Creamy White Bean and Vegetable Mash

I found this recipe in the most recent Whole Living magazine in an article about healthy Thanksgiving sides. Anything that uses white beans to up the creaminess ante is good in my book. And not that I was looking for any of these things, but this recipe is vegan, vegetarian and okay for those with special diets or allergies. Its also delicious.

Creamy White Bean and Vegetable Mash
Serves 6

2 T olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1-inch cubes
2 cups cooked white beans (1 16 oz can)
Coarse salt & pepper

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and carrot until translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add potatoes and white beans and cover with water by 2 inches. Season generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup of liquid.

Mash vegetables, adding reserved water to get the consistency you want. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil before serving.

This recipe is as delicious as regular mashed potatoes, but without the extra butter and milk. I dare say its actually more flavorful because of the first step. I used my immersion blender, which I'm sure added to the creamy consistency factor. It tasted like a side dish in a nice restaurant.

For those who care, the nutrition is pretty good too. One serving has 206 calories, 5 g fat (1g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 41 g carbs, 316 mg sodium, 9 g protein, 8 g fiber.

French Dip Sandwiches

This is the easiest recipe ever! 

I made this for Father's Day this weekend and it was a smashing success.

- Beef roast (we used an arm roast)
- Can of beer
- Lipton Onion Dry Mix Packet

Once the meat is cooked it literally "pulls apart" and is super moist/delicious.  I put the meat in hoagie buns with a piece of Swiss cheese on top.  You don't have to, but I put them in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the bread a little.  Then serve with the juice "au jour" sauce from the crockpot. 

Super easy and it got rave reviews.

Glazed Salmon Teriyaki

I can't take credit for this recipe--I had it at Laura's aunt's house a few weeks ago and then made it this past week. It is the best salmon I've ever made.

Glazed Salmon Teriyaki

4 salmon filets, about 6 ounces each
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup (packed) brown sugar
¼ cup dry sherry or Madeira wine (I used vanilla extract as a substitute)
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon peeled and minced ginger

Place salmon filets in a bowl (or large resealable plastic bag)

Combine remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth; pour over fish.

Refrigerate 1 hour, covered if using a bowl. Turning once during the time.

Preheat oven to 450°. Remove fish from sauce and arrange skin side down in glass or ceramic dish or an aluminum foil lined pan.

Place remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Stir often so the sauce doesn’t stick and burn. Spoon over salmon and bake basting once, for 10-13 minutes. Bake time will depend on thickness and temperature of the fish.

Chicken and Mushroom Marsala from Smitten Kitchen

We have a sick kid at home and couldn't attend the dinner we were invited to last night. This left me to come up with a meal from ingredients we already had around the house. I love Smitten Kitchen and knew to expect greatness but this was even better than that. This was outstanding!

I should add that I didn't have Marsala so I substituted with some Pinot Noir. I would think you could use mostly any wine, red or white, and come up with a fabulous dish.

Give it a try!

alex’s chicken and mushroom marsala

Fresh Breakfast Sausage

Finally made this recipe from Everyday Food this morning. Really good and very fresh tasting. There's really no reason to buy frozen since this took maybe a minute to put together.