How to Bake a Potato

You would think that baking a potato is a simple process and it can be but there are various ways to bake a potato if you start looking or asking people. I am going to show you how I learned working in a restaurant and I will say they turn out wonderful.

First preheat the oven at 450 degrees.  Then get out some good potatoes. I think it helps to use potatoes that are especially made for baking but this is not a prerequisite.

Lay out all of your ingredients, which for this is potatoes, olive oil, kosher salt, aluminum foil, pastry brush, and a fork or knife. Scrub your potatoes and get all the dirt off of them. Then poke holes throughout each potato with the knife or fork.

Then you are going to brush with olive oil. You do not need to put a lot on the potato just make it look glossy. Then sprinkle kosher salt over the whole potato.

Next wrap each potato individually. A lot of people do not do this step because they say the moisture is drawn out of the potato through the foil but I disagree. I think it actually traps the moisture in and also lets the oil and salt seeps into the potato.

Then put directly on the oven rack in the oven.  Bake for 1 - 2 hours. I will say I use a higher temperature so that they are ready quicker but if you have more time, you can use a lower temperature and they will be great too.

Next get out your ingredients and load up your potato. Right now my favorite toppings are chicken, black beans, cheese, salsa and a little sour cream. Yum!

What's In Season for January

Recently I have been to the grocery store twice and could not find any decent greens. Plus the fruit is not very desirable but do not get discouraged, there are still fruits and vegetables that are in season during the month of January.

First lets talk about the vegetables. I think the ones in season right now get somewhat neglected. They are not the first ones we think about but there are so many and I am talking about root vegetables.





Root vegetables consist of

carrots, parsnips, radishes, celeriac, turnips, ginger root, beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes. horseradish root, daikon, salsify, burdock root, celeriac root, malanga root, rutabaga, taro root, fennel, shallots, onions, and many others.  Remember that root vegetables grow in the ground.

Now lets talk about fruit. The main fruits that are in season are apples and citrus fruits. I eat a lot of oranges and apples right now. In order not to get bored I try and eat various types of oranges and apples. I will be posting soon about types of oranges.

Tell me what you like to eat right now. Would love to hear any recipes or ideas using root vegetables. Or your favorite one.

TIP ME: Super Fast Dinner and Awesome Product

I had another crazy day today.  First it was the first day of the semester so we were more busy than usual and when I was coming back from lunch my car broke down.  After having the car towed I get back to the office and start wondering how I am going to get my dog home from doggie day care.  Finally found her a ride but forgot about myself.  It was sort of funny that I was so worried about her that I forgot about me. I did get home though.

So I needed a no brainer for dinner and decided to fix a turkey burger and green beans.  This is an easy one for me.  I use turkey because I do not eat a lot of red meat and prefer ground turkey.  This recipe can be used with ground beef though.

Turkey Burgers with Mozzarella Cheese and Pizza Sauce

1 pound of ground turkey or ground beef
egg white
handful of bread crumbs
parsley flakes
onion flakes or chopped onion
salt
pepper
mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce

(I add ingredients by feel so I do not have specifics, you be the judge)

Mix all the ingredients (except cheese and pizza sauce) throughly in a bowl. Then divide into four equal amounts.  Make patties from these four amounts and then grill until cooked throughly.  Then right before done, top with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Let the cheese melt before serving.

While your turkey burgers are cooking you need to steam your vegetables.  You can choose any vegetables that you want.  I just happened to want green beans tonight.  Now here is the part about my favorite new product.  They are the steam bags by Ziplock.  They are awesome because they are so easy to use.  I just added some green beans, coconut butter, and Mrs. Dash for seasoning.  Heated them in the microwave for 3 minutes and voila, delicious!

One of the main reason I like them is because when you come home from the grocery store, go ahead and cut up your vegetables, section them out into these bags, add seasonings, and put in the refrigerator.  Then the night you are cooking, pull them out and pop them in the microwave.  How is that for easy!  You can even take them for lunch.

I hope that you enjoy this new find or maybe you are already using them.  If you are, let me know what you are using them for when you cook?  Would love ideas!

Well this is my easy dinner.  Hope you have those dinners that you go to when you have had a crazy day!  If you do, please share.