Tag Archives: potatoes

Sloppy Jo’tatoes!

sloppy-joe-loaded-potato-500x250

What do you get when you make some sweet-and-smoky Sloppy Joe filling, and pile it on top of a loaded baked potato? A Sloppy Jo’tato!

One of our favorite things to eat in Kansas City is the “Barbecue Baked Potato,” a loaded baked potato topped with pulled pork at Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue, and that was part of the inspiration for this dish.

This would make a great family-friendly dinner, or a creative addition to a baked potato bar for a party or cook-out.

Sloppy Jo’tatoes Recipe

2 servings

1 or 2 russet potatoes
1 batch of Emergency BBQ Sauce (or a sugar-free sauce for Paleo/Whole30)
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
optional toppings: butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, chives or green onions

1. Bake your potato(es) however you usually do. (I used one large potato split between my husband and me. You could use one whole potato per person, if you like.) My method is to prick, butter, and salt the outside, then bake directly on the middle oven rack at 450 F for about 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix up a batch of my Emergency BBQ Sauce. Let it mellow over low heat while you complete the rest of the dish. (Or use about 1 cup of your favorite bottled sauce. But watch out for corn syrup and other nasty chemicals!)

3. Ten or so minutes before the potatoes are due to be done, saute the onion till translucent, then brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain off the excess fat, then add the BBQ sauce into the meat mixture — just until it gets as saucy as you like it. Stir it together, and taste to adjust seasoning if necessary. Keep that mixture over low heat till your potatoes are ready.

4. Check your potatoes to make sure they’re done. If not, a bit of time in the microwave might help finish them off. When done, split them open, mash slightly with a fork, and top as you like with butter, shredded cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese, and the Sloppy Joe mix. Then continue to top — as you wish — with sour cream, and chopped chives or green onions.

Not too happy with the photo I got,
but the taste more than made up for it!

Mmm-mmm-mm!

Here is nutritional info (via myfitnesspal.com) for one serving, based on using one large potato for two people, and only using about 2/3 of the BBQ sauce. Oh, and I also cut the sugar in the sauce from 1/4 c. of brown sugar to 2 T. of maple syrup.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 448
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 21 g 33 %
Saturated Fat 12 g 59 %
Monounsaturated Fat 7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 135 mg 45 %
Sodium 377 mg 16 %
Potassium 977 mg 28 %
Total Carbohydrate 28 g 9 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g 9 %
Sugars 11 g
Protein 36 g 73 %
Vitamin A 8 %
Vitamin C 30 %
Calcium 7 %
Iron 25 %
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Pioneer Woman’s hot crash potatoes

crash hot potatoes

So, you’ve heard of Pioneer Woman, right? Apart from having an entertaining writing style, fabulous photography, and thorough, encouraging instructions, her food is really, really good. Or, as my husband said after tasting this, “The girl can cook!”

I think this is the recipe that was my portal into PW’s blog. Red potatoes are boiled till tender, then coarsely smashed on a cookie sheet, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with rosemary, salt and pepper, then baked briefly at high heat so they come out golden brown and crunchy around the edges.

Hungry yet?

Crash Hot Potatoes

The thing that makes or breaks this dish is getting the salt right. I was a little too shy with the salt the first time; a mistake I won’t make again.

By the way… Did you know that new (aka, red) potatoes are lower on the glycemic index than baking potatoes? And that boiling them keeps them lower than baking? Boiled new potatoes rank in the mid-50’s; baked potatoes, 85.

Also, cooking certain starches — potatoes among them — then chilling them lowers their glycemic index even more, and converts the starch to resistant starch, which is digested differently and may have health benefits for insulin sensitivity and other markers. (More info here.) I bet you could boil these ahead of time, chill them, then prep and roast just before serving.

Image by Pioneer Woman

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Roasted Garlic “Mashed Potatoes” – low carb!

not-mashed-potatoes-w-text

If you’ve done the South Beach Diet or otherwise gone low carb for a while, you’re probably familiar with the “Surprise” Mashed Potatoes that are really pureed cauliflower. We make this dish frequently, and we’ve had our share of hits and misses. Here are a few tips for making them more like the real thing.

Steam, don’t boil. Since cauliflower have many tiny crevices, they tend to act like a sponge when they’re immersed in water. And too much water will make your faux-tatoes runny. Steaming them avoids this problem.

Don’t add milk or cream. You want to keep them as thick as possible; adding any liquid whatsoever will undermine that goal.

Do add some dairy fat. Sorry, South Beach, this is where we part ways! I think that some butter and/or cream cheese is necessary to give this concoction that creamy feel in the mouth that real mashed potatoes have.

Use a stick blender. This isn’t so much for taste as for efficiency. Forget pouring everything out of the pot into a food processor or traditional blender, and then having to wash all the parts. Use a stick blender. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend it! It’s one of those things I wonder how I lived without.

And one secret weapon. Roasted garlic adds an element of earthiness that above-ground plants lack. It also adds a color depth and textural element that mimics potatoes with a little bit of skin included in the mashing. We’re lucky enough to have a nearby grocery that offers roasted garlic among the deli offerings, but if you’re not so lucky, you could always make your own.

Here are the proportions I used for the depicted bowl of “not mashed potatoes.” (With apologies to Monsieur Magritte.)

Roasted Garlic “Mashed Potatoes”

1 head of cauliflower
3 – 6 T. butter,
   and/or
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. roasted garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower head into florets, and the narrower parts of the stem into about 1/8″ slices. Steam it all until very soft; you should be able to cut through a floret with a blunt mixing spoon.

Pour off the water you used for steaming. Make sure the pan is completely dry. Return the pan to the burner over medium-low, and add the butter and/or cream cheese. Stir until it’s mostly melted.

Add the cauliflower and the garlic to the pan, and using a stick blender, puree until the texture is to your liking.

Taste, and add salt, pepper, and/or more butter or cheese to taste. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Roasted vegetables

rstd-vggs-on-plate

The first time I had roasted vegetables was in one of our favorite restaurants on The Plaza in Kansas City. I was blown away by the flavor! This was nothing like any boiled, steamed, pan-fried or grilled vegetable I had ever had. The carrots, onions and peppers tasted like they’d been drenched in a just-sweet-enough sauce. The potatoes were perfectly salted and savory. I asked the waiter what they did to make the vegetables so sweet. “They’re just roasted with a little olive oil, salt and pepper,” he replied.

“There’s no sugar?” I asked, incredulous. He assured me there was not.

When we returned home, I hunted down some recipes for roasted vegetables. None of them called for sugar. I tried one. And just as the waiter had sworn, roasting them brought out their hidden sweetness.

After a few experiments, this is the recipe we’ve settled on. It’s become a standard on the Thanksgiving table, and a family favorite. In fact, my daughter’s request for dinner tonight, before she heads back to the land of dorm food, was chicken with mushroom sauce and roasted vegetables.

Roasted vegetables
Ready in about 1.25 hours    Servings: 3

2 T. olive oil, divided
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, cut into generous chunks, to taste
1 red bell pepper
1/4 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (or left whole, if you like)
rosemary or thyme to taste (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Note: to double the recipe, use two pans. Vegetables should not be crowded in the pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease roasting pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Place the carrots and potatoes onto the pan, and toss to coat with oil. Give them plenty of room. If the pan is too crowded, the veggies will steam, not roast, and you won’t get that lovely caramelization.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and turn each piece over. Don’t be afraid if the carrots are looking really dark, even almost black. Just taste one!

Then add the onion and bell pepper, and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil; toss all to coat; bake for 10 more minutes. (We were short on onion tonight, so there will be more of them in your pan. Assuming you plan ahead better than I do.)

To remove the woody end of the asparagus, just bend the stalk gently until it snaps in two. It will naturally break where the woody part becomes tender.

After the onion and bell pepper have had their 10 minutes, add the asparagus. Sprinkle all with herbs, if using. Continue baking until all of the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes more. Once tender, remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 10 – 15 minutes in the pan.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm. Learn how to deal with your new popularity.

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Recipe review: Twice-baked cauliflower (low carb!)

twicebakedcauliflower2_kalynskitchen
Kalyn's twice-baked cauliflower
photo by Kalyn’s Kitchen

Twice-baked cauliflower? — Yes, this is every bit as delicious as a twice-baked potato!

Whether you’re trying to cut down on carbs, or trying to sneak more healthy veggies into your kids’ meals, or just want to play a trick on someone who says they hate cauliflower (perhaps your own taste buds?), this is your ticket.

In Kalyn’s updated version of this dish, she uses reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream, but me, I use the real stuff. Do as your own conscience allows, though.

Kalyn’s recipe calls for completely mashing the cauliflower — which I think would peg the comfort food scale! — but I wanted a chunkier texture than the mixer would get me, so I used a pastry blender. Worked great!

If you try this dish and fool someone into thinking it’s really potatoes, let me know. I bet you can pull it off!

(Note: this recipe is not Paleo, unless you are “primal” and allow dairy.)

You might also like:
Roasted Garlic “Mashed Potatoes”
Garlic Herb Cream Cheese Dip
Peanut Butter Pie (low carb)

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