Of course, the commitment has changed things a bit in my kitchen. While I seemed to cook with a “better with bacon” philosophy last year (and still have some bacon grease in the freezer to prove it), this year, I am turning to healthier oils and fats. As a result I am rediscovering the joys (and health benefits) of trading oils for spray oils. You use less. (TIP: buy an oil mister and put canola oil in it for a cost-cutting spray. Be sure to label it if you use one for olive oil as well.)

Unfortunately, some of my very favorite recipes are not waist friendly (like my mouthwatering Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots. Mmmmm). However, Brussels sprouts are still very good for you, and I do love them, so I couldn’t possibility give them up entirely. The solution: a healthier, flavor-packed recipe that uses a quick cooking method and delivers excellent results. This is it for Brussels sprouts.

When I served these at a recent dinner, they were polished off in no time (in fact, a few adults, ahem, made sure that no scraps from the kids went to waste either. They are that good).

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Vinaigrette
serves 4-6

cooking spray
1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced into 1/2 inch disks
sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and add Brussels sprouts. Salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the sprouts are softened and most are browned. Remove from heat, pour sprouts into a large bowl and set aside.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking oil and add minced garlic. Cook, stirring and tossing for about 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and softened — don’t let it brown, or the garlic will become bitter. Immediately remove from heat and spoon garlic into a small bowl. Add olive oil and lemon juice. Whisk together until emulsified.

Pour the vinaigrette over the Brussels sprouts and toss to coat. Taste and add more salt and pepper as necessary to achieve desired seasoning.

Serve hot, warm or cold … they’re delicious no matter what the temperature is.

Devour.

We love us some potatoes in this house. Whether its some quickly whipped up mashed potatoes, which can be a quick and versatile starch to accompany meals, or baked fries and roasted potatoes, it’s tasty stuff.

In terms of types of potatoes, we are pretty open.

A sampler of types of potatoes:

• Red potatoes are great for boiling, roasting, baking and potato salad. But they are too wet for hash browns.
• Idaho potatoes are a great all-purpose potato that can be used for hash browns, baked potatoes, roasting, fries or mashed potatoes.
• Fingerling potatoes are great for roasting.
• Yukon Gold potatoes are good for mashing and roasting.
• New potatoes are best for potato salad. They also are good for roasting.

Potato FAQs:

• Should potatoes be peeled? They can be, but the potato peel is the most nutritious part of the potato, so if you eat it, you’re getting the healthy bits.
• What if a potato has turned green a little? Do not eat it. The green shows the presence of alkaloid, which in potatoes can be toxic to humans.
• What if a potato has eyes? Pick off the eyes and cook as normal – as long as the potato is still firm and has no patches of green anywhere. Click here for more info.

Two Cheese Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
serves 4

2 cups fingerling potatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated provolone cheese
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Slice the fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise and place in a large Ziploc bag.

In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, cheese, salt and pepper. Pour into Ziploc bag.

Add the olive oil to the Ziploc and seal. Shake vigorously until the potatoes are evenly coated.

Pour the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Place in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, until browned and fork-tender. Stir once or twice during cooking to prevent sticking.

If desired, finish with a touch of sea salt.

In the past, when I have bought leeks, they have sat in my refrigerator until they turned brown, moldy and emitted a disgusting juice that my husband would clean up. That’s the not-so-pretty truth. I’ve wanted to try them, have bought them and then haven’t done a thing with them. Sad, but true.

Until now, that is.

The worst part isn’t that I let produce sit in the refrigerator until it rotted. No, sir, though that is a bad thing in of itself. The worst part is that when I finally make them, I discovered that I really like leeks. Go figure. They have a somewhat sweet flavor with a mild onion-y flavor. It’s more of a hint of onion flavor, really. Mmmm.

I wasn’t sure how to cook them, so I stuck with an old standby: roasting. This ultra-simple preparation really lets the natural flavors of vegetables shine. The result was fantastic and worth the effort. I can’t wait to try leeks in other dishes now!

Roasted Parmesan Leeks
serves 4

4 leeks, tough outer leaves removed
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut leeks into 2 inch pieces and split down the middle. Place in a water bath to remove dirt.

Remove leeks to an oven safe pan, shaking excess water (you want them to retain some of the water though).

Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Toss leeks. Top with Parmesan and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve immediately.

——————————————-

Since leeks are an ultra-healthy vegetable that is believed to help prevent ailments like cancer, this is a perfect submission for Sweetnicks’ ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays.

I can’t help but smile when I think of my grandfather.

My grandfather was a tall man who loved airplanes and motorcycles (though an accident in his youth left his leg permanently injured). He owned a small prop plane for years and flew whenever he could. And he was dedicated to work and family.

He grew up in a German-American family in the New York area. My grandfather didn’t always like to speak of his family, but when he did he used to tell me stories about his childhood, his family and where they came from. He would sit on his slate blue couch, which had a scratchy woven fabric that I can best liken to burlap — though I know it wasn’t and he and my grandmother had chosen it specially. I would sit in an armchair near his rotary phone, directly across from him.

I wish I spent more time in that seat when I got older . . .

One story in particular that I remember him telling me late in his life was about how our last name came to be so Americanized. Honestly, you would never know we were German from hearing it. Apparently when my German great-great grandfather went through Ellis Island, the customs people couldn’t understand the heavy German name and simply changed it to a much simpler name. There was a vague relation between the German name that began with a V and the eventual W-name — very vague.
I wish I could remember what the original name was.

It makes me sad to think that there were all these stories that he had to share, but I cannot remember them well enough to pass much along to my own children. I never knew any of his family – his parents, grandparents or his sister – they were all gone long before I came. But I pass along what I can.

It’s all I can do.

My grandfather grew up in a family that ate traditional German food everyday. That remained his favorite variety of foods throughout his life (though he really enjoyed Chinese food and Italian as well). If he was alive today, I think he’d love this cabbage — it was always among his favorites when we’d dine at German restaurants. This was an experimental recipe that just came together perfectly on the first try.

If you make it, do it justice and service it with a hearty meal of the wurst of your choice and some tasty sour kraut — preferably my grandfather’s favorite packaged brand: Silver Floss.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
serves 8

1/4 cup salted butter
1 1/2 – 2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cabbage and cook for about five minutes, until it begins to wilt.

Stir in the honey, apple juice and balsamic vinegar. Stir to coat. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.

Cook, stirring occasionally for about 40 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

This is equally tasty warm or cool.

I was never a fan of baked potatoes. But last year, I suddenly developed a taste for them. Perhaps it was just that until last year I had never had a baked potato with toppings or fillings. Growing up, it was always bake, squeeze, pop on plate. Sometimes there would be a pat of butter thrown on top and perhaps some salt, but never any exciting toppings like cheese or bacon.

These days, baked potatoes are a staple in our home. They are filling and help us eat smaller portions of protein — definitely a good thing. Potatoes are also inexpensive. But, be sure to eat the skin too – that’s where all the nutrients are.

I made these with delicious, golden-fleshed Yukon Gold potatoes, which are fantastic for mashing (and that is kind of what you do with the filling).

This is another toddler approved meal component. Will loved “finding” the hidden bits of bacon and cheese and ate nearly his whole (small) potato. And they aren’t that bad for you — all in all, they are about 380 calories or so (this is an estimate based on my calculation on SparkRecipes.com). So, if you serve them with a bit of veggies and a small hunk of lean protein, this can still be a pretty fit meal.

Cheddar Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes
serves 4

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
1/3 cup milk (I use 1%)
salt and pepper
3/4 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese, plus 1 tbsp
4 slices uncooked bacon, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prick each potato a couple of times with a fork. Place on the rack in the oven and cook for an hour. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before handling.

Cook the bacon and discard any fat drippings.

Slice a thin strip off the top of each potato. Scoop out insides into a medium bowl. Add milk, salt and pepper to the bowl. Using a potato masher, mash well.

Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheddar and bacon. Scoop the potato mixture back into the potato shells. Divide the remaining tablespoon of cheddar among the potatoes. Return to oven and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

————————

I thought this would be a great recipe to share for Eating Leeds’ Potato blogging event. Did you know that this is the International Year of the Potato?

Anyway, back to the food. I’ve been on such a spinach kick lately. What’s not to love? It’s high in iron, versatile and tasty when cooked just right . . .

This spinach is creamy, as the name suggests and has a nice punch of flavor from the garlic and salt. Pretty simple, but delicious. Oh, and totally toddler approved. Will eats this stuff up in mass quantity every time I make it (and you couldn’t pay me enough to eat spinach as a child!).

Creamy Ricotta Spinach
serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups spinach (raw)
sea salt
2 tbsp ricotta cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes (don’t let it turn brown!) until softened. Add spinach and toss to coat. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt over the spinach. Cover and cook until wilted (it only takes a few minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in ricotta and more salt, if desired.

Serve immediately.

My husband doesn’t like sweet potatoes. He won’t eat them. He turns his nose up when I mention them. It’s one of many veggies that he just doesn’t like. So the other night, I whipped up a batch of Super Easy Low-Fat Oven Fries and made a batch of Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries for Will and I. Yum! Two kinds of low-fat fries with dinner . . . perfect.

Did I mention that my husband hates sweet potatoes? Okay, just checking. That’s important. See, you can imagine my surprise when Shawn saw me plating the food and asked for some of the sweet potato fries too. He asked to eat them. Of course, I couldn’t say no (even though I wanted to eat them all myself. Mine! All mine!). How can you say no to that?

Perhaps better than his requesting some, he ate the whole handful I plopped on his plate and declared them “not bad.” High praise, ladies and gentlemen. High praise.

Will and I, of course, ate a bunch. These were really yummy. I’ve tried to make sweet potato fries before, but they never came out as tasty as these. I hand cut mine, but I recommend using a mandolin to ease the prep time. I am just glutton for punishment. Seriously. Who hand cuts fries when they OWN several devices that will do it for them? Geez.

Now, a bit about sweet potatoes before I fork over the recipe. According to World’s Healthiest Foods, sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A and vitamin C – both powerful antioxidants. It also is considered an antidiabetic food, which means that it can stabilize blood sugar and lower insulin resistance.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
serves 4-6

Several people have mentioned that their fries didn’t come out crispy. Please note that cooking times are an estimation. Different ovens cook differently so you may need to increase the time to reach desired doneness. Ovens should also be regularly calibrated to ensure that the temperature inside the oven is the temperature on the dial.

1 – 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peal the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.

———————————————————-

These tasty, low-fat fries are healthy too. And that makes them a great submission for Sweetnicks’ ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays, an event that challenges us to cook and eat more antioxidant rich foods.

I am a big fan of roasting great potatoes, so that’s what I have done with these. Will gobbles them down too, as does my husband (always making sure that I have used the fresh rosemary . . . a few years ago he’d never even seen a fresh herb).

4 cups fingerling potatoes
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Slice the fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise and place in a large Ziploc bag.

In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and Romano. Pour into Ziploc bag.

Add the olive oil to the Ziploc and seal. Shake vigorously until the potatoes are evenly coated.

Pour the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Place in the oven and cook for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking.

If desired, finish with a touch of sea salt.