Lefse

Lefse is a Norwegian flat bread made with potatoes. My grandma used to make huge batches for us and send them via greyhound every Christmas. I decided to make a gluten free version and I must say it worked out very nicely!

Ingredients:
6-8 cups boiled russet (or similar dry potato) potatoes (boil them with the skin on)
1 tsp. vegetable oil
dash of salt
as much Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour as needed (between 1-2 cups). You don't want too much moisture in your potatoes or your finished dough.


Directions:

1. After boiling the potatoes, rice them with a potato ricer and let them sit until they are completely cooled down and room temperature.

2. Once the riced potatoes are cool, add the vegetable oil and salt and mix. Next add some flour (just a little at a time) and mix it in. The dough should end up firm enough to roll out like pie crust. Sprinkle flour on the rolling surface before trying to roll out the lefse rounds. You want them very thin. As thin as you can make them. For this reason we rolled ours out on a sturdy cutting board in order to slide the lefse round onto the griddle without it breaking.

3. Place the rounds one at a time onto a hot frying griddle. You could use a pancake griddle, a lefse griddle or even a cast iron pan if that is what you have. Do not grease the griddle.

4. Cook each side until lightly browned. Remove from heat and place on paper towel to cool a bit. Store between sheets of wax paper.

5. Lefse tastes great with a little butter spread on it and rolled up. As kids we loved rolling it up with peanut butter and honey. You can make a sandwich with it. It freezes excellent (between sheets of wax paper). It also keeps nicely in the fridge for a few days.


I love LEFSE!

Mom's Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls

I have always loved this treat that my mom makes. She only makes them at Christmas. Still, there was a nagging concern about some of the traditional baking ingredients she used (like icing sugar and hydrogenated peanut butter). So I fixed them up a bit to make them healthier. I didn't say healthy. I said "healthier"........
Your going to love these.

Ingredients:

1 cup organic natural crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup finely ground almond flour
1/4 cup milled flax seeds
1 cup finely chopped organic walnuts
1 cup finely chopped organic dates (remove pits first of course)

2 cups organic dark chocolate baking chips (gluten free)


Directions:

1. In your stand mixer, cream the peanut butter with the almond flour until light. Add the milled flax seeds and mix well. Add the finely chopped walnuts and dates and mix in. The "dough" should be stiff enough to roll into balls at this point. (if it isn't you can add a bit more almond flour)

2. Shape into round balls (1 Tbsp. each), place on cookie sheet and freeze.

3. Melt your chocolate chips in a double boiler (or carefully on 1/2 power in microwave)

4. Dip balls into chocolate- with tongs. Shake off excess chocolate. Place on wax paper (on a cookie sheet again) and freeze until firm.

You can let them come to room temperature for serving, though they are awesome cold as well! The dates are so sweet and delicious and hey, with the added milled flax seeds there is plenty of fiber! let's review- chocolate, peanut butter, walnuts, dates, almond flour and flax. Go for it! Make them!

The King's Quesadilla

Elvis loved fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. He used to fry up his sandwiches in heaps of butter, using big slabs of soft bread, huge amounts of sticky peanut butter & bananas. My version is considerably healthier and lower in calories. Still, I have to warn you, while these are tasty little treats, one serving is plenty.


Ingredients:

2 small white corn tortillas ( I use Tres Marias white corn tortillas by Pradera Natural Mexican Food Products)
1 Tbsp natural, organic crunchy peanut butter
1 banana, peeled & sliced thinly
1 tsp. organic peanut oil

Directions:

1. Spread a thin amount of peanut butter on one of your corn tortillas. Don't go all the way to the edge or it will just bubble out and burn. Arrange your banana slices on top, cover with the remaining corn tortilla.

2. Heat a small amount of peanut oil in a non stick skillet on med heat. When the oil is hot, place your corn tortilla sandwich on the skillet. Cook each side until lightly browned. Cut into quarters while singing Love me Tender

Arctic Blast Sweet Potato Smash

I loved those little potato smashes so much, I wanted to find a way to make them even healthier.
Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse compared to regular white potatoes. Actually sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family and not potatoes at all. They come in orange flesh and white fleshed varieties. Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, loaded with vitamin A and potassium & they are a rich source of antioxidants in the carotenoid family.

I chose the smallest organic sweet potato I could find for this mornings breakfast. The squishing process is a little less pretty than with the whole little potatoes, but the taste is amazing! The sweet potatoes will brown faster than a white potato so keep your eye on them.

Ingredients-

1 small sweet potato- washed and any hard bits cut off (leave skin on)
a generous drizzle of olive oil
course salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste


Directions:

1. Cut your washed sweet potato into quarters (or new potato sized pieces) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the sweet potaoes, boil until fork tender. While they are boiling, pre-heat the oven to 450 with the rack on the top.

2. Generously drizzle a sturdy cookie sheet with olive oil, After draining your cooked sweet potatoes, place them on the oiled cookie sheet with space in between. Score the sweet potatoes lightly with a knife to make little cube-like protrusions. Use a potato masher to gently squish the sweet potatoes. (it works best to squish each on a little, turn the masher a quarter turn and then squish them a little more). Be gentle, you want your sweet potatoes to look about cookie shape at this point. Brush some olive oil onto the squished potatoes, add some salt and fresh ground black pepper.

3. Place the cookie sheet with the squished sweet potatoes on the top rack of your pre- heated oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are nicely browned and crispy. Enjoy them on a cold morning.

Kenny's Special Scram & Smashed Baked Baby Potatoes

My friend Jocelyn turned me on to these potatoes. Goodness me, they are like little potato crack bombs really. :)

Smashed Baked Baby Potatoes-

Ingredients-

a few handfuls of new potatoes (we used Piccolo but any smallish boiling potato will do)
a generous drizzle of olive oil
course salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
fresh rosemary, chopped, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the new potatoes, boil until fork tender. While they are boiling, pre-heat the oven to 450 with the rack on the top.

2. Generously drizzle a sturdy cookie sheet with olive oil, After draining your cooked potatoes, place them on the oiled cookie sheet with space in between. Use a potato masher to gently squish the potatoes (it works best to squish each on a little, turn the masher a quarter turn and then squish them a little more). Be gentle, you want your potatoes to look about cookie shape at this point. Brush some olive oil onto the squished potatoes, add some salt and fresh ground black pepper, finish with some fresh rosemary or herb of your choice.

3. Place the cookie sheet with the squished potatoes on the top rack of your pre- heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are nicely browned and crispy. Be prepared for fights over who gets the last one.


Kenny's Special Scram -

Ingredients-

2 Tbsp. red onion, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. red pepper, chopped fine
large handful of fresh baby spinach chopped fine
handful of button mushrooms, sliced
5 eggs
Butter for frying
paprika for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat a sauté pan on med/high and melt some butter into it, sauté your onions and red pepper until lightly brown, add the spinach and sauté everything until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Re-heat your sauté pan, add a generous amount of butter and sauté your mushrooms until brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the onion, spinach, red pepper, eggs, and salt/ pepper to taste. Beat with a fork until combined. Heat a med. non stick skillet over med/high heat, melt some butter in it and pour in your egg mixture. Add the mushrooms at this point. Use a heat resistant spatula to break up the egg mixture a couple of times as it cooks. Don't over stir it. You want to cook the eggs until they are "just" done and the obvious liquid is cooked.

4. Remove from heat, sprinkle some paprika over top & serve immediately. Serve with Smashed baked baby potato.