Scored Potatoes

[Psst…don’t forget tomorrow’s Recipe Round Up. See details at the bottom of this post.] 

 

 

 

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Take a sharp knife and cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Slice each half widthwise part of the way through six times. Fan the slices a little.

   Place scored potatoes in a shallow baking pan. Brush them with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Sprinkle them with paprika, parsley, salt and pepper.
   

   Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50 minutes or until tender. When tender, drizzle with remaining butter and serve. 

Makes four servings. This is yet another recipe from Taste of Home magazine.

I served these Sunday night with oven fried chicken drumsticks. It’s a convenient combination because both dishes bake for about the same amount of time.

This recipe is posted in preparation for tomorrow’s Recipe Round Up: The Side Dish Edition at The Accidental Pastor’s Wife. Why don’t you post your favorite side dish recipe and give the link to Julie in the comments of the post linked above?

I’ve posted the recipe to another of my favorite potato side dishes, Baked Mashed Potatoes, here.

Homemade Granola

I love this recipe—which I’ve adapted just slightly from that Mennonite classic, the More-With-Less Cookbook—because it is so versatile. You can make this granola from what you like and what you have on hand, changing the ingredients from time to time for the sake of variety. Plus, it’s easy and will save you a whole bunch over supermarket granola.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, starting with

• at least 3 cups of rolled oats
  

and adding your choices from the list below to make 7 cups.

• wheat germ
• whole wheat flour
• wheat bran
• wheat grits
• cornmeal
• oat bran
• soy flour, grits, or roasted beans
• grape nuts
• uncooked cereals like cream of wheat or cream of rice, etc.
• sunflower seeds
• sesame seeds
• roasted pumpkin seeds
• dried grated coconut
• dry milk solids
• chopped nuts
• spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

You get the idea. A trip to your health food store will probably give you other ideas.

In another bowl, combine liquid ingredients from the list below to make one cup total. Adjust the proportions of sweeteners, oil, etc, to your taste.

• honey
• syrup
• molasses
• brown sugar
• oil
• melted butter
• peanut butter
• milk or cream

Pour the blended liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients  and mix together. Bake in large greased baking pans (at least 2 9x13-inch pans) for 30-60 minutes at 300F, stirring often. Exact timing will depend on how deep the granola is in your pans and how brown you like it. For a chunkier cereal, allow it to cool undisturbed. We prefer ours not-so-chunky, so I stir it now and then as it cools.

When cooled, add dried fruit as desired.

• raisins
• dried cranberries
• snipped dried apricots, apples, peaches, pears, etc.
  
• chopped dates.

Youngest son and I like to mix a bunch in vanilla yogurt for breakfast, adding fruit (or not). It is also yummy with rice milk or soy milk.

 

This recipe is posted for tomorrow’s collection of breakfast recipes at Home, but not alone.

Mini French Toast and a Reminder

This is a kid friendly way to use up unsliced hot dog buns that are left over because someone wolfed down two hot dogs straight from the package in the fridge. It works for leftover and dried out unsliced sub buns, too.

 

Slice the buns horizontally vertically (I don’t know left from right, either.) into slices like you would a loaf of bread. Mix up your favorite french toast recipe, dip your baby bread slices in it and cook them on a hot griddle. Serve as a special (and very cute!) breakfast treat with your favorite french toast topping: butter, peanut butter, applesauce, jam or syrup.

 

Don’t forget tomorrow’s Recipe Round Up at Home, but not alone, where Elaine is featuring breakfast recipes. Sometime before then, I hope to post my real breakfast recipe.