Tag Archives: olive oil

Merry Christmas to “Olive” You!

I have one last Christmas Gift idea for you, I know that it is very last minute and you may just want to save this idea for next year, but  I could not show this before now, because this is what I gave some of my neighbors.  This is a fun idea for those who are watching their health.  (Which should be all of us, right?)   It is a very easy, yet great idea, because it is something that most of us would use, but don’t always buy!  

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Just get a bottle of olive oil and tie a big bow or two around the bottle along with this tag!

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Rosemary Bread

My mother was the best bread and roll maker around when she was alive.  She tried many times to teach me this talent, but I just never quite got it.  My bread was either hard as a rock or so light and airy, there was no bread!  After my mom passed away, I decided to take a class on bread making, because I felt like I really needed to learn this talent and felt bad that I had not learned it from my mom.  One thing that I did learn was that it is important to have bread flour!  My mom used to always get her flour from Canada (because that is where she was from!) but you can get it anywhere. My bread is still not as good as my mom’s, but my family loves it and I at least have the confidence to try new bread recipes!  This is one that I experimented with and I liked the way that it turned out.  So did my husband!

If you have any fresh rosemary you really need to try this recipe sometime.  It is so yummy!  My rosemary plant was getting big enough for me to trim, so I cut off several of the stems and made this bread.  I love this rosemary bread, because it has some of the rosemary mixed right inside the bread and not just on the top! This would be a great bread for your Easter brunch!

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Bruschetta

One of the dishes that my daughter made for our Super Bowl  meal was Bruschetta.  It tasted so good in the middle of the winter.  Of course it tastes better with home grown tomatoes in the summer, but hey we’ll take what we can get!  I love the tomatoes, garlic and basil flavors in this scrumptious appetizer!  Doesn’t it look good enough to just eat with a spoon?  (And maybe I did or did not do that!)

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Roasted Red Rosemary Potatoes

I made these potatoes for dinner on Sunday when I had all my crew here.  My grandkids kept saying that they were big french fries!  And I say, whatever it takes to get them to eat  is OK by me!

These are very simple to make and they have so much good flavor to them,  I paired them up with whole roasted chicken, cabbage salad and my DIL’s yummy crescent rolls!  So does anyone want to make Roasted Red Rosemary Potatoes?

I covered my baking sheet with tin foil before I started, only because I am lazy and don’t like a lot of clean up.  You do not have to do this step unless you are lazy like me!

Next I went to my rosemary plant in my kitchen and cut a few sprigs off the top.  Don’t you love my little statue!  It says “She Who Has A Great Attitude!”  It is my reminder everyday to look for the good things and to be happy and have a Great Attitude.  It does not always work, but I find myself smiling at it a lot and it is a fun little reminder!

I used 4 sprigs, but you can totally use as much or as little as you want.

Strip all the leaves off the stem.  These stems were pretty tender and not woody at all, but I still stripped them off and then chopped them up.  You can buy fresh rosemary at most groceries stores, or you could use dried.  (If you use dried, you will want to use less than if you use fresh)Wash and chunk your potatoes and put into a big ziplock bag.  Then drizzle the potatoes with olive oil.  If you are trying to watch your weigh you can just use a little drizzle, if you want a little more flavor and crunch, add a little more oil. :)

Next, spread them out on your prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle with the rosemary, Kosher salt, pepper, and garlic, to taste.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Most recipes say to bake for about 40 mins, but I like my potatoes mushy in the middle and more crispy on the outside, so I baked them for a little more than an hour and they were perfect!

I made that big pan full for my crew and I thought that I was going to have way too much, and this is what I had left over!  (I forgot to take a picture right before we ate, so I was glad that there were at least this many left over!)

This is a great way to make potatoes that can go with a lot of different dishes and they are yummy with all the different spices on them.  You could also add whatever spices your family likes…seasoning salt, parsley, dill, crushed red pepper etc.

So go make some for your dinner tonight, your taste buds with thank you!