Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

Ingredients:

~ 4 to 5 large potatoes (red or regular) cut into thin french fries or enough to fill a 9×13 glass baking dish

~ 1 pint whipping cream- 2 cups

~ salt and pepper over the potatoes and cream

~ 2 tsp. parsley flakes

~ 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Directions: 

~ Cut your potatoes into thin french fry strips, and lay the fries, in a 9×13″ glass pan. (Arctic circle or McDonald’s fries type of thin!)

~ Pour all of the cream over the top of the fries.

~ Salt and pepper the potatoes very generously.

~ Sprinkle at least 2 cups grated Cheddar Cheese over the top.

~ Sprinkle Parsley flakes on top of the cheese.

~ Spray a bit of cooking spray on the side of the foil that will face the cheese. This assures that the foil won’t stick to the cheese after it melts.

~ Cover with foil, and poke a fork through the top of the foil, 2 or 3 times to allow a little steam to escape. This way, your cream doesn’t boil over into your oven.

~ Place your potatoes in the middle of the oven. Cook at 400 degrees for about 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

~ During the last 15 or 20 minutes of baking lower your rack one more step. This makes the bottom of your potatoes, brown and crispy.

~ Remove potatoes from the oven, remove the foil and eat!

Sweet Potato Krisps

This is a recipe I found in one of my running magazines...cuz heaven knows we need our sweet potatoes! It's a little diff from the ordinary sweet potato fries (which I make with pumpkin pie spice, yum!) or a baked sweet potato with brown sugar.

Ingredients:
~ 2 med sweet potatoes, sliced in 1/8" rounds
~ 2 Tbsp olive oil
~ 1/2 tsp garlic powder
~ salt and pepper
~ 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
~ 2 Tbsp parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss potatoes in olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake, turning every 10 minutes, until they're just the way you like 'em. Sprinkle w/ sesame seeds and parsley.

Whipped Cream, Fruit & Cookie Salad Y-U-M!

My sister-in-law brought this to our annual Easter party and it was a HUGE hit!  It's easy to make too.

Ingredients & Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, pour in 2 small pkgs vanilla instant pudding powder. Add 1 large tub whipped cream, 1 large container of strawberry yogurt, 1 frozen pkg of strawberries, 1 frozen pkg of raspberries, then add mini vanilla wafers. Refrigerate until serving.  (I'd make this enough ahead of time for the berries to thaw and the wafers to get a little soft or else it's not as good...a couple of hours in the fridge should do the trick!)

Recipe from: Sister-in-law, Crystal Taylor

Chili Cheese Dip in a Flash!

This is a fast and easy, easy dip. We throw it in a mini crock pot for parties last minute or have it along side of a meal at lunch or dinner.



Ingredients:
~ 2 cans chili
~ 1 15oz jar of Tostitos Salsa Con Queso (in the chip section)
~ Tortilla Chips, Fritos, or whatever you like

Directions:
In medium sized mixing bowl mix chili and cheese. Microwave until warm throughout, stirring frequently OR combine chili and cheese in a small crock pot. Cook on low until warm and serve in crock pot. You can microwave until warm and place in a crock pot on low so that it stays warm also.

Artichoke Bowtie Pasta

This is a great side dish that is always a hit.


Ingredients:
~ 1 box bowtie pasta
~ 2 cans artichokes, smashed or cut into pieces (more if you'd like)
~ 1 can olives, halved
~ Caesar dressing (I recommend Cardini's...plastic bottle w/ green label)
~ Fresh Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions. Toss all ingredients, coating well with plenty of dressing. (As this salad sits, the noodles will absorb the dressing so wait to pour on dressing until just before serving. If you have leftovers, just refrigerate and add a little more dressing before serving agian.)

Recipe from: my sister-in-law, Liz

1 hour Soft and Delicious Brown Rice

When I make this my mom always asks how I got my rice to taste so good. This is softer and deliciously flavored compared with cooking brown rice by ordinary package directions.


Ingredients:
~ Brown Rice
~ 1/2 c. more water than required
~ Chicken base, chicken bullion, chicken stock or chicken broth

Directions:
Add water to pan according to package directions, adding an additional 1/2 cup for first 1 1/2 cups water, 3/4 cup total if doubling. Add chicken base or bullion with recommended amount of rice when water boils. If using chicken stock or broth, swap all water with this. If using chicken base or bullion, add 1tsp per cup of water. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about an hour. Then, tilt pan with lid on and see if there is any water that dribbles from the side of the rice (you'll need a glass lid to see this). If so, cook a little longer. When all water is absorbed, remove from heat and let set 10 min. Wa Lah!

Simple Steamed New Potatoes

These are deliciously healthy and can be used as a side dish or made up as a meal mixed with chicken and veggies. I serve them to my munchkins smothered in cheese and they love it...they even eat the skins!!


Ingredients:
~ New Potatoes (as many as you'd like) cut into about 2" pieces
~ EVOO
~ Salt & Pepper
~ Thyme (optional)
~ Parsley (optional)

Direction:
Wash potatoes, cube, and place in a steamer. Steam until tender. Remove from steamer, drizzle with olive oil (enough to coat), sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme & parsley to taste and toss. Enjoy!

Oven Baked Potato Pieces

My fam loves these. They're Shawn's fav in breakfast burritos and with meatloaf. Super easy and can't really go wrong. I never buy frozen potatoes for breakfast meals anymore because these are so quick and delicious. Since my sister tried these, she hasn't since bought frozen either!


Ingredients:
~ 2-3 T butter
~ 3-4 large potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
~ Mrs. Dash
~ Seasoning Salt

Directions:
Cube butter and place in a 13x9 pan (or smaller if you want to make a smaller batch. Turn oven onto between 350 and 425 degrees depending on the hurry you're in. Place pan in oven at any time and melt. Remove from oven. Spread melted butter around bottom of pan and top with potato cubes and sprinkle a generous amount of seasoning on top. Stir well. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes or until soft. When soft, remove cover and bake until slightly crispy. You can turn them if you like.

T.V. Pasta Side Dish

Ingredients:
~ Angel hair pasta
~ 1/2 c. cottage cheese
~ 1/2 c. sour cream
~ grated onion
~ dash Worcestershire sauce
~ 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
~ salt
~ mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over noodles. Place in baking dish, top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Recipe from: mom

Broccoli, Rice & Chicken Casserole (delicious!)

This is a very quick, easy & yummy recipe off of the instant rice box. I've never used instant rice for it though.

Ingredients:
~ 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & cubed (optional - this is a great meal even without the chicken!)
~ 1 can cream o' chick soup
~ 2 c. uncooked white rice
~ 2 c. broccoli
~1 c. grated cheese

Directions: (2 cooking options!)
To the cooked rice add: chicken, cream o' chick soup & broccoli. Mix well. Top with add'l cheese and serve

OR

heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, cream o' chick soup and cheese. Place in baking dish, top with broccoli and bake for about 10-15 minutes or so.

Oriental Chicken Bowtie Salad

(Picture Coming Shortly)

Ingredients:
~ 4 uncooked chicken breasts, cubed

Marinade and Dressing:
~ 1/4 c. rice vinegar
~ 1/4 c. vinegar
~ 1/2 c. soy sauce
~ 1/2 c. sugar
~ 1 tsp. sesame oil
Whisk ingredients until sugar dissolves. Marinade chicken overnight. Cook over med-high heat until done. Drain off excess marinade. Put in fridge to cool. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients:

~ 3/4 c. slivered almonds
~ 1/4 c. sesame seeds
~ 1/2 lb-ish bowtie pasta
~ 1 bunch green onions
~ 1 large or 2 small bags fresh spinach

Top with cooled chicken. ENJOY!

Hawaiian Rice

Serve this rice with the Hawaiian Chicken recipe posted in May. Perfect together.



~ 1 can beef broth
~ 1 can french onion soup
~ 1 stick butter
~ 1 1/2 cups white rice

Mix all ingredients, except butter, in a 13x9 pan. Cut butter into cubes and spread on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover last 15 minutes.

Recipe from: Sister-in-law, Liz

Incredible Cannery Potato Pearls

We all love the cannery potato pearls but, believe it or not, you can love them even more!! We have these at least once a week. Quick and simple and MMMM, MMMM, GOOD! No one will ever guess how simple and easy these are!


Ingredients:
Cannery Potato Pearls(as much as you want)
~Sour Cream
~Cheddar Cheese (I'm sure you can use any type)
~Bacon
~Green Onions (optional, I usually don't have them)


Directions:
Prepare potatoes according to label directions using the least amount of water suggested. I always throw the water in the microwave, much quicker than on the stove! Add enough sour cream to make smooth and creamy, I use ALOT. Shawn doesn't like sour cream but, these are his favorite potatoes! Add cheddar cheese, for 2 cups water and 1 cup potato pearls, I add a couple of handfulls. Stir in cooked bacon. ENJOY!

Recipe from: my sister, Tricia

Twice Baked Potatoes

SUPER EASY, semi-fancy side dish! A great alternative to mashed potatoes. This is one of our favorite side dishes and is always a hit with company. Prep Time: about 15 minutes (cook bacon, chop bacon, mix filling) Cooking Time: 1 hour to 1 hour 20 min. total

Ingredients:
• 4 Potatoes
• ½ Package Bacon (cooked and cut into small pieces), divided (OPTIONAL, but VERY good!!)
• 1 - 2 cups Cheese, divided (your fav type)
• 1 cup Sour Cream (optional)
• 4 T Butter (or more...the more the merrier!)
• Milk
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Bake potatoes directly on rack in 400 degree oven for 45 min. to 1 hour or until “baked potato” soft. Cut top ¼ of potato skin out. Spoon potato from skin and place in a bowl. With a hand mixer, mix in sour cream, butter, ¾ of the bacon and 1 cup cheese, salt and pepper to taste; Beat well. Add milk to make mashed-potato consistency. Spoon mixture back into skins. Top with additional cheese & remaining bacon. Sprinkle with dried or fresh parsley, if desired. Put on a baking sheet in the oven for 20 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly but not hard and crusted.