian, a vegetarian. She  likes to eat meat but does not  like to cook it  I STILL worry about her and Arian getting enough protein. Some things never change! Dishes like this one satisfy the protein and vegetarian requirements in a delicious way.

Print Recipe
 Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet
Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet
Course Main Dish
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 75 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 75 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Cassoulet
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Cut top third of head off Garlic head. Place garlic head in foil and drizzle with 1 tsp. olive oil. Bake for 50 minutes, then cool 10 minutes. Squeeze pulp out of cloves; reserve half of pulp for another use.
  3. TO CARMELIZE THE ONIONS: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Once butter is melted, add onions to the pan along with a pinch of salt. Sauté onions for 5 minutes, then turn heat to medium-low . Cook onions for 25 minutes until very tender and browned, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.
  4. Preheat oven to 375º. Add garlic pulp, squash, vegetable broth, thyme, salt, pepper, beans and Bay leaf to skillet with onions. Stir well and transfer mixture to a large baking dish.
  5. Place bread in food processor and pulse 10 times till coarse crumbs have formed. Combine breadcrumbs, olive oil and Parmesan cheese and top bean mixture with this. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes at 375º. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes until topping is browned. Remove bay leaf and serve.
Recipe Notes

attributed to Cooking Light Magazine

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Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie

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Toll House Chocolate Chip PieChocolate Chip Cookie in a Pie:

This pie is a must every year for Thanksgiving, along with the pumpkin pies. It tastes like  a chocolate chip cookie in pie dough. It is best served warm with a big scoop of ice cream. If you are my husband, you gild the lily with chocolate syrup and a few extra chocolate chips. This is actually his approach to nearly any dessert: put a serving of dessert in a bowl (cookies, cake, pie of your choice), top with ice cream, chocolate syrup and a few chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Print Recipe
 Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie
Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie
Course Dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie
Instructions
  1. Cream butter with sugar until fluffy with a handheld mixer. Add eggs and combine well. Then add flour and mix until blended. Mix in nuts and chocolate chips.
  2. Pour into unbaked 9 inch pie crust. Bake at 350º for 55 minutes. Check pie at around 50 minutes as the sugar in the filling can cause the top to brown too much. Do not try to increase the recipe to make a bigger pie as the top of the pie will burn before the center is set. Better to make 2 pies if one will not be enough for your hungry guests.
Recipe Notes

attributed to Toll House Nestle Holiday Favorites- Best Recipes Volume 8 ©2010

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Aunt Eileen’s Sweet Potatoes

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Sweet potatoes with streusel topping

 

Sweet Potatoes with streusel topping:

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving with my husband’s family. His sister Gail hosts the holiday at her home in Harrisburg. Everybody contributes to the spread and the sweet potatoes are one of the dishes I always bring. Our nephew Philip used to say these sweet potatoes were like getting to eat dessert at dinner. He would order sweet potatoes when they were on the menu at a restaurant, hoping to get something similar. His response was always the same: “these are not like Aunt Eileen”s!”.

I clipped the recipe for the sweet potatoes from a Bon Appetit magazine years ago. I don’t like the usual marshmallow topping so I use a streusel topping I found in the Frog Commissary Cookbook.

Print Recipe
 Aunt Eileen's Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes with streusel topping
Course Side dish
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Side dish
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Sweet potatoes with streusel topping
Instructions
  1. Bake sweet potatoes on a foil lined sheet pan at 400º for 1 hour or until tender. Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife before bakin so they do not explode.
  2. Scrape flesh out of sweet potatoes. Place half of sweet potatoes into bowl of a food processor. Add 1/2 of orange juice, butter, spices and eggs, Puree until smooth, scraping down sides of work bowl a few times. Place puree in a large bowl. Process remaining sweet potatoes with other half of ingredients. Add to the bowl and fold in the grated orange peel. Place in a x13 inch baking dish. Dish can be prepared to this point and refrigerated until ready to bake.
  3. FOR STREUSEL TOPPING: In a bowl combine sugars, flour, and cinnammon. Add cold butter cut into pieces, and blend with a pastry blender until butter is the size of peas. Add pecans and stir. Store in a plastic bag until ready to bake the casserole.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375º. Top sweet potatoes evenly with streusel topping. Bake for 1 hour or until topping is browned and casserole is bubbly. Serve immediately.
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The Challenge- Day 16

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The Challenge- Day 16

Food used: rack of lamb and lamb loin roast (from freezer); Arborio rice for risotto, Plum tomatoes, Tom Douglas Tangy Tamarind Barbecue Sauce (sold at Sur La Table)

We had good friends over for dinner on day 16 of the challenge. Other than buying a veggie, I had everything I needed either in the pantry or the freezer. Two outstanding recipes from today’s menu: Slow roasted plum tomatoes and Rack of Lamb recipe (which also worked for the Lamb loin roast).