What's For Dinner?

There are two phrases I'd like stricken from the English language - "Hey mom!" and "What's for dinner?"  For the first one, I just keep threatening to change my name....but they still manage to find me and bug me for something.  But "what's for dinner?" makes me want to run screaming some days.  Seriously, I just fed you people yesterday!  What do you mean I have to do it again today??

Usually, I've forgotten to pull something out of the freezer, so I grab some chunk and pitch it into the sink into a bowl of water to thaw.  Now to figure out what to have with it. Rice?? No, we had that last night.  Pasta??  Nope, forgot to pick up more gluten free pasta. Do we have potatoes?? Score!  Spuds it is!  Ugh, now I have to figure out how to cook them.  Mashed? No gravy. Fried? That's a possibility. Baked?  No time for that! Roasted?  Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!

Pan roasted potatoes is one of my favorite ways to make potatoes.  I often add some carrots in there for yummy sweetness.  There are countless variations to seasoning them, so you can tailor them to just about anything.

Pan Roasted Potatoes

Potatoes - I like to use thin skinned, waxy potatoes.  White, gold, red skinned, purple.....or a combination is great. You can use Russets if that's all you have, but go put waxy potatoes on your store list!

Additions - Roasted carrots are delish.  Da girl can't eat raw carrots anymore due to Oral Allergy Syndrome - raw fruits and veggies cross react with pollens and cause an itchy mouth.  But she can eat them cooked.  Sometimes I add whole peeled garlic cloves.  Minced garlic tends to burn. Onion wedges roast well too.  You want things that you can have in similar sized pieces that will cook in the same amount of time.

Acid - Just a splash of vinegar.....red wine vinegar adds a nice tang.  Balsamic adds some sweetness.  Lemon juice complements seasonings like dill.

Seasoning - Salt is a must, but after that, pretty much anything goes!  Spices work better than dried herbs which have a tendency to burn.  Some good choices are any variety of seasoning salt, grill rubs, chili powder, or even garlic bread seasoning.  I often replicate whatever flavors I'm using on the meat.

Oil - I usually just use my regular olive oil.  This is going to be baked at a high temp, so don't use anything with a really low smoke point.  Infused oils can add another dimension of flavor.

Prep your spuds

 

I have this nifty waffle cutter that works great for this.  You get lots of surface area and crispy edges.  But a knife works too. Larger potatoes can be sliced or cubed. Small marble or fingerling potatoes can just be cut in half or quarters.

Cut other veggies into similar sized pieces.  I'm adding carrots here and giving them the same waffle cut,

Chuck everything in a bowl and add your acid, seasoning and oil of choice.  How much??  Just eyeball it.  A tablespoon or so of acid, a couple tablespoons of oil, a couple teaspoons of seasoning. Toss it all together.  You can leave it marinate for a bit if you've got time.  I usually don't.  But sometimes when I've actually planned ahead, I'll do this prep first and then work on getting the rest of dinner going.  They are better if the seasoning have a chance to soak in a bit.

Spread everything out on a parchment lined tray.  I love parchment!  It saves so much on cleanup.  Don't have any??  Drizzle a bit of extra oil on the pan before dumping things on.  If there is a lot of marinade in the bowl, try to avoid dumping all the liquid on the pan.  It will just burn.

Oh, and you've remembered to turn your oven on to 375F, right?  No?? Well, go do it now!  Bake time is going to depend on how big your pieces are.  Small cubes or halved marble potatoes may be done in as little as 20 minutes.  Larger pieces may take 40 minutes or more.  Set a timer for 15 minutes when you first put them in the oven and check their progress then.  You should be able to judge how far along they are. I have to set timers or I forget to check things!

But, I already have another part of dinner in the oven at a different temperature, you say! That's fine...these are pretty forgiving.  I've roasted them as low as 325F and as high as 425F.  You have to keep a closer eye on them at higher temps as they can burn more quickly.  If using a higher temp, try to put the pan toward the bottom of the oven, under whatever else is in there.  I find this seems to shield them from the heat a little more.

You can toss them around on the tray when you check them at the 1 min mark.  I have a hard time leaving stuff be and one side of my oven seems hotter than the other.  So tossing them around and turning my tray keeps things baking evenly.

Everything will be yummy, golden brown, and delicious!  The spuds and veggies should be soft.  Try not to burn your mouth sampling a piece....you do have to make sure they are properly done.

Tonight's dinner was roasted chicken breasts, pan roasted potatoes and carrots, and a salad.  Now, what am going to make tomorrow when I hear "what's for dinner?"