Potato-Salmon Croquettes

{Meatless Monday}

OK...I am a little surprised that I actually tore this recipe out of my Parents magazine...and then kept it for a year!  ; )  But I thought they seemed interesting and I also knew the kids would have a blast making them with me...which they did! (pictures below)

I have never tried to buy Salmon before...but this is pretty much all that I could find that was not outrageously expensive.  I should have taken some pictures of what came out of this can.  But I could barely make myself prepare it! ; )  My 8 year old daughter was eager to help, so she grabbed a can opener and opened this baby up.  I told her to drain it and dump it onto the cutting board.  I was at the stove making the mashed potatoes out of potato pearls when I hear her say, "Um, MOM...why does this have skin and bones in it?"

I really wish now that I had taken a picture.  The skin was the grossest part.  But it had ALL of the bones too...even all the little vertebrae.  We kind of had a cool little science lesson right there in the kitchen as I went to work trying to remove all the bones from this salmon meat.  Because the last thing that I needed was to pay the money for this dumb salmon, go to all the work to make these dumb things, have the kids make a total mess of the kitchen and their hands and most likely their clothes...and then have them NOT EAT IT because they crunched on a fish bone!!!

So after that disaster was all cleaned up and dumped in the outside garbage can ( hate those yucky fish smells!!) I went ahead with the recipe...and it actually turned out great!  My kids really did have a great time making them.  It wasn't as big of a mess as it could have been.  And ALL of my kids loved them.  I will be making them again...but next time I am going to try a nice little can of White Albacore in place of the Salmon.  I think it should still work and I won't have to deal with slimy, scaly fish skin!

Here's what  you need to make your very own FISH STICKS!!  You never knew that you wanted to make your very own, did you??  This is a food that kids always like and I bet your kids would love to get up to their elbows in flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs....so give it a try!!

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, chilled
10 oz. canned salmon, drained
2 large eggs
1 T. lemon zest
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and Pepper
2 to 2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup vegetable oil (or less, if you are like me and have a really hard time frying anything!!)


In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, salmon, 1 egg, zest and parsley.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.  In another shallow bowl, whisk the remaining egg with 1 T water.  Place the bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl, like this...

Using wet hands, form the potato mixture into 3 inch fingers. Dip the fingers in the flour, and shake off any excess; dip them in the egg wash, and then roll them in the bread crumbs...pressing the crumbs on to form a crust and do a final shaping of the fish sticks.

Now...the magazine has this beautiful photo of nearly perfectly shaped "croquettes", as they call them, but I am sure you can appreciate that with helpers like these, mine were not going to be quite as cute. ; )
But they actually did a pretty good job for being 5 and 8!!

Coat the bottom of skillet with oil and working in batches, fry the croquettes until golden brown all around, 4-6 minutes total.  Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

My kids ate these with some mayonnaise mixed with ketchup.  I prefer a mix of a little light mayonnaise with some Cajun Seasoning.

Next time I make them, I am going to try to bake them after a very quick, light frying and see how they turn out!!  I will let you know.

Tomato & Red Potato Gratin

{Meatless Monday}

I LOVE this recipe.  And I wouldn't even say that I LOVE slices of tomatoes normally.  I could not believe how delicious the flavor was!!  I made it twice in one week.  That's how good it was.  

With an abundance of tomatoes and red potatoes from our own garden, one day I just googled "Red potato Tomato Recipe" and this is what came up.  The recipe called for leeks and Gruyere cheese and  I only had yellow onions and mozzarella....but it was amazing anyway.

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 
3 cups sliced leeks, OR ONE LARGE WHITE ONION, chopped

1  1/4 lb. red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices 
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 1/4 lb. ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 3/4 cups grated Gruyère cheese OR MOZZARELLA 
1/2 tsp. salt 
Freshly ground black pepper to taste 
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 

2/3 cup breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tsp.olive oil  

3 T Parmesan cheese, grated  For Topping, if desired

Heat the olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks/onions and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. Spread the onions evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2-qt. shallow gratin dish. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the potato slices with well-salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are just barely tender. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Pat dry. Toss the potatoes with the salt, olive oil, and rosemary.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. (1/4 tsp. dried) of the chopped rosemary over the leeks/onions. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish. Cover the row of tomatoes with a generous sprinkling of Gruyère or Mozzarella. Next, arrange a row of potato slices over the tomatoes. Sprinkle again with cheese. Repeat with alternating rows of tomatoes and potatoes, sprinkling each with cheese, until the gratin is full.

Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. salt and the remaining 1/2 tsp. rosemary over all and season with pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil. Mix any remaining cheese with the breadcrumb mixture and spread this over the whole gratin. Top with Parmesan, if desired. Cook until the gratin is well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 60 to 65 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Then ENJOY a scrumptious dish full of yummy flavors and creamy cheese and rosemary.  Just typing this up makes me want to make it again!!

You all know how much I love roasted vegetables...and this is made even better by the cheese and the breadcrumb topping.  So, next time you are looking for a new side dish...try this! You'll love it.

Tuscan Cheese Potato Bake

{Meatless Monday}

2 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
3-4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme (3/4 tsp. dry)
1/4 c. butter
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz fontina cheese, shredded (I used Mont. Jack)
4 oz. parmesan cheese
1/3 c. blue cheese (I used feta)
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1 T olive oil

Boil potatoes with a little salt for 12-15 minutes.  Drain.

Preheat oven to 400*.

Saute garlic, thyme, and butter until fragrant.  Add potatoes.  Coarsely mash.

Stir in buttermilk, salt, pepper, and the cheeses--saving out 1/2 of the parmesan for the topping.

Pour into 9X13 pan.  Toss bread crumbs, italian seasoning, olive oil, and the saved parmesan.  Sprinkle over the potatoes.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.  Can garnish with fresh parsley.

Baked Potatoes Florentine

{Meatless Monday}

I'm finally back!  I promised I would have a new recipe today, so off to the store I went this afternoon at 4:30 pm to grab ingredients for a new one I had just pulled out of a magazine.

And it is a keeper!  I really liked these.  I love that they are TOTALLY different from the same-old stuff I always throw together.  We really don't eat a lot of potatoes, so it was a nice change for us.

I LOVE that they are super easy and quick.  You cook the potatoes in your microwave.  ( I can NEVER remember to put potatoes in way before dinner time!)  And I think Feta is my favorite cheese.  I love everything that uses feta!
The best thing about this recipe is that I got to use one of my beautiful new "sauce cups" that I bought at Tai Pan during my retreat weekend.  I love them. They are just so pretty.  I used it to hold the little egg yolk. ; )

Here's what you need:

4 Idaho baking potatoes, scrubbed ( I made 5 large ones, actually)
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bag (9 ounces) spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp sale
1/4 tsp pepper
1 large egg, separated
1 package (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese

Heat oven to 400*.  Pierce potatoes with a fork.  Place on paper towels in microwave and cook on high for 16 minutes, turning halfway through.

Meanwhile, cook onions in olive oil for 7-8 minutes.  Add 1/2 the spinach and cook down slightly.  Add other 1/2 and cook until all is wilted.  (It seems like a TON of spinach, but it cooks down to so little!)  Season with 1/4 tsp of salt and the pepper.

Remove from heat and cool slightly in a large bowl.

Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place potatoes on foil.  Cut open and sprinkle with remaining salt.

Beat the egg white to stiff peaks.  Stir in the egg yolk to the slightly cooled spinach mixture and all but 2 T of the feta cheese.  Fold in egg whites.  Divide mixture evenly onto potatoes.  Sprinkle with remaining feta.

Bake at 400* for 10 minutes.  Turn oven to broil and leave in 2 minutes more. 

These were really flavorful...I just love how feta melts in your mouth with that creamy/salty tang.  Mmmmm.   I put some sour cream on the table and my husband used some, but I loved it just as it was.  Enjoy!  And I hope everyone is having a great summer!

I have many wonderful new recipes just waiting to be made. There have been SO many vegetarian recipes in ALL of my magazines lately....I love it!