The Easiest Potatoes Ever

Need an easy side dish to go with your dinner? These potatoes are simple enough for a weeknight at home, and yummy enough for a holiday party. You can customize them with any herbs that your heart desires, and serve them with chicken, beef, or fish. Did I mention that they are the easiest potatoes ever?!

Note: Potatoes are on the Dirty Dozen list, so try to get organic if you can find them. My local Meijer usually has organic potatoes, and I can also find them at my local farmer's market.

 

The Easiest Potatoes Ever

(inspired by Ina Garten's recipe)

Ingredients:
Small round or fingerling potatoes, any variety (I used redskin)
Butter (at least 2 T, but as much as you need to coat the potatoes thoroughly)
Salt and pepper to taste
Herbs of your choice (fresh or dried, ie. rosemary & thyme, or fresh dill)

Directions:
Wash your potatoes but do not peel. Melt the butter in a dutch oven. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat the potatoes. Cover and cook over low heat until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20-30 minutes. Shake the pot once in awhile to prevent burning. If using dried herbs, add halfway through the cooking time. If using fresh herbs, add after the potatoes are finished cooking.

We served this with salmon that was broiled until cooked through, and then spread with a lemon parsley pesto. It made for a super-simple but gourmet meal.

If you try these, I'd love to know what you think! 

What are your go-to easy side dishes?

This is part of: Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Keep it Real Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday

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Basil-Lime Avocado Salad Dressing

If you want to learn more about delicious, nourishing, real food without the guilt trip for everything you're not doing right, hit that "like" button on the right, and subscribe to my posts by e-mail or reader feed so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by!

Check out those pastured egg yolks. They are almost orange!

I love my standard Balsamic Vinaigrette, but sometimes it's nice to have something different atop my plate of greens. This unique and nutritious dressing was delicious with a salad of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, radishes, bacon, and hard boiled eggs.

Why make your own dressing? 

 

Homemade salad dressing is easier than you think! With just a few basic ingredients you can whip up something much tastier and healthier than anything that comes in a bottle. Trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup and polyunsaturated oils? Make this easy change to improve your family's health, and you might just end up enjoying salads more, too!

Meal Plan August 6-12

If you want to learn more about delicious, nourishing, real food without the guilt trip for everything you're not doing right, hit that "like" button on the right, and subscribe to my posts by e-mail or reader feed so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by!

Leftover Steak Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing

We're still keeping it simple around here with lots of salads, built-in leftovers, and food pulled from the freezer. Check out this meal plan for fast, easy meal ideas!

Meal Plan for August 6-12

Monday
Breakfast: Eggs fried in coconut oil, buttered sourdough toast, kombucha
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Sourdough crepes filled with sauteed veggies, ricotta, and herbs

Tuesday
Breakfast: yogurt, granola, hard boiled eggs
Lunch: Hummus toasts (hummus, sliced tomato, and cheese on sourdough toast, melted under the broiler)
Dinner: French onion quesadillas (sourdough tortillas filled with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions, idea from this book), cole slaw

Wednesday
Breakfast: French Toast Frittata, raw milk
Lunch: Egg salad sandwiches
Dinner: BLT salad with avocado dressing, soaked whole wheat artisan bread

Thursday
Breakfast: slow cooked steel cut oatmeal (idea also from this book) with butter and real maple syrup
Lunch: Leftover Egg Salad
Dinner: Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas, guacamole

Friday
Breakfast: Veggie-Egg Scramble with buttered toast
Lunch: Big Salad with hard boiled egg, white beans, tuna, lots of vegetables, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner: Leftover Enchiladas

Saturday
Breakfast: Sourdough pancakes, homemade chicken sausage (make extra to freeze)
Lunch: Mac & Cheese
Dinner: Hamburgers on whole wheat buns, oven fries, corn on the cob

Sunday
Breakfast: Yogurt, granola, hard boiled eggs
Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Asparagus soup from the freezer
Dinner: Leftovers or freezer meal

What are you eating this week? 

 

I'm linking this up to the following real food carnivals: Modern Alternative Kitchen's Monday Meal Plan, Monday Mania, Hearth and Soul, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Healthy 2 Day Wednesday

Real Food Cook-Out Menu

Garlic Herb Potato Salad - my favorite summer side dish!

I'm spending several days at my parents house while my husband is at a big long conference. I'm not doing much cooking while I'm here (what a nice break!), but yesterday my extended family got together for a cook-out, and I just HAD to share with you what we ate. It was so delicious and healthy and real!

Our Family Cook-out Menu

Grass-fed Hamburgers
Applegate Farms Organic Hot Dogs
Trader Joe's 100% Whole Wheat Buns
Garlic-Herb Potato Salad
Green Beans with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts
Grilled Broccoli with lemon and thyme
Fruit Salad
Gluten-Free cupcakes (for the gluten-intolerant family members, but tasty enough for everyone to enjoy!)
"Bars" (a very unhealthy but totally delicious bar cookie that my family has been making for ages. I'm totally okay with compromising on this one because they are so darn good and it's a once in awhile kind of thing!)

What does your family like to eat at cook-outs? Have any easy and healthy ideas to share?

 This is part of Real Food Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, and Simple Lives Thursday.

Green Beans with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

Green bean season is in now full swing in West Michigan. If you're sick of steamed beans and you're in the mood for something special, try this. It is hands down my favorite way to eat green beans. Pine nuts and goat cheese are a bit pricey, so it's a special occasion sort of dish.

Alter the quantities to taste. The measurements given are estimates; I don't really measure when I make this dish. Just taste it and add more cheese and nuts if necessary. And don't forget the salt and pepper! :)

Ingredients:

a few tablespoons olive oil and/or butter for sauteing

1 lb. green beans, washed and stem ends snapped off

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1-2 oz. pine nuts (soaked and dehydrated would be ideal...but that didn't happen for us this week.)

2 oz. goat cheese (chevre)

Method:

Heat a large heavy skillet over medium low heat. Drizzle in some olive oil. Add the green beans and cook covered, stirring every couple minutes, until they are almost all tender and some are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook a couple minutes longer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the goat cheese and pine nuts and stir gently to distribute, cooking a couple minutes longer to lightly toast the nuts.

Enjoy!

This is part of Weekend Gourmet, Monday Mania, Hearth and Soul, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and Real Food Wednesday.

Quinoa Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

I'm loving these whole grain salads lately. Dishes like this one are great to bring to potlucks because they taste best at room temperature. We ate this salad with salmon patties and it was a winning combination. It's a very flexible recipe; add whatever other vegetables you have on hand if you think the flavors would combine well.

Quinoa Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1.5 c. quinoa, rinsed soaked overnight in warm water + a splash of apple cider vinegar

2 c. homemade chicken stock

1/2 t. sea salt

2 carrots, grated (I leave the peel on; you won't notice it in this instance)

1 bell pepper, chopped

a few green onions (both white and green parts), chopped

1/2 c. frozen peas

a few cloves garlic (to taste - or use garlic scapes!), minced

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1 c. walnuts (preferably soaked and dehydrated) toasted and chopped

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. olive oil

lemon juice (about one lemon's worth)

1 T. maple syrup

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook the quinoa.

Combine the soaked, drained, and rinsed quinoa (use a fine mesh strainer) with the chicken stock and salt. (You can also cook it in water, but the chicken stock has loads of health benefits and is practically free to make yourself, so why not?) Cook for 20 minutes or so. Toward the end of that time check to make sure there is enough liquid. If not, add a bit more stock.

2. Prep your salad ingredients.

While the quinoa cooks, get everything ready. Remove the peas from the freezer so they can thaw. Chop/grate your veggies. Toast the walnuts in a pan; let cool and chop. Make the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar, oil, syrup, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

3. Assemble the salad.

Dump everything into a salad bowl. It's okay if the quinoa is still hot; when combined with the other ingredients it will be deliciously warm. Drizzle the vinaigrette over all of it and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

This is part of Real Food Wednesday.