2 For 1 Sale. Skillet Potatoes & Roasted Green Beans

Before I get started today I wanted to point out that Crabby has joined the Foodie Blog Roll. To the left you'll notice a button and a short drop down menu; the Foodie Blog Roll is a collection of Internet food blogs. There are over a thousand blogs listed at the site, with quite literally blogs for every taste, technique and expertise. After you're done here, go check it out.
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As I stated when I started this blog, Crabby is primarily a carnivore. I like meat. As far as I'm concerned PETA should stand for People Eating Tasty Animals. The great philosopher Homer Simpson said it best, "If God didn't want us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?". Truer words were never spoken.

That said, a few of you out there in cyberland, aided and abetted by SSSal, have complained that I don't post enough side dish/adjunct recipes. Well, today I'm throwing all of you a bone, or is that stalk? Today you're going to get two recipes for the price of one post. The first is a recipe for roasted green beans, the second is a SSSal technique for quick skillet potatoes. Either can be made while while you're working on the main event (i.e., meat).

Recipe 1, oven roasted green beans, is supremely easy and given the unusual cooking approach, they come off as somehow exotic. I have been using this recipe for years and can't remember where I got it, so I'm calling it my own. It also works with asparagus and sugar snap peas.


Roasted Green Beans
by Crabby

1 lb. Fresh Green Beans
1 TBSP Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Wash and trim the green beans, making sure to dry them very well

In a medium bowl, using your hands, toss the beans with the olive oil.

Place the beans in a single layer on a cookie sheet, shallow roasting pan or jelly roll pan.

Season the beans with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast for 20 - 30 minutes. Turning every 10 minutes. The beans will begin to brown in spots and shrivel slightly.

Serve hot.

Crabby Tip 1: You can add 1 - 2 cloves of garlic to the pan.

Crabby Tip 2: Just before serving, squeeze the juice of half a lemon, or splash a bit of soy sauce, over the beans.

This recipe is simple, simple, simple.

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Recipe 2 comes form SSSal. It's a potato recipe that takes about 25 - 30 minutes, which is normally the amount of time it takes Crabby to grill a steak and then let it rest. Teamwork at its best.



SeaShell Sal's Skillet Potatoes

3 Large Baking Potatoes, sliced thinly
1 Large Shallot, sliced
1 TBSP Cooking Oil
1 TBSP Butter
Salt



Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the oil and butter (I always add the oil first then the butter - it seems to cut down on burning).

When the butter has melted and nearly stopped foaming add the shallot, saute for 1 minute.

After 1 minute add the potatoes and turn once to mix with the shallot. Lightly salt and pepper the potatoes, turn the heat down to medium and cover the pan. Walk away for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes turn the potatoes, trying to get the slices on top into contact with the bottom of the pan. Cover and walk away for 5 more minutes.

Turn the potatoes every 5 minutes or so until you've reached a total cooking time of 25 minutes. The potatoes should be nicely browned. The key to this recipe is keeping the lid on the pan as much as possible. You are not only sauteing the potatoes to get that nice brown color, you're also using the natural liquids in all the vegetables to steam the entire course.

A little additional salt and some sour cream on the side and you have a simple dish that will satisfy the starch/carb hungry members of the crowd.

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Well that's it for today. I realize these recipes are a bit boring, but you asked for it. Next time we'll get back to cooking things with feathers, fins or feet.