Loaded Mashed Potatoes

I found the recipe for these potatoes in the most recent copy of Taste of Home that I recieved. When hubs saw it, he said that I could NEVER make my version look as good as the picture in the magazine, and that he didn't even think he'd like them anyways. Well. Jokes on him, because his mom has been making a recipe very similar to this for a long time now, and he has always really enjoyed it! So, I took it upon myself to make these potatoes for company over the weekend, and he, of course, loved them. I may or may not have made him beg for my forgiveness over his comments about the recipe ;)

No photo available, sorry!

Ingredients

- 9 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

- 1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

- 1/2 c. sour cream

- 1/2 c. butter, cubed

- 1/4 c. milk

- 1 1/2 t. onion powder

- 1 t. salt

- 1 t. garlic powder

- 1/2 t. pepper

- 6 slices of bacon, chopped

- 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

I originally saw a recipe very similar to this on one of Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals show, and I just wanted it sooo badly! I couldn't stop thinking about those "smashed" potatoes, as she called them, and searched the Food Network Website high and low for that recipe. Alas, since it was a rerun that I had spotted that great recipe on, the recipe was nowhere to be found on Food Networks website.

In comes Allrecipes to my rescue. I spotted this recipe in my recipe box (apparently I had saved it a year or so ago) and squealed with delight when I realized how close it was to Rach's potatoes! These potatoes are sooooo good! They are every bit as good as what I was imagining in my head! The bacon flavor distributes itself throughout the potatoes, the green peppers and onions add that extra little bit of "bam!" and the cheese...ohhh that ooey gooey cheese that has melted itself throughout the potatoes! That just made this side dish!

Ingredients...

...1/2 c. onion, chopped

...1/2 c. green pepper, chopped

...1 T. vegetable oil

...4 c. mashed potatoes

...1 c. shredded cheese, divided

...1/4 c. bacon, cooked and crumbled

...1 tsp. salt

...1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

 

Directions...

 

Saute onion and green pepper in vegetable oil. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, 1/2 c. shredded cheese, bacon, salt, pepper and sauteed onions/green peppers. Stir until everything is well combined and evenly distributed. Place mixture into a greased 2 qt. oven safe casserole dish and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Deviled Eggs

What would be a potluck celebration of any kind without at least one or two platters of these eggs sitting out? Every church potluck, family get together, holiday celebration or summer picnic that I've ever been to has always included deviled eggs, and I have always loved that! I've never made deviled eggs myself before, and was pleasantly surprised by how easy they were to make! Just toss, mix and spoon into the egg white! Done!

Ingredients...

...6 eggs

...1 tsp. white vinegar

...1 T. mayonnaise

...1/4 tsp. mustard

...Salt and pepper to taste

...1 tsp. paprika

Directions...

Hard boil eggs and let cool. Cut the eggs in half and remove yolks, placing them in a medium sized bowl and setting the egg whites aside for later. To the egg yolks add the vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard and salt/pepper. Mash and stir until everything is well combined, adding more mayonnaise as necessary. Spoon the mixture into the egg whites and sprinkle with paprika. Serve chilled.

Homemade Coleslaw

This is the first coleslaw recipe that I had ever tried to make on my own. I first discovered this recipe a year ago over at Allrecipes, but before I started my own search for a recipe I asked around for recipes from "foodie" friends and they all told me to just go to the store and buy the coleslaw mix, because that's what they do. If I wanted to just go buy a coleslaw mix, I wouldn't have bothered asking! This recipe would make a great side dish at any Easter celebration that you have coming up, because honestly, who doesn't love a good salad?

I decided to go with this recipe because it seemed simple, without all the crazy ingredients! It is just a simple coleslaw recipe that pairs well with just about any main dish! I decided that rather than shredding my cabbage, I was just going to chop it into very small chunks. I loved that chunkier feel to the coleslaw, it felt like it had more substance that way! However, when I've made this previously by shredding the cabbage I loved it that way too! This recipe reminds me a lot of that creamy coleslaw that you would get from a resturant off of the salad bar...simple, creamy and delicious!

Ingredients...

...1 head cabbage, shredded

...3 carrots, shredded

...1 c. mayonnaise

...1/3 c. sugar

Directions...

Combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sugar and cider vinegar. Pour over the cabbage/carrot mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. Let refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Skinny Scalloped Potatoes

If you are looking for a great tasting potato recipe to share at your family Easter dinner this weekend then here's your recipe. I'll warn you now though, this recipe is for a "reduced fat" type scalloped potato so it isn't the creamy, ooey, gooey, decadent scalloped potato dish that you are probably used to. It's nice to have a lighter potato recipe, it kind of helps to ring in spring by not eating such heavy, comfort food that we are so used to in the winter.

This dish has really great flavor! The spices are right on and the amount of cheese that is in here is just perfect! I urge you to try this for your Easter dinner this weekend, they won't disappoint!

Ingredients...

...1 chicken boullion cube

...1 1/2 c. water

...1 c. milk

...2 1/2 T. flour

...1/2 tsp. ground bay leaf (if you don't have this basil makes a nice substitution!)

...6 potatoes, peeled

...1/2 c. shredded cheese

Directions...

In a medium saucepan, stir together boullion cube, water, milk and flour over medium heat until thickened (about 5 minutes). Set aside. Slice potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices and layer half of them onto the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Pour 1/2 of the thickened milk mixture over the potatoes and then layer the remaining potatoes. Pour the rest of the thickened milk mixture over the potatoes. Sprinkle cheese over dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken.

Patio Potato Salad

I'm a true lover of potato salad. I don't know why I don't make it more often. Maybe because I'm so very used to my Grandma's recipe, which was never written down and was one of those recipes that she just tossed and tasted until it was right. I have yet to get it right. But I'm still pressing on.

I found this particular recipe from Taste of Home. I figure that considering my Grandma owned every issue ever printed of that magazine, it's my best bet for finding something close to her potato salad recipe. I came close with this recipe last summer, but it just wasn't it. Neither was this one. This one was super good though, and if I ever decide to give up on the quest to recreate Grandma's Potato Salad, this will be the one that I stick with (as of right now).

This recipe also marked a first in cooking for me, as I have never made a potato salad that required the "sauce" to be cooked prior to mixing. As far as I knew, all potato salads required just tossing and mixing of ingredients. So it was interesting to try things this way, and I was very pleased with the results!

Ingredients...

You're gonna laugh at this. Really, you will. I had all of the ingredients for this salad staged and ready to photograph...and then halfway through the cooking process I realized that I never actually took the picture. I just staged it. So....my intentions were good but there is no ingredients photo. Sorry!

...1/3 c. Sugar

...1 T. cornstarch

...1 to 1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard

...1/2 tsp. celery salt

...1 tsp. salt

...1/2 c. milk

...1/4 c. vinegar

...1 egg, beaten

...1/3 c. butter

...1/4 c. onion, chopped

...1/4 c. mayonnaise

...7 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
...3 hard cooked eggs, chopped

Directions...

In a saucepan combine the sugar, cornstarch, ground mustard, salt, celery salt, butter, egg, vinegar and milk. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened and bubbly. Cool. Stir in onion and mayonnaise. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and hard cooked eggs. Add dressing and toss gently to evenly coat everything. Refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour prior to serving.

To see more great recipes, be sure to check out Tuesday's at the Table over at All the Small Stuff, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Cinnamon Applesauce

As a child I always marveled over the pink applesauce on the grocery store shelves, but mom would never let us buy it. She said it was plain applesauce or none. I'm not really sure on her reasoning behind that...

So when I found this recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook I decided to whip up a batch. I should take a side street here and mention that I can no longer stand store boughten applesauce of any kind. I had a jar in my refrigerator a few weeks back and poured some to go with my lunch and I just wasn't satisfied. I guess once you go homemade you just can't go back. So I guess I have no idea how this version of homemade "pink" applesauce compares to the boughten kind...but I'm guessing it's probably better.

I was pleasantly surprised by how the red hots weren't "hot" once they were cooked into the applesauce. Only a nice cinnamon flavor shone through. And of course the pink color. This applesauce is a great change of pace from the regular stuff, and what a fun twist, being pink and all!

Ingredients...

...8 tart apples, peeled and quartered
...1 c. water
...1 c. sugar
...1/4 c. red hot candies

Directions...

Place apples and water in a large saucepan. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Mash apples once simmering is completed, and stir in sugar and red hots over heat until both are well disolved.

To see more delicious recipes, be sure to check out Friday Food over at Mom Trends, the Recipe Swap going on over at And Baby Makes Five, Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum and Food on Fridays over at Anne Kroeker!

Buttery Peas with Thyme

Day 3, the side dish!

I don't have a picture for this one quite yet -- which makes me feel like a bad food blogger. Pictures are coming. But for right now my computer has (yet another. yes. ANOTHER) virus. Hopefully this time we'll be back up and running in a week or so, but until then I am blogging from the local library. Which doesn't have a spot for plugging in memory cards that I'm aware of. Luckily, thanks to some extreme organization on my part, I had already uploaded pictures for other recipes into the day I wanted to share each one with you for the next few weeks, so today SHOULD be the only photo-less day! And HOPEFULLY we'll have our computer back FOR GOOD in a week or so!

Anyways. I'm not gonna lie to y'all. I'm getting tired of just plain old veggies. I want something different. No. I need something different. Something to add a little zest, so to speak. So when I found this recipe over at my Kitchen Cafe, I knew it was a must try! I'm glad that I decided to start with peas. They are the one veggie that I have the hardest time getting hubs to eat. One time he took a bite of canned peas and gagged. Yes, he literally gagged. That is the last I've gotten him to eat canned peas. Which is fine by me, I prefer the frozen variety anyways. I still had to fight him though. I found, through this recipe, however, that dolling up the peas really works! Hubs loved these!

I think I need to find new ways to doll up other veggies. Except for the whole butter and brown sugar laden method...I've been there done that. I can't seem to find any healthful benefits to vegetables dolled up with loads of BUTTER...

Here's the recipe. As soon as I get my computer back, I will share photos with you!

Ingredients...

...2 tablespoons butter
...1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 medium onion)
...2 teaspoons sugar
...1/4 teaspoon salt
...1/4 tsp. garlic powder
...3 cups frozen peas
...1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
...1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions...

In a skillet, melt the butter and add the onion, sugar and 1/4 tsp. of salt. Cook for about two minutes (the onion should be softened). Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds to one minute. Stir in the peas and thyme. Continue stirring while cooking until the peas are heated through. This should take around 3-5 minutes. Season with black pepper and salt as desired.

Easy Roasted Potatoes

I know I've made roasted potatoes before, but here's another recipe. I also mentioned in my first roasted potato post that I sometimes get frustrated with baking them, since they are so delicate...too long and they're crispy black...not long enough and they're raw, cold and crunchy. When I made these, I perfected how to cook them so they are fantastically soft and not a bit burnt! The answer is a glass baking dish (I used a 9x13 pan) and lowering the oven temperature while lengthening the baking time just a smidge. I was so happy with how soft these potatoes came out!

Ingredients...

...4 potatoes, peeled and diced
...1 T. garlic and herb seasoning (or just toss some garlic and other spices together if you don't have this blend)
...1/8 c. olive oil

Directions...

In a 9x13 glass dish toss potatoes with olive oil. Cover with seasoning(s) and toss again making sure to evenly coat all potato pieces. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Golden Potato Rounds

Do you love curly fries from a resturant? There is just something about them that I just can't pass up, they're sooo delicious! I found a recipe that is seriously JUST AS GOOD! Seriously! Plus, they're much healthier since they're baked and not fried. Next time I have a craving I am just going to whip up a batch of these instead of running out for a take out batch! Mmmmmm....I'm salivating just looking at the picture!

Ingredients...

...4 large potaotes washed and peeled

...3 T. butter, melted

...1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

...1 cup Rice Krispies cereal, crushed

Directions...

Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl combine crushed Rice Krispies and seasoned salt. Dredge potato rounds through melted butter and then cover completely in Rice Krispie mixture. Place potatoes in a greased glass baking dish and bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

Garlic Pull Apart Bread

We have pizza night once a week around here, and I like to have some sort of a garlic bread to go with it. I usually just whip up a batch of french bread and then toast it with some garlic powder and butter. I decided to go with something a little different this time around and made this garlic-y pull apart bread. This recipe is the exact same concept as monkey bread, except with garlic. I really like the concept of this bread and it was a great alternative to the normal garlic bread that I make. This picture does it no justice...it was much tastier than it looks, and it was even better dipped in marinara!

Ingredients...

...2 tubes of refrigerator biscuits
...1/4 cup butter
...1/2 T. garlic and herb blend spice (you can also substitute 1 T. parsley flakes, 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1/4 tsp. garlic salt if you don't have the herb blend on hand)

Directions...

Cut each biscuit into quarters and roll into a ball. In a small bowl, melt butter and then stir in seasoning(s). Cover each dough ball in butter/seasoning mixture and place in a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes.

To see more great recipes, check out the Recipe Swap going on over atr Life as Mom!

Crockpot Stuffing

Two days and counting until Thanksgiving...are you ready? I'm guessing you have your grocery list all made out for what you need to buy, and I'm guessing that Stove Top stuffing is on that list. Well cross it off! Seriously, you won't regret it! At first I was skeptical too...stuffing in the crockpot? No way it could be done! Well, bite your tongue (or rather, bite into some of this, yuummmm!) because it can be done! And it can be done better than any old box of Stove Top any day!

Ingredients...

...1 loaf bread
...1 tsp. minced onion (or onion powder. or that chopped onion that's dried and you can keep in the spice closet)
...1 cup celery, diced
...1 cup apple, diced (I used a granny smith)
...1/4 cup butter, melted
...1 1/2 cups chicken broth
...1 T. poultry seasoning

Directions...

Before you start crockpotting, you need to toast the bread. I cut my bread into chunks before I toasted it, but you can toast it in slices and then chunk. It's totally up to you. Place a single layer of bread in the oven at 300 for 15 minutes. But really, toasting time will depend on what type of bread you are using.

Once bread is toasted, place in crockpot. Add celery, apple, onion and poultry seasoning. Toss to evenly disperse ingredients. Add melted butter and chicken broth and toss to evenly coat bread. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. At this point you can determine if you would like your stuffing a little more moist or not. Let it stand for a few minutes uncovered, if you want more moist then add 1/4 cup more of chicken broth and stir well to coat all bread. Otherwise, serve as is!

Yep. That's it. It's that easy. So don't give me the excuse that boxed stuffing is easier to make. Puh-leeze!

To see other great recipes, be sure to check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Green Bean Casserole

Welcome to day 3 of my Thanksgiving meal countdown! If you missed the first two days, I made Rice Krispie Treats on day 1 and shared a tutorial for Homemade Mashed Potatoes on day 2!

The infamous green bean casserole. It just epitomizes Thanksgiving, doesn't it? I almost didn't make this to share with you, but I decided at the last minute that I just had to share it. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a casserole dish of this sitting on the table! Not only is this super delicious and a true symbol of Thanksgiving, but it's also incredibly simple! So if you are in a last minute bind to make something to share at a potluck Thanksgiving this is a surefire crowd pleaser that will only take you a few minutes to throw together! But don't be surprised if you weren't the only one with this idea!! There are a lot of different versions of this recipe out there, but this is a tried and true version that women, and men alike, have been making for decades!

I did make a few changes to this recipe...so I guess that makes it original to my kitchen! The original recipe says that the cost of this dish (alone!) is $11.25! So with my changes (and having got many of the ingredients for incredibly cheap with coupons) this is actually a very frugal version of the beloved green bean casserole, which is an aspect that I'm sure we all can enjoy!

Ingredients...

...4 cans cut green beans

...2 cans cream of mushroom soup

...1/2 onion, chopped

...1 cup milk (I omitted this. The casserole was plenty creamy and smooth without this)

...1 T. soy sauce

...1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (I also omitted this)

...Rice Krispies

Directions...

In a large oven safe casserole dish combine soup, green beans, onion and soy sauce together until well mixed (include milk and pepper here if you wish). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with Rice Krispies and return to oven for 5 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes from Scratch

This is another one of those recipes that probably doesn't need shared. But I'm choosing to do so for two reasons.

1. Up until about two years ago, I had no clue how to make mashed potatoes from scratch. One of my good friends had to teach me.

2. Because what would be a Thanksgiving dinner without mashed potatoes?

3. Because homemade from scratch mashed potatoes beat the pants off of boxed potatoes.

okay. okay. so that's three. don't send me hate mail since I can't count...

Seriously though. Homemade (from scratch!) mashed potatoes are divine. By far better than the boxed stuff. Plus, you can control what goes in them. No harsh preservatives here!!

So if you are in charge of the potatoes for this years Thanksgiving (or any holiday meal for that matter), here's a tutorial on doing it the "old fashioned way"...

First, you must wash and peel your potatoes. The amount you need depends on their size. I just peel and place in the pot until the potatoes cover the bottom of the pot.

Then cover the potatoes with water, adding enough water to have a few inches of standing water above the potatoes. Turn your burner on high heat and let potatoes boil until they are softened. Once things get rolling and really boiling, you will most likely have to turn the heat down a notch or two so you don't have a boiled over mess.

I can't give you an accurate time to how long this process will take. It depends on how big your potatoes are. I used a mix of small and big potatoes and it took about a half hour of boiling once things got going. I test the potatoes for doneness with a fork. When the potatoes are soft and the fork can go through with no problem, the potatoes are done and need removed from the heat.

Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add milk. The amount of milk depends on how smooth you like your potatoes. Start small and keep adding until you are content with the consistency. At this point, you can also add butter and salt. I personally do not add these to the whole batch, I only add milk. I let my guests add the butter and salt if they wish. With so many different diet restrictions these days due to cholesterol, etc. it's just much easier that way. Plus, I eat these for a snack often, and prefer them to be a bit healthier, so I don't like to have butter and salt in mine.

Serve! There are so many different options for this! Add some Thanksgiving gravy, or some butter/salt/sour cream, or some ranch dressing (mmmm! my favorite!). The possibilities are endless!

To see other great Thanksgiving ideas and recipes check out the Thanksgiving on a Budget linky roundup over at Money Saving Mom!

Seven Layer Salad

This is a delicious seven layer salad. Except in this version, there aren't seven layers. There are 6. ish. There should be more, but I forgot to chop up carrots. And I forgot to hard boil some eggs to slice up. Even though that makes eight layers. ish. Either way. This is a recipe that my mom made when we were growing up and we always really liked it. And then I grew up and moved away. And never ate it again. Until now. And yu-u-um! I just love it! It's so different from your regular old run of the mill salad. It's tastier.

Ingredients....

...1 head of lettuce, chopped
...1/2 green pepper, chopped
...1/2 bag frozen peas
...1 cup sour cream
...1 cup mayonnaise
...2 T. white sugar (not pictured)
...shredded cheese (the amount is up to you)
...4 slices bacon (or bacon bits. those will work just as well)

Directions...

In a glass bowl (or 9x13 inch pan...that's how my mom made it back in the day...) layer lettuce, green peppers and peas. You can do as many alternating layers as your bowl will fit. In a seperate, small bowl, stir mayonnaise, sour cream and sugar together until well combined. Smooth over the top of the salad. Top with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon.

Hassleback Potatoes

Hubs and I have been grilling alot lately...between the heat (which apparently has been on vacation the past few weeks. I'm content with that!) and the great marked down meats I've been getting lately, it just makes sense! We like to have potatoes when we grill...but I'm getting sick of foil wrapped potatoes and onions...fast! I decided to give this a shot and was happy with the result!

Ingredients...

...1 potato per person (skins left on. more nutrients.)
...1 tbsp. butter per potato
...Italian Seasoning
...Garlic Powder

Directions...

Place a potato between the handles of two wooden spoons. With a serrated knife, make cuts in the potato (the short way) that are 1/8" - 1/4" inch wide, not going all the way down through the potato (this is why the wooden spoon handles are here, to keep the depth of the cuts from going through and to keep them even). Repeat with each potato. Melt butter and pour 1 tbsp. worth over each potato. Sprinkle on garlic powder and italian seasoning. Bake in a shallow baking dish in the oven at 425* for 35-45 minutes.

My Thoughts...

This had a really great presentation to it, with the slices and the way that the skins turned golden it was almost an elegant looking dish! It had a great roasted taste to it and each slice easily pulled off making a fun finger food to go with our grilled steaks. The only thing I would make sure to do differently is to make sure the butter and spices get in between each slice...my flavorings all stayed up top, which gave the outside of the potato great flavor but left the inside pretty plain. This was fabulous, and I will for certain be making this again and again to go with our grilled (and non grilled) main dishes!