Purple Babies

Well I am back!  I was cleaning the whole house after my new paint job in the kitchen, redecorating, and moving furniture around.  That is how I spent my Memorial Day weekend.  The downstairs is finally done, and now I will be working on the upstairs.  My son's room is getting painted today, and when my daughter goes overseas for the year for school, her bedroom and bath will be painted.  It will probably take me that long to get it done, I am not as young as I use to be. 

So now I am back to my old ways, cooking dinner every night.  It's summertime, all meals will be cooked outside, weather permitting.  I made these savory potato packets the other night for the grill.  And who ever thought we would be able to buy purple potatoes at the market?  The texture of these "purple babies" as I call them, is so smooth and flavorful.  

I used the steamable in the bag purple potatoes.  Tear off squares of foil, I made four packets. Cut the potatoes in quarters (I only used 1/2 the bag), divide potatoes onto each piece of foil.  Peel a Vidalia onion and cut in half, then slice thickly and divide on top of the potato packets.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp of minced garlic (the jar kind is fine) drizzle with olive oil, top with a few springs of fresh thyme.  You could also use rosemary if you like.

 Fold them up tightly, onto the grill for 25 minutes and you have yourself some fantastic tasting "purple babies"!  Turn the potatoes as they are grilling.  Be careful opening the potatoes, they will be hot and steamy.

Purple People Eater

I spent a lot of time at the market yesterday, reading labels and food shopping.  I actually like doing that, seeing what I can get that's good to eat, while saving money at the same time.  I stumbled upon these purple potatoes in the produce section and thought I would give them a try.  Purple potatoes are rich in antioxidants, high in potassium and have a nutty flavor.  You can steam them in the bag, which I did not do because I wanted to use some of them for another meal.  I popped them in the microwave anyway and just pricked them with a fork.  In less than 2 minutes the potatoes were done.  I then drizzled olive oil onto a baking sheet, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and laid the potatoes cut side down. Along side was my fresh broccoli drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. 

 They both came out fabulous!  The broccoli is always crunchy, which I love, and the potatoes were crispy  on the outside and creamy on the inside.  I bought the crab stuffed tilapia and all I had to do was bake it.  So in less than 40 minutes this whole delicious meal was prepared.

 And then my son walked in with this fresh baked roasted red pepper and herb Italian bread, meal was complete!