Potato Pancakes w/ Spinach & Cottage Cheese

I made these for lunch the other day. They were so good, I'm thinking of mashing some potatoes just so I'll have leftovers!

Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:

• Leftover mashed potatoes (1-1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1 egg
• Chopped onion
• Chopped spinach
• Cottage cheese
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Flour

Directions:

1. Mix mashed potatoes, egg, onion, spinach, and cottage cheese well - no measurements, just whatever sounds, looks, feels good to you.  Season with salt & pepper.
2. Add enough flour so that you can handle the mixture and form into patties.  It will be very messy, and you will want to coat your hands with flour so it doesn't stick too much.
3. Heat a little oil in frying pan; add patties and fry on first side until browned, flip and cook the other side until browned and heated through.  Serve on a bed of fresh spinach.

 Enjoy!

I made a couple for me and let my daughter taste them so she wanted some too.  I added a little extra flour before making the rest into patties, and while it handled better, the flavor wasn't as good.  You want to use as little flour as possible for the best taste.

Take Your Bananas with You

Image by Harry‧黃基峰‧Taiwan via Flickr

I saw this recently in the food section of my Sunday paper, and I thought it was really neat. It's called the Banana Saver, and it's made to keep your banana from bruising when you pack it in your lunch. How cool is that? And why didn't someone think of this sooner?

They're designed to fit most bananas and even have a hole for the stem. Imagine - completely portable bananas without all the brown spots. I just might have to get some of these to try.

Hot Chicken Salad

I made this for lunch quite a while back and almost forgot about it. I had some cooked turkey in the refrigerator that I needed to use, and this recipe popped into my head. Actually, the memory of this recipe popped into my head, but no matter how hard I looked, I could not find it. I almost gave up, but gave it one last try and finally found it. I'm so glad I did, because this is really good.

Hot Chicken Salad

• 2 c. cooked, chopped chicken
• 2 c. chopped celery
• 1/2-1 c. raisins
• 2 tbsp. minced onion
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese
  

Soak raisins in hot water (or, if you cooked the chicken, the chicken broth) for about five minutes. Drain well. Stir everything except the cheese together. Lightly grease a 2-qt casserole, and lightly place mixture into it. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with bread, croissants, or crackers.

Since this was just for me (no one else in this house likes raisins), I halved the recipe. I mixed everything right in the dish I baked it in, popped it into the oven, and baked it. I did end up baking it for somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes because I like my cheese a little more cooked. Next time I think I'll add a little salt and pepper, too. It was wonderful with round snack crackers - think Ritz. I ate about half of it, so I have the other half for lunch today or tomorrow. YUM!