Crispy Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

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Looking for a quick and easy side dish? Smashed potatoes are easy to prepare and go with just about any entree, from a classic chicken dinner to a BBQ feast to an easy meatloaf supper. I keep baby potatoes on hand for occasions where I run out of fresh produce and need a vegetable to go with my dinner, and they always come in handy. Plus they're super delicious and you can switch up the seasonings to make them pair even better with your meal. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb. baby yellow potatoes (or 1-2 per serving)
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Seasoned salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving (optional)

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and fill with water. Make sure the water rises at least 1-inch over the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 30 minutes.

Alternatively, you can make a small slit in the top of each potato and microwave for about 7 minutes per pound, or until the potatoes are tender. This might take less time depending on the size of your potatoes.

Set your broiler to medium. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. 

When they potatoes are done, drain them and place on paper towels to dry them off. Once dry, transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking sheet. Use a paper towel or paper plate to carefully mash them to 1/4-inch thick.

Sprinkle 1 tsp. of Parmesan cheese over each potato. Season each potato with garlic powder, seasoned salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over top.

Set the potatoes under the broiler for 5-8 minutes or until they become crispy. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Enjoy immediately.

Source: SK Original

FINN CRISP Review

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FINN CRISP recently sent me some samples of their 100% rye wholegrain crackers. I eat crackers often, so I was excited to give them a try! They are only 22 calories per slice and contain no additives, so they sounded like a winner in my book!

Since the crackers are natural and made with just four ingredients, they are a tad dry and plain on their own. But as soon as you put something on top they are the perfect base for a snack! I personally loved them with cheese or flavored cream cheese. But my ultimate favorite was spreading chocolate hazelnut spread and sliced bananas on top. It gave the crackers the rich flavor they needed.

Check out their website and see all the different flavored crackers you can try for yourself!

Source: SK Original

Black Bean and Fresh Corn Salad

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Fresh corn is a hot commodity in the summertime and can be found at all farmers' markets or your local grocery store. Grilling corn is one of my favorite ways to eat it, but I also really enjoy it raw off the cob and in a salad. Lime juice makes an excellent base for this salad dressing, so I paired that with cumin, salt and pepper for a quick and fresh topping. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 ears corn, shucked
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise and seeded

Dressing:

• 5 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Add the corn, beans and tomatoes into a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine lime juice, salt, pepper and cumin. Slowly add in the olive oil, whisking to combine.

Pour dressing over corn mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Source: SK Original

Nutella Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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Happy wedding day to my little brother and his beautiful fiancé! I'm so excited to celebrate this special occasion with them today. Also a very happy Memorial Day and THANK YOU to all of those who have served our country!

I wanted to share something sweet and delicious today, so these cookies are what you get! They contain peanut butter, Nutella and chocolate. What else could you want in a sweet treat? You should definitely make these ASAP. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural or homemade)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl and hand mixer), combine the egg, Nutella, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat on high power to cream ingredients, about 5 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The dough will go from very granular, gritty, and loose to smooth, oily, and well-formed in a large mound. If your dough has not come together or is at all gritty, continue to mix until it smooths out.

Add the flour, baking soda, optional salt and beat to incorporate. Dough will not look like normal cookie dough and will be tiny balls and flakes that seem almost feathery in the bowl. This is okay. Add the chocolate chunks and beat momentarily to incorporate.

Using a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) or your hands, scoop out 15 mounds of dough and place them on a large plate. Using your hands, gently squeeze and compact each mound so that it's tightly packed together. Dough will be both crumbly and oily, but when squeezed, it should stay together. Cover plate with plasticwrap and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days, before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick baking mats, parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside. 

Space dough 2 inches apart (8 per tray) and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until top have just set, even if slightly underbaked in the center. It's difficult to discern if they're done or not because they're dark, but watch them very closely and don't overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool, and baking too long will result in cookies that set up too crisp and hard. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling. 

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Source: Adapted from Averie Cooks

Favorite Banana Cream Pie with a Banana Graham Cracker Crust

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My wonderful mom's birthday was last week, and we celebrated this past weekend at a winery with my family and a couple of her closest friends. We promised her no party, so that's the closest we could get to celebrating without getting her upset :)

As I've said before, each member of my family is assigned another family member's birthday cake (of their choosing) to make for their birthday celebration. I had my mom this year, and she chose a banana cream pie since that's her favorite dessert. I found this recipe and decided to give the pie a graham cracker crust instead of what the original recipe called for. I added some mashed banana into the crust mixture and it added a hint of banana flavor which was excellent with the creamy, dreamy pie. This is definitely a keeper. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup banana, mashed
• 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the pie:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large firm bananas
• 1 cup whipped cream

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and mashed banana in large bowl to blend. Add melted butter and stir to moisten evenly. Press onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. 

Bake crust until set and pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

For the pie: In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into eggs; return all to pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.

Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter and vanilla. 

Pour custard into a ceramic or glass dish. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard; refrigerate, covered, 30 minutes.

Spread 1/3 of the custard into pastry shell. Slice bananas; arrange half of them over filling. Pour another 1/3 of the custard offer the banana layer. Arrange remaining banana slices over custard and cover with remaining custard. 

Spread with whipped cream. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Spread with whipped cream then serve immediately. Garnish with extra banana slices, if desired.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home