Tag: shutterbean

Side Dishes

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

by WendiLeave a Comment on Crispy Smashed Potatoes

to post graphic

I’ve been digging around the junk drawer that is my draft folder.  In a concerted effort to clear out the mental clutter, I’m posting this drafts ‘as is’….

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Adapted from Shutterbean

BAH Note: Mine never look quite as sexy as Tracy’s.  I think it’s because I’m a wuss and only set the oven to 400.  If you’re feeling brave, crank it up to 450 degrees for the roasting.

  • 1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt

Bring the potatoes to a boil in a pot of salted water.  Cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are just fork tender.  Drain the potatoes and let them cool a bit in a colander.

Dry the cooled potatoes with a dish towel and working in batches on a cutting board give them a good whack with a small pan to smash them flat.

Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet, coat with olive oil, and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, turning the potatoes over after 15 minutes, until crisp and golden.

{printable recipe}

Drinks

Frozen Cherry Lemonade

by Wendi6 Comments on Frozen Cherry Lemonade

cherry bourbon lemonade

I need to get something off my chest….I thought we were friends, but I’m starting to have my doubts.   Sure I might disappear from this space for looooong stretches of time without warning.  And I might be just a touch more forgetful about asking how you’ve been and how the world is treating you.  And my awareness of what is going on around me may have hit an all time low.  But for the life of me I can’t understand why you would do this to me.

For the love of all that is good and right, why didn’t you tell me that 3 year olds are such big jerks?

What’s that?  You say that you don’t have firsthand knowledge of life with a 3 year old?  Ok, well then I can’t hold that against you.  Please accept my apology for being all crankypants with you.

But what about the rest of you?  The parents.  The people who have already experienced the tempest that is a 3 year old.  How could you have failed to at least mention that there might be a chance that my child may, at times, become a total jerk by her 3rd birthday?

That’s just how 3 year olds are, you say?  They turn from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde without warning?  Yeah I’ve noticed that, thanks. It would have been helpful to have been given that nugget of information ahead of time.

So for anyone out there who may, at some point, be responsible for a child, allow me to tell you what everyone else already knows but isn’t saying…Life with a 3 year old is like Clash of the Titans. Every. Single. Day.  There’s no way to avoid it.  There’s little you can do to prepare for it other than to know that it’s steaming towards you like a locomotive.  One day, without warning, that train will arrive.  And when it does, you will most likely be standing in the middle of tracks and get completely steam rolled.

I suggest you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.  And maybe have a cocktail once you get The Kraken tucked into bed.

Frozen Cherry Lemonade

Inspired by Shutterbean’s Boozy Cherry Slushies

BAH Note:  The bourbon is 100% optional.  But after a long day with a 3 year old, you might want to exercise that option.  I whip this up in my Vitamix so breaking down the ice cubes and getting a good slushy consistency isn’t hard.  If your mixer needs a little help, try using crushed ice if you have that option on your ice maker, or place whole ice cubes in a plastic bag and whack them with a rolling pin to break them up.

  • 1/2 cup cherry syrup (recipe below)
  • 1 1/2 cup lemonade (homemade is fine but I got mine at the store)
  • 1/4 cup bourbon (optional)
  • 4 cups ice

Combine cherry syrup, lemonade, and bourbon (if using) in your blender and give it a good whirl.  Add the ice and blend until you get a slushy consistency.  Don’t be alarmed if the drink separates a bit in your glass as it melts.

Shutterbean’s Cherry Syrup

  • 1 pound sweet cherries, pitted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1 /2 cups water
  • juice and zest of 2 limes

Cook the cherries, sugar, water, and lime juice and zest in a saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the cherries burst and the liquid starts to simmer.  Remove from the heat and let cool for 20 minutes before straining the liquid through a mesh sieve into a container for storage in the fridge.

{printable recipe}

Breakfast/Brunch

Bacon Cheddar Waffles

by Wendi8 Comments on Bacon Cheddar Waffles

Bacon Cheddar Waffle

Back in the day….and by that I mean 2012…I was on Twitter.  All.  The.  Time.  Why?  Because I could.  And because I wanted to.  In the virtual world I don’t need to worry about being socially awkward.  It’s hard to stumble over your words with only 140 characters.  But it’s easy to join in a conversation, or better yet, to spark one.

Most of the time in real life I stand back and listen to conversations go on around me.  But on Twitter I can be witty and lively in the conversation.  And I can sound as though I know what the hell I am talking about….in real life, that’s not the case much of the time.

For example, let’s consider a recent tweet…”All waffles should have bacon and cheese in them.”  That statement is A) clever; B) authoritative; C) truth; D) common sense.

Actually it is all of those things, but it’s not the kind of statement that I would make in the course of casual conversation.  Unless our conversation was about waffles, bacon, or cheese.  Or you had previously resided in a dorm, house, or apartment with me.  But the odds of that happening are pretty low so I’m confident in saying that it’s unlikely I would say that to you in an ordinary conversation.

And yet it led to a conversation on Twitter where RunningOnButter believed that I spoke as a waffle authority.  RunningOnButter doesn’t know me outside of Twitter.  ROB doesn’t know if I have any credentials to present myself as a waffle authority.  But ROB took my pronouncement that bacon and cheese are integral waffle components as the truth.

Twitter Grab

So now, thanks to Twitter, I am a waffle authority.  I don’t think I will add that to my resume.  But it’s the kind of thing I would use as small talk…if I were inclined to make small talk.

As it is, most of my free time and conversations are with a pre-verbal toddler.  And until she realizes otherwise, I am an authority on everything!

Bacon Cheddar Waffles

Adapted from Shutterbean

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Set a wire rack inside a sheet pan and heat your oven to 200 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.  Add the cheese and bacon to the flour mixture and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and oil.  Add the flour mixture to the milk and egg mixture and stir to combine, being careful not to over mix.

Grease your waffle iron and get it heating.  When ready, pour 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup batter into your iron and cook until done.  Transfer the waffles to the prepared sheet pan and give them a 10 minute rest in the warmed oven.

Slather with butter and syrup.

{printable recipe}