Griddler (or Waffle Iron) Hash Browns

Breakfast for dinner had been planned for 2 days. I just needed a lil sumthin' sumthin' extra on the side to round out the meal.

Then, one of my Pinterest friends repinned these hash browns, and it was settled. Original post and recipe can be found here. My take on them is below:

2 medium potatoes, shredded
1 medium onion, shredded
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Shred the potatoes and onions using your preferred method. I used my mandolin, but you could use your food processor's grater, some old fashioned Grandma's kitchen type grater, or just a regular ol' box grater.

Throw the grated potatoes and onion in a medium bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Using a fork, toss everything until mixed well.

Open your Griddler, panini press, waffle iron, or similar weapon of choice. Generously spray with olive oil or non stick spray. Lay the potato mixture out in an even, flat pile, and gently close the lid.

Let cook for 5-10 minutes, and then check on it. The bottom of my Griddler cooks hotter than the top, so I flipped the potatoes at this point. Continue cooking another 5-10 minutes, until they're a beautiful, crispy, crunchy brown.

I served ours with a cheese omelette and turkey sausage links. Later I added some ketchup to the hash browns, but they're delicious on their own. 

It was surprising to get such a yummy crunch from potatoes at home. I usually only get that at diners where I know they slather tons of grease and butter for the desired crunch. Johnny said "holy crap, these are better than Arby's potato cakes." And if you know Johnny, that's high praise. Really high praise.

This whole "recipe" is 266 calories, with ~5g fat from the small amount of olive oil. Both of us ate very hefty helpings (see plate above) and there was still some leftovers.

Broccoli Cheese Bites

It was past midnight. I was mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest (follow me!) on my phone, while laying in bed. Then I saw these and stopped dead in my tracks. It took me less than 30 seconds to get out of bed, put my shoes on, throw open the fridge and start making these. No exaggeration. I was like a tornado in the kitchen on a mission. I even dropped a 10" chef knife on the floor (jump back!) in the process. The only thought in my brain was "must make these fast, so they bake fast, so I can shove them in my face fast."

Original recipe can be found here. I had to alter it based on starting the recipe without checking all my ingredients first (because I was trying to make it as fast as humanly possible).

~3 cups broccoli florets, washed and cut in small pieces
~1.5 cups shredded cheese of choice (I used extra sharp cheddar)
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (I used reduced fat)

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using your hands to mix thoroughly. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and roll the mixture into golf ball sized portions, spacing them evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through. Makes about 30.

Try to let cool a few minutes before chowing down, otherwise you might burn the roof of your mouth! (ow.)

These were so good, which I'm excited about. I feel like the possibilities are endless- you could make with any fresh veggie on hand - spinach, beans, corn. You could use different cheeses or spices each time, too.

They'd be great as an appetizer or finger food while entertaining, or even as a side for dinner. They kept well and reheated nicely in the toaster oven. The second time I ate them I dipped them in low fat sour cream.

Johnny even enjoyed a few. Except he hates to get his hands dirty and greasy (computer geek phobia, having to work with keyboards and all...) so he used the tongs from flipping them. I thought it was funny when I turned around, especially since by now it was like 1am and we're both in the kitchen snacking away.

Annnnnnd, thank you for being patient-- the winner of the $25 Wal*Mart gift card was comment #21, Wendy from The Coupon Queen! Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to christina (at) dinneratchristinas (dot) com and it'll be on it's way! Thanks for playing everybody! Glad to see I'm not the only one who loves her sugary kid's cereal!

Christmas Dinner

Right after the wedding my parents left for Italy. Johnny and I came back to North Carolina with my brother and his girlfriend, Claire. We had a really low-key Christmas with just my God daughter and her family, us, and my brother. I loved the small Christmas. It was really fun company and just enough food to feed us, without going overboard with a gazillion sides and stress.

My brother cooked Christmas dinner, so no recipes, just sharing the day in photos!

First, he rinsed off the duck that had been brining for 48 hours.

Then, he scored the skin so the fat could render as it cooked.

Our first course was ...cheese. Just cheese. Lyn brought cheese, Michael brought cheese, and I had cheese. It was pounds and pounds of all kinds. Salami wrapped provolone, goat cheese, baked brie, and sharp cheddars.

Michael brought this wine all the way from California to share with us. He has been storing it for 4 years in a cellar, so we were really excited about it.

He was really proud of this "crust." Apparently it's sediment, and meant he stored it correctly on its side? He told me to take a picture, so I obliged...

All of the meal in progress-- busy kitchen!

The duck resting.

Awesome, crispy skin.

Really cute presentation. Legs, thighs, breasts, then wings.

My god daughter, Marissa, led us in prayer.

Then the family was ready to chow down!

The roasted duck with red wine cherry gravy.

Roasted teeny tiny potatoes with onions and garlic.

White wine braised kale with bacon.

The wine continued to flow...

...which led to funny faces...

...and new brother-in-law love!

After dinner, we went down the road to show the girls a really over-the-top decorated house. It's been on The Today Show and HGTV.

The Newlyweds!

Merry Christmas! :)

Celebrate!

This week there are three things to celebrate around here.

First -- we sold the house!! It officially closed on Wednesday, September 7th.

Second -- September 7th also happened to be mine and Johnny's 5th anniversary!

Third -- September 12th is Dinner at Christina's third birthday!

Biz just celebrated her 3rd blogiversary too and I loved the "look back" she did.

Dinner at Christina's fans have been there for:

The story of my chef brother
My Grammy passing away
My first Video Demonstration: Pan Fried Pork Chops
My Dad's Homemade Sausage
My first Blogger meet up
My second Blogger meet up
Friday Firsts
When Johnny proposed!
Major House Renovations
Moving into our new tiny apartment
And following along as I plan our Dec. 2011 wedding!

I decided to splurge a bit at the grocery store on behalf of this special week. We had a great Saturday night dinner.

Massive grilled steaks medium rare, grilled onions, grilled poblano chiles, and sweet potato waffle fries.

Roast Beef Dinner & House Pics

Please CLICK HERE for more information on two great causes going on THIS Saturday, May 14th!

Last night I made a roast beef and potatoes alongside. On the stove top I made some green beans, much like this recipe.

It was really good, even though I wanted the meat a little more rare. I'm so not good at judging when is the best time to pull it out and how long to let it rest, etc.

Some house update pics, for those of you following along:

J modeling the size of the new fireplace. He's 6' for reference.

Downstairs closet and bathroom doors hung and framed out.

My daddy staining the doors.

The doors off, some shelves hung, and the frames stained.

A patch of grass in the backyard we accidentally killed. Whoops!

200' of baseboard stained. (Dad's working on installing it downstairs right now.)

Kale Chips

I finally tried kale chips. I know, I know I'm late to the game. But the only place around me I can find kale is at Wal*Mart and I know you won't blame me for avoiding that place.

It's a simple process. Stem the leaves and tear into 3-4" pieces. Rinse thoroughly and drain. Toss in a bowl with olive oil and your choice of spices. You could sprinkle garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, etc. depending on your mood.

Spread out onto a greased baking sheet and pop into a 350° oven for 12-15 minutes. The leaves will be dried and crispy when they're ready to be removed. Some areas might remain slightly soggy/steamed but most crisp up some upon standing.

I thought they were good, but they didn't rock my socks off. Plus I think it's a lot of effort for not a lot of product.

If I were to make these regularly, I'd do really big batches because you snarf them down pretty quickly. Although I'm not sure how well they keep and also how the nutrients are once you've baked them to a crisp.

Southwestern Succotash

We enjoyed some of my tamales for dinner, so I needed a quick side dish. Working with what I had on hand, this is what I whipped up.


1 Tbsp olive oil
3 green onions/scallions
1 cup frozen corn
15 oz. can of black beans, drained
1 cup leftover grilled bell peppers
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the scallions. Once they're softened, add the frozen corn and stir until it comes up to temperature. Add the can of beans and grilled bell peppers. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin, stirring to mix everything. Put a lid on the skillet and let it slowly heat through.

The house is coming along pretty well! My dad and cousin got here Monday and have already finished the drywall job downstairs that Johnny and his brother started. The downstairs bathroom is re-drywalled and the shower gutted. Next comes some tile work for the bathroom and fireplace, then they'll be able to paint! It's exciting to see so much work get done in such a short amount of time.

The Ridiculously Delicious Challenge - Stage 3

Thank you for your votes, everybody! Because of you, I have successfully made it to Stage 3 of the Ridiculously Delicious Challenge, hosted by Marx Foods!

In this stage of the challenge, I had to choose one of the other 14 blogger's recipes who advanced and makeover their recipe utilizing three of my unused ingredients from the original eight mystery ingredients.

After perusing the widely diverse recipes, I chose to interpret the Moroccan inspired fish tacos and coleslaw by Lawyer Loves Lunch in a new way.

My makeover uses a different flavor inspiration - the lively Jamaican jerk seasoning. Jerk seasoning is such a unique spice/marinade. It uses sweet, spicy, hot, salty, all in one burst of unmatched flavor. I looked through recipe after recipe until I found a list of must-have inclusions. In place of the traditional brown sugar, habanero chilis, and black pepper I used the coconut sugar, Tepin chilis, and Szechuan peppercorns, respectively. I feel like these ingredients still represent Jerk seasoning's complexity, while adding a diverse spin.

Jerk seasoning:
1/3 cup coconut sugar
3 gloves garlic, minced
7 or 8 dried Tepin chilis, ground (more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, ground
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground Thyme
1 small onion, minced (can use green onions/chives)
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Coleslaw:
1/4 wedge of small green cabbage
2 Tbsp mayo
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp celery seed
salt and pepper, to taste

Additional:
1 lb. cod fillets
10 6" tortillas (your choice of corn or flour)

Begin by mixing the Jerk seasoning ingredients in a shallow glass dish. Taste and adjust seasonings to your personal preference.

Liberally cover the cod fillets in the Jerk and allow to marinate for at least two hours.

Chop the cabbage into bite sized pieces. Mix the remaining ingredients together with the cabbage. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours for the flavors to develop.

Heat a griddle pan to high. Cook the cod fillets through, until they begin to flake.

Plate your fish tacos using the warmed tortillas, generous chunks of the Jerk marinated cod, and a healthy forkful of the coleslaw.


This is such an explosion of flavors. The Jerk seasoning covers every tastebud on your tongue with heat, sweet, spice, warmth, salty, and peppery. The coleslaw is very tart and refreshing, a nice addition to the other complex flavors.


Only 10 of the 15 Stage 3 competitors will move to Stage 4, so wish me luck! There will be no voting for this round. The 8 recipes chosen the most times to be made over will move up and Marx Food's opinions will determine the other 2 advancers.

Edited to add: My 2nd choice makeover choice would have been Snippet of Sue's salmon.