50 mashed potatoes from Food Network

Clever...I had never thought of mashed potatoes so creatively...here's the link :) I love variations on a basic recipe!

1. Classic 
Cover 2 pounds whole russet or Yukon gold potatoes with cold salted water; simmer 45 minutes. Drain, peel and mash with 1/2 to 1 stick butter. Add 1 cup hot milk, and salt and pepper; mash until smooth and fluffy.

2. Chunky Red 
Cover 2 pounds whole red potatoes with cold salted water; simmer 40 minutes. Drain; do not peel. Smash with 1/2 to 1 stick butter, 3/4 cup hot milk, and salt and pepper.

3. Tangy
Make Classic Mash (No. 1) or Chunky Red Mash (No. 2). Use 1 cup sour cream instead of milk; top with fresh dill.
Get the recipe

4. Pepper-Swirl 
Saute 2 chopped red bell peppers and 1 teaspoon thyme leaves in olive oil, covered, until tender. Puree; swirl into Classic Mash (No. 1).

Corn Chowder and bacon

Yummy, savory, and hearty for a nearly meatless dish. A lot of good stuff in one dish (remember to drain the extra bacon fat to keep a lot of the bad stuff out)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine or sherry
• 1 cups milk
• 2 small potatoes, cubed
• 1 carrots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Fry bacon in pan until almost done. Remove and drain on paper towels. Drain all but a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease. Add onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, and flour. Saute until lightly browned.
2. Deglaze pot with wine or sherry. Add cream-style corn, kernel corn, butter, and broth. Add carrots and potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes.
3. Mix together flour and a little water to form a paste.
4. Add milk. Simmer until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Hot Pepper Jelly Recipes

Here's a collected list by bvdrangs I may try the blue ribbon jelly

101 Salad Ideas

This list of salad ideas is from Mark Bittman's New York Times column. Some sound great, some seem odd, but all are creative uses of the fresh ingredients I grow in my garden and see at our plentiful fruit stands.

101 Simple Salads for the Season

By MARK BITTMAN

SUMMER may not be the best time to cook, but it’s certainly among the best times to eat. Toss watermelon and peaches with some ingredients you have lying around already, and you can produce a salad that’s delicious, unusual, fast and perfectly seasonal.

That’s the idea behind the 101 ideas found in this section. In theory, each salad takes 20 minutes or less. Honestly, some may take you a little longer. But most minimize work at the stove and capitalize on the season, when tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, fruit, greens and more are plentiful and excellent.

This last point is important. Not everything needs to be farmers’ market quality, but it’s not too much to expect ripe fruit, fragrant herbs and juicy greens.

Salt, to taste, is a given in all of these recipes. Pepper, too (if I want you to use a lot of pepper, I say so).

Herein, then, are enough salad ideas to tide you over until the weather cools down.

MOSTLY VEGAN SALADS

1. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both, O.K.?). You can also add bacon or feta, but there goes the vegan-ness.

2. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.

3. A nice cucumber salad: Slice cucumbers thin (if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first), toss with red onions and salt, then let sit for 20 to 60 minutes. Rinse, dry, dress with cider vinegar mixed with Dijon mustard; no oil necessary.

50 Easy Soups

This list of soup recipes is another collection of ideas from the Food Network and  I am reposting it here because I don't want to lose it in the future...

1. Basic Chicken Chop 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 2 carrots and 1 tablespoon thyme; sauté in butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add 6 cups chicken broth; simmer 20 minutes. Add 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 1/3 cup mixed chopped dill and parsley, and some lemon juice.

2. Chicken Rice Make Basic Chicken Soup (No. 1); omit dill and add chives, chervil and tarragon. Stir in 1/3 cup cooked basmati rice.

3. Italian Wedding Make Basic Chicken Soup (No. 1) with a rind of parmesan in the broth. Add 1 pound mini meatballs, 1 cup orzo and 3 cups torn escarole; simmer until the orzo is tender.

4. Chicken Dumpling Mix 2 tablespoons softened butter, 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup farina cereal and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Drop half-teaspoonfuls into simmering chicken broth; cook for 3 minutes after the dumplings float.

50 Toast Toppers

I'm always on the lookout for collections of simple but clever ideas for food. I pulled this article for 50 toast toppings directly off of the Food Network website. I think a little toppings bar where people can mix and match their own toast toppers at a party would be a fun idea for a roomful of food loving people. Pair the topping bar with a variety of wines to choose from...even more fun!

Recipes courtesy Food Network Magazine

• Step 1: Slice 1 to 2 loaves of French bread into ¼-inch-thick rounds.


• Step 2: Brush each slice with olive oil or melted butter.


• Step 3: Place the rounds on baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees until crisp throughout and lightly golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Top This...

1. Spread with goat cheese; top with finely chopped canned beets, an orange segment and fresh mint.

2. Spread with fig jam; top with gorgonzola cheese and prosciutto.

3. Spread with fig jam; top with goat cheese and chopped walnuts.

4. Spread with butter; top with thinly sliced bread-and-butter pickles.

5. Spread with hummus; top with olive tapenade.

Linguine with Bacon and Onions

This recipe is a super easy take on Pasta Carbonara from Every Day with Rachael Ray. Since I always have the ingredients on hand, I can make it anytime. I usually add a few handfuls of peas during the last two minutes of cooking time for the pasta--for color...and because I just love peas.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound linguine pasta
• 3/4 pound bacon, chopped
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large egg yolks
• parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

1. 
   
   
   In boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until al dente; reserve 1-1/2 cups pasta cooking water. In a large,deep skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Discard all but 3 tablespoons bacon fat, then add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until softened. Add the pasta cooking water and bring to a boil. Stir in the linguine and remove from the heat. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the bacon, season with pepper and sprinkle with parmesan.