Cajun Potatoes

The past week has just been so busy, but packed with lots of festivities!  With Valentine's Day and all of the beautiful flowers and cute crafts, Mardi Gras was kind of lost in the mix.  So I just wanted to take a day, and revisit this year's Fat Tuesday celebration!

Of course we had another family dinner,  a smaller one, but still a get together that gave us a chance to sit down, relax and enjoy the day.  We went for a somewhat southern menu, since we were on a short timetable, we settled for BBQ sandwiches, coleslaw, cornbread, cajun potatoes and hushpuppies!  I tried a new recipe with the potatoes, and while they were still crispy and delicious, if I'd had a little more time they might have looked at little better!

After all the food was on the table and place settings were made, everyone took their place at the table, even Einstein had his own chair and behaved so well I could barely stand how cute he was.  He wasn't even interested in the food (he doesn't like BBQ after he tried a bite), he just wanted to be part of the family!  He even looked at whoever was talking like he was paying the upmost attention!

Here's the recipe I used for the Cajun Potatoes and my how-to photos below, if you were interested in trying it too!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Crispy Cajun Potato Wedges:

Prep: 15 mins                 Bake: 45 mins                      Yeilds: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4-1/2 teaspoons ranch salad dressing mix
• 3/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, divided
• 3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
• 2 medium russet potatoes

Directions

• In a shallow bowl, combine the milk, mayonnaise, dressing mix and 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. In another shallow bowl, combine cornflakes and remaining Cajun seasoning. Cut each potato into eight wedges; dip in mayonnaise mixture, then coat with crumbs.
• Arrange in a single layer in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, turning once. Yield: 2 servings.
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15

Halloween Cookies

          This year I celebrated Halloween by trying a new recipe, since three years ago I purchased a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, and couldn't stand another season to go by without it being used!  But, in all honesty, I had never made sugar cookies from scratch all by myself, so it was definitely an interesting challenge!  Especially since I made the dough, then realized I didn't have a rolling pin and had to rush out to get one.  But that's the learning experience, right.        

          Overall, these cookies were really simple, but personally, I think they could have used a little less almond extract.  But you can try them for yourselves!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

-1 cup butter

-1 cup powdered sugar

-1 egg

-1.5 teaspoons almond extract

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-2.5 cups all purpose flour

-1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar until smooth.  Beat in egg and extracts.  Combine flour and sugar in another bowl, then add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut with flour dipped cookie cutters.  Place on lightly greased baking sheets.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes.  Cool. Decorate. Celebrate.

          To finish them off I mixed the icing with food coloring to get the shades I wanted, which gave them all a lovely golden tone with a grass green stem to stand out!  And of course I added a few decorative sprinkles so they'd be a little extra fun!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!