hasselback potatoes

Okay, so I am willing to bet that you have probably already seen this of baked potato somewhere. But, I thought I would post the recipe (if you can call it that) just in case. Because this twisted baked potato is totally worth trying.

I particularly like it because (a) I can it with my hands (I don’t know if that’s how it’s meant to be eaten, but I find it way easier) and (b) it has more crispy edges than your traditional baked potato. And I could definitely use some more crispy edges in my life.

In other news, I am so happy this day is almost over. I hate Mondays. And not because it’s the first day of the week but because Monday is definitely one of my longer days of the week. Although it is one hour shorter than Fridays. Which is just great (note the sarcasm) because I start and end my week with pure awful.

Anyhow, I’m in class from 11 to 4 on Mondays. Which might not seem that bad. But I don’t have any break (no lunch people… well… besides a granola bar. But does that really count?) and it is pretty much a non-stop bore. No offense to any my professors or anything. But, they’re not exactly teaching the most enthusing of subjects.

So, this lack of lunch has led me to eat two dinners tonight. Yep. I have reached an all time low. Right after class I bought a taco salad. Which I convinced myself was healthy even though I know I’ve looked up the nutritional information on that before and it’s definitely around 700-800 calories.

Really? A salad?

Convinced that it was healthy, after doing a little homework and taking a shower, I decided I was hungry again and I really wanted something hot to eat since everything I’d eaten today was cold. So I proceeded to eat a 900 calorie pizza. Ummm…. oops?

On that note, I don’t know how people do raw diets. Don’t you want something warm? Or ice cream? Everybody wants ice cream.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Starting at the end of a potato, cut slices into the potato widthwise as close together as you can get them. Try to cut as close as you can to slicing through the potato, but do NOT slice all the way through (if you do, no worries. Just prop the pieces up together during baking and you should be okay). Do this for the entire length of the potato.

Wedge butter pieces every so often in between the slices of the potato. This comes out to be about half a tablespoon of butter per potato. Drizzle with olive oil and rub down with salt.

Place in a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for about 60-90 minutes, until the potato is cooked through and the edges are getting brown.

 

roasted garlic broccoli

I bring to you a quick and easy recipe to get those veggies packed into your meals… in a way you will want to eat them! God knows I need all the help in that department I can get.

I am sorry about the lack of posts this past week. And I’m sorry if you have written me a comment and I have not responded. I was really on top of my updates for a while there. School just got super crazy within this last week and I am still trying to get on top of it. This whole Spanish senior thesis thing is driving me up a wall, mainly because (a) I have to re-read two Spanish books probably by next week, (b) I want to be in a blow-off non-literature-based Spanish class instead of writing this, and (c) I don’t want to have to present this in April… which I will have to do in front of a bunch of professors, unfortunately. I am already nervous.

Between that, having to write my chemistry senior thesis, all of my other classes and labs, and the start of hockey season (Let’s go Blues!), I have surrendered myself to the fact that I will probably have a minimal social life this semester.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
6 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
juice from half a lemon

Preheat oven to 375°F. On a baking sheet, toss together broccoli, olive oil, salt, and garlic. Spread out in a single layer. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-23 minutes, until broccoli is cooked through and a little crispy in some parts. Squeeze lemon juice over broccoli and serve.

spicy kale chips

Kale chips and me? We have had a unique relationship. The first time I had ever heard of them was on some cooking show. And the only thing I could think was that it was some weird ploy by the health nuts of the world trying in vain to satisfy their snack cravings. And I thought they (the kale chips I mean… not the health nuts) looked disgusting.

The first time I tried kale chips… well, I did not like them. Not one bit. I suppose that statement wouldn’t make you want to try them for yourself if you have never delved into the world of crispy kale, but just for the record, I cooked the living hell out of them. Hence, the repulsion.

The second time I made them, I liked them. They were pretty good and a decent alternative to the supermarket staple of grease-packed potato chips. You know, the kind where you open the bag and you are shocked that whichever company could get away with putting so few chips inside?

The third time I cooked them, I loved them. Now, 80% of the time when I think about chips and how much I would love to eat an entire half-filled bag of them, I turn to kale chips. No joke.

Nineteen percent of the time I am too lazy to go to the store to get either potato chips or kale to make kale chips. And that last 1%, I give in to my cravings.

If you have never had kale chips, try them. Seriously. With or without the red pepper flakes. But, me? I like a little spice in my life.

Makes 4 to 5 servings

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 °F. In a large bowl, mix kale with olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes until all leaves are evenly coated. Transfer to a baking sheet so that the kale forms a single layer (you may need to use two or more baking sheets for this). Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned around the edges.