Roasted Red Potatoes

There was this one time, I needed to make a side dish for dinner with friends and I wanted something fairly easy and healthy.  So I looked up on Weight Watcher's website for an idea, and came across a recipe for Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.  I opted to substitute the fingerlings for red.  Why?  Because they're easier to find and less expensive.  Either way, they were good!

Roasted Fingerling Red Potatoes
Yields about 1/2 cup per serving, serves 4; PointsPlus 2

Ingredients

• 12 oz. uncooked potatoes, fingerling red, well-scrubbed, sliced in half lenghtwise quarters
•  1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup canned chicken broth, divided
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, (plus extra for garnish)
• 1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a small roasting pan, combine potatoes, garlic, and 1/4 cup broth, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast for 15 minutes (broth will evaporate); add remaining broth, flip potatoes and roast for 15 minutes more.

PW's Katie's Roasted Corn Salad

(Sorry for the blurriness, I was in a hurry.)

 Tis the season of endless vegetables and lots of grilling.  So why not combine the two?  The Pioneer Woman has a wonderful cookbook out full of yummy recipes, beautiful pictures, and lots of stories.  On of her recipes is for a Roasted Corn Salad.  Soooooo GOOD!

Makes 6 cups (but I ended up with closer to 10!)
Ingredients:
Vegetables:
Olive Oil
8 fresh corn ears
1 red onion, quartered
2 yellow squash, halved lengthwise
1 red bell pepper
2 medium tomatoes
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
12 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
1 tsp kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat outdoor grill, or grill pan.  Drizzle grill with olive oil.  Place the corn on the grill and liberally drizzle with olive oil.
2. Grill for 5-8 minutes, until the corn is beginning to brown.
3. Drizzle the onion with olive oil and grill just until it starts to become tender.  Do not overcook, as you'll want the onion to remain somewhat firm.
4. Repeat with halved summer squash and red bell pepper.  Allow vegetables to cool slightly after grilling.
5. Roughly chop the onion, squash, and pepper.  With a sharp knife, scrape the corn kernels from the cob.  Dice the tomatoes and add them to the mix.
6. To make the dressing, in a separate bowl, pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and whisk together until combined.
7. Finally, add the basil, salt, and garlic and whisk together.
8. Place the vegetables in a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the top.  Stir to combine.
9. Serve as salad, with tortilla chips or crackers, or spoon on top of grilled chicken.

Variations:

• I pam-ed the outdoor grill instead of drizzling with OO.
• For the dressing, I used 1/3 cup OO instead of 1/2 cup (slightly healthier, right?)
• I prepared the salad the night before.  Kept the dressing separate, but excluded the basil until right before serving.

Summer Corn Salad

I made this salad for 4th of July.  Corn = a summer staple.  But I don't like eating corn off the cob, so this recipe was perfect!

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: ~10
WW:  2 pts/serving

Ingredients:
6 ears corn, husked and cleaned
3 large tomatoes, diced (I used romas)
1 large onion, diced  (I used red)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted (optional) water to a boil.  Add corn and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness.  Drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, onion, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Chill until serving.

So good.  So refreshing.  Perfect summer side dish!

Brandied Carrots

Mom makes this for most big dinners, or during Thanksgiving. I made it for TND last week. It was a huge hit! And why wouldn't it be, look what goes it in.
The carrots are all nice and shiny from the honey...Mom's original recipe!Nuff' said!

I used Brandy instead bourbon.

Brandied/Bourbon Carrots

Ingredients:
baby carrots for 8-10 people
1/4 cup brandy or bourbon
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter

Instructions:
Saute all together until tender crisp.