To date, there are probably at least 3 million different ways to prepare potatoes. Around our house, it usually ends up being either mashed, scalloped, baked, or twice stuffed. With the exception of the baked potato, most take quite a bit of time to put together. Have you ever wanted just an easy potato recipe that is full of flavor but only takes a couple minutes to prepare? Well, this is the one.

Herbs and potatoes have gone together probably since they first torn out of the ground. There is something about potatoes that they just accept flavor so easily. Just cooking a potato along side of a fragrance will infuse that flavor into it. This makes cooking them very easy and rewarding.

4-5 large potatoes (any kind besides sweet), cut roughly into 1 inch pieces.
Extra virgin olive oil.
4 cloves of garlic with the skin still on.
2 bunches of fresh thyme.
Salt and fresh ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 375.

Lightly oil a large glass baking/casserole dish, and place the cut potatoes into the dish. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil all over the potatoes. Mix up with a spoon. Add the cloves of garlic to the potatoes, spacing them evenly. Sprinkle with some more salt and pepper and drizzle with a little more olive oil making sure you hit each clove of garlic with the oil.

Place the bunched thyme – (More…)

It is starting to get that time of year, at least here in the Northeast, where you have to think about the frost. As the temperature drops, and the baseball gets more exciting, you have to make some decisions about your herbs.

As I wrote before, I had a few of my favorite herbs set up around the house in planters. Now I have to consider what I am going to do with them BEFORE we get into frost. I am one of those who does not have a west or south facing window, but the east window does catch most of the sun in the morning until around noon – 1 o’clock. This limits what I can bring inside for the winter and let grow. (More below…)

I have decided that the only herbs I will try to keep for the winter is the rosemary and the basil. The mint I will harvest and freeze, and the thyme, sage, and oregano I will dry for later use.

It is always so nice to use fresh herbs when cooking that I am really going to miss it. I have already transplanted the rosemary and basil into pots ideal for the indoors and they seem to be liking their new home. It is best to get them transplanted now and let them get used to the new pot before – (More…)

With the relative success of my garden this year, I was fortunate to have a large amount of tomatoes and peppers. After canning a couple cases of tomatoes, I decided to make up some spicy salsa. It was nothing too out of the ordinary, just some tomatoes, red/green/yellow bell peppers, garlic and a couple handfuls of chopped jalapenos. Before I canned it, I took a little taste and it was pretty hot.

My wife and kids are not much for hot tasting foods. In fact, they think Dijon mustard is spicy, so I figured this salsa would be around for a while except for giving away a pint here and there.

Well, after seeing a few salsa chicken recipes I decided to throw this one together. I have only made it twice, but both times it was a hit. The cooking process took much of the heat out so even the kids had no trouble with the remaining flavor.

This recipe can be made with any salsa, even store bought, but let me recommend that you go for one of the more spicier versions as it will lose some of the heat during cooking. I would also recommend you find a salsa that is low in sodium. Ideally, you would want to use your own home made salsa.

4-5 chicken thighs and 4-5 chicken drumsticks.
About a cup of flour.
Salt and pepper.
Vegetable oil.
8-10 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded.
Chicken – (More…)