Best-Ever Hash Browns

That's what they're called - Best-Ever Hash Browns. And they were good. This was just a quick variation to my regular country style hash browns. That's what I have always called them anyway - the kind that are cubed baked potato pieces rather than shredded.

Actual Recipe:
Family Dinner Cookbook (by Debbie G. Harman)

4-6 leftover baked potatoes
3-4 Tbsp butter
Salt & Pepper

Peel skins from potatoes. Chop or grate potatoes into a large bowl. Melt butter in skillet or on griddle. Saute potatoes in butter until they become golden and crispy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If desired, you can leave the skins on the potatoes for this recipe. Combine bacon bits with hash browns for country-fried hash browns.

My Version:

5 leftover baked potatoes
2 Tbsp canola oil
forgot the salt and pepper
sprinkled bacon bits on them just to try it out but didn't measure the amount

What I learned:

I needed to use a little bit more oil than I had used in the past and to keep it on a high heat the entire time. I always used to use a low heat thinking they needed the time to cook through but then they would be falling apart and it took longer. Couldn't figure it out. This time it worked out better. My stove goes from a 1 to 10 and I cooked these on a 7 the entire time. Worked great.

Opinion:

We all liked it. The bacon bits did add a little bit of flavor to the hash browns and the boys didn't seem to notice the change at all. I will probably do this again because I have bacon bits that someone gave us that never get used :-).

I rarely cook with butter, so this was an easy exchange from butter to a healthy oil.

Sorry, no pictures this time.

Fresh Strawberry Crepes - WW

YUMMY for my first attempt at making crepes. I got this recipe from my Weight Watchers class on Saturday mornings. We get new recipes all the time and there have only been a few that I have tried. This one looked good and do-able with the normal ingredients that I keep in my home. I don't like getting recipes from all over the place to find out that I have to buy all these different ingredients that I either have never heard of before, don't know what to do with them, or would probably never use again. So, here's one that was easy and I had all the ingredients (almost).

My first crepe

RECIPE:

5 large egg whites
1/8 tsp table salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
8 sprays cooking spray
1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced very thin (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, salt, vanilla extract, melted butter, milk and flour until just combined.

Coat an 8-9 inch skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. When pan is hot, add 1/4 cup of batter and tilt skillet to cover entire bottom of pan with a thin layer of batter. Cook for 2 minutes; flip over. Top with about 1/3 cup strawberries; cook for 2 minutes more. Fold crepe over and slide onto serving plate; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining ingredients; sprinkle with sugar.

My first crepe with fruit in it

1 crepe = 3 Points Plus value (Weight Watchers)

Our Version:

We didn't have strawberries, so I opened up a can of peaches and sliced them thin. I didn't measure them when I put them on.

1 recipe = 8 crepes/servings

Our Opinion:

I liked it a lot. I've never made crepes before in my life. I have had them just 2-3 times before. I plan to do this again.

Husband - liked them but thought they were a little thick. I probably just needed to use a bigger pan or maybe it was because it was just egg whites and they were a little fluffier rather than heavy with yolk.

Kids - liked the fruit inside the most and the sugar on top. They weren't too sure about the crepes. I didn't get anything else made for dinner that night and I think that would have helped. Just a crepe with fruit didn't seem to cut it.