Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and we tried a yummy dish I saw on facebook. It didn't turn out quite like the video but i was still tasty so I thought I'd share it here.
But first...
We found purslane! Mary shared a post on purslane a few months ago and I'd never really seen it around. Or so I thought. But after reading her post, I looked it up and realized that we have a Western version that's more of a succulent than a leafy green.
We had a Cub Scouts bike ride around a lake near us and while we were there we saw piles of it, so we had to bring some home to try. :) The Boy Scout troop leader was very impressed with our foraging skills and I told him it all came from a great cooking blog post. So, now there is a troop of Cub Scouts who know they can eat pig weed if they get lost (and here it's called pig weed, btw).
I saw a recipe on facebook that looked so delicious! Probably because it's fall and in fall my thoughts turn toward POTATOES.
Choppity chop with help from small people exercising good safety... Boil the potatoes half way. This is important. Don't overboil, like I did. We almost ended up with mashed potatoes, which was still good, but not like the recipe. While the potatoes are boiling (but not too much), mix one tsp garlic powder, one tsp salt, and one tsp paprika to 1/2 cup ranch dressing. I'm not a huge fan of prepared salad dressings, and even less if they're heated up, but I took a risk and decided to try it.
Anyway, drain the potatoes, toss with the mix, add two cups of sliced sausages (recipe called for bacon) and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add a cup of shredded cheese an a cup of chopped green onions. The recipe called for Pepper Jack but I added sharp cheddar. Let sit for five minutes as the cheese gets a little melty, and then serve.
My husband's plate. Everyone liked it a lot!
And one last picture of our ambitious hen who keeps laying double eggs. Overachiever!!
Be sure to stop by my facebook author pages Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael, or on my blog at The Things That Last! Until next time!
I love fun potato dishes, too! They're like the best way to welcome fall aboard... and how can we not love a dish with potatoes and ranch dressing? Oh be still my heart!
ReplyDeleteWe have purslane here... and a different pig weed. It grows tall and tastes sweet to pigs, but it's funny how regional differences can change things up.
And after Cate's post, I found the PRETEND purslane growing near a patch of real stuff... Isn't that weird???? And blogger doesn't like the word "purslane" or "Cate"... oh, Blogger... get with the times, my friend!!!
Hahaha! My auto correct likes to tell my friends all sorts of odd things. Silly auto correct!
DeleteOh, and I avoid most prepared dressings because they have MSG, which I'm allergic to. It gives me terrible migraines. But I had a bottle of MSG-free dressing so decided to try it. So yummy!
DeleteSo this recipe is like a twice-baked potato without the shell... Fiendishly clever!!!!
ReplyDeleteRight? Much less work, really.
DeleteYum! Sounds so good. I LOVE potatoes. Almost as much as bread. :)
ReplyDeleteI just went to check to see if your pig weed is the same as what my husband's grandmother called pokeweed. But it's not. I also read that pokeweed can be poisonous! And she used to cook it for us sometimes! LOL
HAHA! I remember that conversation here! I've never heard of pokeweed, but I do know people who make dandelion wine and eat the blooms.
DeleteI mean I've never eaten pokeweed. Clearly I've heard of it if we had a whole conversation about it on the blog. :P It's too late to type!
DeleteYou are adventurous, Virginia! I have something I think is purslane growing in my garden but I'm not sure enough to eat it. :-) I just picked up some sweet baby potatoes at the farmer's market today. Nothing like a roasted potato to say welcome fall.
ReplyDeleteMMMMM. We had small red potatoes from the garden just last night. Nothing like baby potatoes for sweetness and that perfect serving size!
DeleteOur purslane is a succulent too, Mary Jane. Biting into it was an odd sensation. I felt like I was eating the decorations! ;)
ReplyDeleteMixing it with potatoes though - that just sounds inspired!
And cheese makes anything better, doesn't it. I'm working on my recipe for Wednesday and it's not coming out exactly as planned and I just decided to try adding cheese to half to see how that goes.
Stay tuned. Ha ha!
We just sort of clued into the fact that one of my daughters is lactose intolerant. She's never liked cheese, doesn't drink milk, doesn't have lattes, prefers tea. My husband is lactose intolerant and I don't know why I didn't think of it before.
DeleteAnyway, now my go to move of "just add some cheese" will have to be reigned in a little! eeek!