Travel Destinations & Culinary Adventures

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Insanely Easy Hasselback Potatoes

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Hasselback potatoes look fancy, but they are super simple to make. As long as you can slice a potato, you can make my Insanely Easy Hasselback Potatoes. Think of them as baked potatoes with class.

Let’s get started!

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Wash several Yukon Gold potatoes.
  3. Use a sharp paring knife to slice the base of the potato off (horizontally from end to end) so it rests level on cutting board.
  4. Slice multiple deep cuts into the potato perpendicular to its length and about 3/4 of the way through each potato. Don’t slice the potato clear through.
  5. Brush each potato with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt (I used truffle salt from World Market) and cracked black pepper.
  6. Place potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  7. Bake potatoes for 30 minutes at 450 degrees.

    This photo shows what your potatoes will look like once removed from the oven.
  8. Remove potatoes from oven and brush with butter (the real stuff). Then return the potatoes to the oven to bake for an additional 30 minutes. (Ovens vary so check at 20 minutes to see if they are done.)
  9. Remove potatoes from the oven and serve hot topped with your favorite ingredients. (I topped my batch of potatoes with homemade pesto.) 
  10. Enjoy!

Bake these potatoes for house guests or for the next family holiday dinner. Guests will say the potatoes are fancy, but you’ll know they are incredibly easy to prepare.

What’s your go-to holiday dinner side dish? Leave it in the comments below and I’ll try to make my version of it for the blog.

How to Make Basic Barbecue Sauce

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One condiment this Kansas girl is never without is barbecue sauce. Well, except that one time when the ribs were ready and yep, I was out of the liquid gold. Not one to run to the store for only one condiment, I decided to make my own sauce.

Since it’s summer I tend to use quite quite a bit more barbecue sauce on burgers, ribs, and even inside lettuce wraps. So, in case you’re like me, here’s How to Make Basic Barbecue Sauce when the bottle stuff just won’t do or you’re out of it. This recipe is ketchup based and is more of a Kansas City barbecue sauce.

Barbecue is a staple food group when you live in Kansas. We smoked this rack of ribs on our Traeger Tailgater low and slow adding barbecue sauce at the end of cooking.

Once you’ve combined all of the barbecue sauce ingredients using a whisk in a saucepan, turn the pan to low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Be sure to stir often. Remove the pan from the burner and allow to cool before pouring the barbecue sauce into a Bell jar and sealing it. Your sauce will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator.

While there are many kinds of barbecue sauce varieties from Carolina style vinegar based to Kansas City style tomato based, I prefer the later on everything from smoked pulled pork and ribs to cheddar cheeseburgers. I’ve also included the links to a few of my recipes that use can this sauce. You might enjoy: Grilled Blooming Onion with Barbecue Sauce , Barbecue Chicken Spring Rolls, and Ultimate Summer Hot Dog Toppings List. 

Making your own sauce is incredibly simple and takes very little time. Give it a try! Do you have a summer grill recipe that you love to sauce up? Share it in the comments section below.

How to Make Basic Barbecue Sauce

onedelightfullife.com
This Kansas City style barbecue sauce is easy to make and better tasting than the bottled variety.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course condiment, sauce
Cuisine American
Servings 3 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 2 c. ketchup
  • 3 T. dark brown sugar
  • 3 T. cider vinegar
  • 2 T worcestershire
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.
  • Stir the ingredients well on a low simmer until fully incorporated.
  • Simmer for about 15 minutes stirring often.
  • Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  • Pour sauce into glass jar and seal with a lid.
  • Refrigerate jarred sauce.

Notes

You can also use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. Want a more Memphis style sauce, add more vinegar and molasses for sweetener.

Thin Crust Alfredo Pizza with Bacon and Kale

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Restaurant pizza is yummy. But homemade just-the-way-you-like-it pizza is far more delicious even decadent especially when it’s topped with bacon.

I live with a native New Yorker so you can bet we eat a lot of pizza. We’ve made homemade crust and purchased a case of Sam’s frozen pizza crust. No matter how you slice it, preparing homemade pizza crust is labor intensive and messy. By the time the pizza was on the plate, we were exhausted and the kitchen was a flour-covered mess that we didn’t want to clean. Then, I discovered Mama Mary’s oven-ready crust! My Thin Crust Alfredo Pizza with Bacon and Kale doesn’t take more than 30 minutes to prepare.

You can find oven-ready pizza crust in medium to large sizes in your grocery store next to store bought sauces and near ethnic foods. A lover of white garlic pizza, I created my version of Granite City’s bacon flatbread pizza. Topped with Alfredo sauce, crumbled pork-bacon sausage, thinly sliced red onion, finely chopped kale, sliced mushrooms, shredded mozzarella, and crumbled blue cheese, my homemade pizza took minutes to prepare and less than 10 minutes to bake. Now that’s decadent!

Since the New Year, I’ve taken the time to prep my vegetables and recipes starters during the weekend so I’m ready for the work week. This dedicated time in the kitchen has helped me so much! I don’t throw out half-rotten produce and I’m preparing more flavorful, healthier meals. My energy level during the day has improved because my intake of nutrients and fiber comes from prepared lunches stocked with fruits and vegetables. So, this pizza was easy to get on the table because I already washed and sliced my produce.

Tip: After slicing the red onions, place them in a bowl with water for at least 30 minutes and then drain. This reduces the robust raw onion taste that can overpower other pizza flavors. I do this in advance and store my onions in the refrigerator for later use.

If you want another pizza recipe, you’ll also enjoy my semi-homemade Grilled Greek Pizza!

Thin Crust Alfredo Pizza with Bacon and Kale

onedelightfullife.com
This thin crispy crust is the platform for delicious white pizza flavor you won't be able to resist.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course dinner entree
Cuisine Italian
Servings 5 -6 pizza slices

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Mama Mary's thin crust
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Toppings:
  • 1/4 c. Barilla Creamy Alfredo pasta sauce
  • 1 c crumbled Farmland pork bacon
  • 1 c sliced mushrooms
  • 1/8 c. diced kale
  • 1/8 c. sliced red onion
  • 1 diced garlic clove
  • 1/2 c mozzarella
  • 1 T crumbled blue cheese
  • shredded parmesan optional
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Brush crust with olive oil.
  • Add half the mozzarella.
  • Add the remaining toppings.
  • Add the other half of the mozzarella.
  • Sprinkle with light coating of parmesan.
  • Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Bake for 71/2-10 minutes until the crust edges are golden brown. (Bottom of crust will not brown but will be crispy.)
  • Allow to cool a few minutes before slicing to serve.
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