Baked Parmesan Sliced Potatoes…Easy and Delicious!

By Jodee Weiland

I love baked sliced potatoes because they taste great when seasoned right, and they are so easy to make.  Whenever I buy a large bag of potatoes, I always ask myself how I will ever use that many potatoes, especially since it’s just me and my husband most of the time.

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If the kids are in town, that’s great, because there is no problem using large quantities of most foods, potatoes or otherwise.  But when it’s just the two of us, I have to figure out ways to make sure things don’t go to waste.

https://learnfromyesterday.comThat’s one of the reasons I decided to make my Baked Parmesan Sliced Potatoes.  I cook using for the most part a Mediterranean style of cooking.  The reason for this is twofold.  First, I’m Italian, and that’s the type of cooking I grew up with as a child.  Second, as most of us know these days this is one of the healthiest ways to eat, if done right, and I am a health nut.  So I decided to bake my potatoes like my father often did when I was growing up.  But I have adapted the recipe a little in order to make it healthier.

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My father used to make the best potatoes, cutting them into wedges, seasoning them with garlic and onions, and frying them in extra virgin olive oil.  They were great.  Later, he even baked them.  What I have done with his recipe is to add a little more seasoning.  I added parsley and black pepper first.  Then I added on the Parmesan Reggiano cheese.  And remember, these are not potato chips.  They are baked potato slices.  There is a difference!

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Baked Parmesan Sliced Potatoes…Easy and Delicious! 6 or more potatoes (I used red Potatoes) sliced about 1/4 inch thick Extra virgin olive oil as needed Garlic powder to taste Onion powder to taste Parsley flakes Sea salt to taste (optional) Ground black pepper to taste Grated Parmesan Reggiano (enough to sprinkle over the tops of the potatoes) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cover the cookie sheets with parchment paper for an easy clean up. https://learnfromyesterday.comhttps://learnfromyesterday.com           Wash and scrub the potatoes with a vegetable brush.  With a mandolin slicer or a knife, slice the potatoes about 1/4 inch thick.  Put the potato slices in a bowl and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat all the slices.  Then put the onion powder, garlic powder, parsley flakes, salt, and black pepper in to taste and one at a time, stirring with a spoon and making sure all slices are seasoned.  When this is done, place the seasoned slices on the baking sheets.  Then take your grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese and with a spoon, lightly coat to taste each slice by sprinkling on the cheese.

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Bake at 400 degrees in oven for 18 to 22 minutes.  Watch closely and check with a fork to see if the slices are done.  They should be like fries, but not completely dried out like potato chips.  These are baked slices, not potato chips, unless you want them like that.

https://learnfromyesterday.comThese Baked Parmesan Sliced Potatoes are delicious!  We served ours with grilled filet mignon, Grilled Corn on the Cob with Jalapeno Lime Seasoning, and a nice red wine.  The meal was great and the flavors blended nicely.  I feel certain that if you try this recipe, you will find it not only easy, but worth what little effort it takes.  I would suggest a mandolin slicer though because that makes preparation of the potatoes so easy.  Try this recipe soon, and enjoy!

Too Many Fruit and Vegetables…Freeze or Dehydrate Them!

By Jodee Weiland

If there are times in your life when you find you have too many fruits and vegetables, either from store purchases or gardens, I have an alternative for you to tossing them because you didn’t find enough recipes to use them in before they went bad.

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One, you can freeze some of them.  Two, you can invest in a dehydrator and dehydrate them.  Either way, you avoid wasting them.

https://learnfromyesterday.comOne thing my folks taught me early on was this: don’t waste food!  As a kid, I always heard about those kids less fortunate than me who didn’t have food to eat, and this was true.  There were people who would have loved to sit at our table and be able to have a good meal.  Meals were always great in our home, so I believe you shouldn’t waste food, if you can avoid doing so.  One sure way is to invest in a food dehydrator.  Another is to make use of your freezer.

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For us, bananas and other fruits often start going bad the soonest, since we always have fresh fruit in the house.  My way of saving fruit, some of the time, is to clean it and freeze it.  I then use this frozen fruit in recipes later or smoothies.  I even use some frozen fruit in sangria or just add it to various drinks or wines.  It’s great because the fruit is used, not wasted, and I get to enjoy the fruit in a completely different way.

https://learnfromyesterday.comAnother way to save fruit and vegetables, as well as herbs, is to dehydrate.  A food dehydrator is great for this and fairly simple to use.  I love dehydrated apple slices.  They actually make a wonderful before or after dinner treat, especially in the fall.  My son put these out one Thanksgiving and that’s when I first fell in love with them.  Try them and find out for yourself!

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Dehydrated Apple Slices

6 to 7 apples sliced 1/8 to 3/8 inches
Orange juice as needed to pre-treat (for longer shelf life)
Cinnamon to taste

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Core the apples, and then slice them with the skin to desired thickness with a food processor or a slicer.  Place in a bowl with a fruit juice to pre-treat.  I used orange juice.  Remove from the juice and place on the trays of the dehydrator.  Sprinkle to taste with cinnamon.  Then set the dehydrator to 135 degrees F (57 degrees C) on the machine, cover and start.  If your slices are 1/8 inch, it will take about 2 and 1/2 hours.  If they are 1/4 inch thick, it will be about 4 hours or more.  Each machine’s directions will tell you that the slices are ready when pliable but does not have moisture beads left when torn apart. If done without skin, times may vary.

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The directions will vary with different fruits, vegetables, and herbs, but they really are not complicated.  Just follow the manufacturer’s directions and find new uses for the fruits, vegetables, and herbs as a result.

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I really feel it is important for all of us to do our part in making the best use of all our food resources and to try not to waste if we can.  By doing so, we will benefit from the results and get more bang for our money spent on food.  Even if we are growing our own food in gardens, it’s nice to know we are making good use of everything our gardens produce.  Be sure to take a look at what you can do to use, not waste, good food, and as a result, enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini and Roma Tomato Salad…A Great Side Dish for Any Meal

By Jodee Weiland

We love grilled zucchini in our home any time of the year!

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At our house in the summer months, it is not unusual for us to grill our meals.   As I have mentioned before, we actually grill all year long, even when it’s snowing out, so in the summer, we grill even more.  Grilling meats, fish, and vegetables on our gas grill is a healthy alternative as well.  Sometimes though, we will grill more than we need, especially with grilled zucchini.  We love it, so when we pick out zucchini to grill, we tend to buy more than we need.  The question then is what to do with the leftover grilled zucchini without turning it into mush.  I have a great recipe for that!

https://learnfromyesterday.comI got the idea to put our leftover grilled zucchini together with tomatoes for a salad when I had an abundance of Roma tomatoes from my garden that needed to be used.  I love both, so I thought why not combine these two foods with a little red onion and toss it together with some Balsamic vinaigrette for a salad.  Tomatoes and zucchini have always gone together well, so this was an easy way to use up two items in my kitchen that I did not want to see go to waste.  Besides that, I knew it would taste great, be easy to put together, and be healthy as well.  I was right and now it has become a new favorite for me and my family!

https://learnfromyesterday.comGrilled Zucchini and Roma Tomato Salad…A Great Side Dish for Any Meal 

8 to 12 fresh Roma tomatoes quartered
1 to 2 grilled zucchinis cut lengthwise into quarters and then cubed
1 slice of a large red onion or more diced
Balsamic vinaigrette to taste

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Wash and quarter the Roma tomatoes.  Take the cold grilled zucchini and cut into bite size cubes and add this to the quartered tomatoes.  Cut one slice of a large red onion up into diced pieces.  Add this to the tomatoes and grilled zucchini.  Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette to taste and serve.

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Not only does this salad taste good, but it also adds a colorful side dish to your table.  The truth is it is so good, I probably will be making sure I have some leftover grilled zucchini when we have it, so I can make this salad the next day with dinner.  The tastes blend together just right because your zucchini is already seasoned from grilling it.  Then adding the red onion and balsamic vinaigrette adds just the right blend of flavors enhancing both your tomatoes and zucchini.  It’s a great way to use all those summer tomatoes and any leftover grilled zucchini.  You can even add other leftover grilled vegetables and change it up a little.  Be creative and when you eat this salad, enjoy!