Baked Not Fried French Fries

My boys have been bugging me for hamburgers for dinner for what seems like forever.  I love a good homemade hamburger, but to me, they are a summer thing.  A juicy BBQ burger, sitting out on the patio, beer in hand....ahhhh...summer, come soon!

Anyways, I finally "caved" today and said yes to their request, so I made my hamburger patties for my husband to grill, and this time I decided to make some homemade fries.  Armed with sweet potatoes and yellow potatoes from the pantry, I put together a little "baked not fried" french fries.  Here's what I did:

1 sweet potato
2 yellow potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450F.

Wash sweet potato and yellow potatoes, clear away any blemishes, but do not peel.  Cut into fry-sized pieces and put into a large bowl.

Drizzle olive oil over the cut potatoes.   Add in the red pepper flakes, paprika, garlic, chili powder, basil, salt and pepper, stir well to coat.

Spread onto a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes at 450F.  Take fries out of the oven and flip.  Return fries to the oven, reduce heat to 400F and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes, or until the fries are done to your liking.

VERDICT:
These were oh-so yummy.  We enjoyed them very much, and it was so nice to know exactly what seasonings were on the fries.  They had a little bit of a kick and a little bit of a smoky flavour, which we enjoyed.  Sure, they are a teensy bit more prep than ripping open a bag of frozen fries and baking them in the oven, but they are so worth it!  I'll be doing these again, and am already thinking about other spice combinations to try :-)

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Salmon Cakes

Inspired by a post I saw, I decided to shake up our salmon this week.  Rather than our usual baking or BBQing, I decided to make salmon cakes. 

Here is my version of Naked Moxie's recipe:

1 lb salmon
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
2 green onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups panko
Olive oil

Bake salmon at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until done.  Cool for 10 minutes.

While salmon is baking, dice vegetables.

Flake salmon into a large bowl.  Add in the red pepper, yellow pepper, green onions, garlic, spices, dijon, eggs and panko.  Mix well.  Use your hands!

Form patties from the salmon mixture, approximately 8 (depending on the size you prefer).

In a skillet, heat some olive oil.

Place salmon cakes into the heated olive oil and cook until browned on both sides.

This would pair well with a salad, and we had ours with quinoa.

VERDICT:
My husband and I both enjoyed the salmon, it was a nice change to our usual!  I particularly enjoyed the fresh veggies inside the cakes, added nice crunch and colour.  Our son stuck his nose up at the dinner, more because he was tired than anything because once he tried the salmon, he also liked it.  In fact...I'm going to go eat the leftovers now!


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Taco Tuesday - Taco Seasoning

This week we had "Taco Tuesday"....not sure why it is, but when we have tacos, it always seems to be a Tuesday :-)

In the back of my mind, I've always wondered/worried about the taco seasoning that we use for our tacos, up until now we have usually gone the store bought, pre-packaged route.  And always the seasoning has been salty and the ingredients a little unclear.  When it says "spices" that's not really telling me much!

I found a recipe for homemade taco seasoning...why I didn't try this before I don't know!  It's so easy and I have everything in my spice cupboard.  Here is my slightly revised version of the allrecipes.com recipe:

3 tablespoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt (we use Epicure's Chili Garlic Sea Salt)
3 teaspoons black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients.  Store in an airtight container. 

Use 2 tablespoons of seasoning with 1 lb of ground beef (or to taste).

VERDICT:
My husband and I both enjoyed this new version of taco seasoning and I will be making a big batch to store for future use.  It wasn't too spicy and not too salty, and best of all, we know exactly what is in the mix!

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