funeral potatoes

These are a perfect dish to make in large quantities for a community gathering, such as a funeral. Hence the name. Or perhaps they were dubbed Funeral Potatoes because they make one think of Heaven (they're that good). Whichever the reason, Funeral Potatoes is how they are known to us. And they're amazing. In fact, they are my husband's favorite food. Comfort food at its finest. And this is the best recipe I've found for them -- from my sis-in-law Mindy, who got it from her Aunt Connie. Now I give it to you. You can thank me later.

RECIPE: Funeral Potatoes

Ingredients: 

1 can cream of celery soup

4 1/2 c. frozen hashbrowns (cooked, shredded potatoes)

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. chopped green onions

2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2-3 c. crushed corn flakes

2 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

Melt 1/4 c. butter. Add soup, green onions, sour cream and cheese. Stir until blended well. Put potatoes in casserole dish and layer with sauce. 

Mix corn flakes and 2 Tbsp. butter. Spread on top of potatoes. 

Bake until heated through, 30 min at 350F. 

Note: This is best if made the night before or earlier in the day and then heated.

Quick & Easy Green Chili Enchiladas

We came home from church today hungry and impatient. I saw the green chili enchilada sauce (Hatch brand, of course) in the cupboard and suggested smothered bean burritos. Somehow that involved quickly into a super quick (and surprisingly delicious) green chili enchilada. The whole family really enjoyed it; even my critical kidlets were singing its praises and asking for seconds! Yum. Here's how we did it...

RECIPE: Quick & Easy Green Chili Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS:

1 can cream of chicken

1 can chicken breast (it's cooked already)

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can diced green chilis (Hatch)

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 can green chili enchilada sauce (Hatch)

6 flour tortillas, warmed

DIRECTIONS:

Dump the cream of chicken, chicken, beans, chilis, 1/2 the cheese and a bit of the enchilada sauce (1/3 maybe) into a medium bowl. Mix well. Microwave for 3-4 minutes, stirring mid-way. 

Pour a little of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of an 8x10 baking dish (to grease the pan, sorta). Fill the dish with rolled enchiladas (about 2-3 spoonfuls of chicken mixture inside a tortilla, rolled into a burrito, repeat), all in a line. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes (or if you're super impatient like as were, just broil on high... it was really good this way too) until the cheese is melted and bubbly and brown. 

And that's it! Easy peasy! Next step: dig in!

chicken and broccoli soup

Derek and I kind of just threw this together today based on things we had available and some leftover rice we wanted to use up. We also wanted to put something in the crock pot so that we would have something warm and ready when we got home from church. Luckily, this tossed-together concoction turned out super yummy! I love it when that happens! Let's see if I can remember how we made it...

RECIPE: Chicken and Broccoli Soup

Serves: 6
Calories: 394

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breast
1/2 large onion, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
salt + pepper
1 bag broccoli spears
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated
2 tsp chicken bullion
2 c cooked rice
3 Tbsp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:
Defrost chicken breast if frozen. Place in crock pot, along with onions, and pour a bit of water (1/3 c -ish) over it all. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook in the crock pot (covered, obviously) over low heat for 2 hrs. Add broccoli spears, cream of mushroom soup, and parm cheese. Add a bit more water mixed with the bullion. Set the heat to high, cover and cook for 2 more hours. Then add the rice, cheddar cheese and more water (1-2 c, hot water). Stir it all, breaking up the broccoli and shredding the chicken. Season more to taste (it won't likely need it, but check). Then serve and enjoy!

salsa chicken

photo source: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2011/03/salsa-chicken-slow-cooker.html

I found this recipe via Pinterest and was instantly intrigued.  First, it looked super yummy.  Second, it looked super easy, using ingredients I have already on hand.  And third, it was a crock pot meal.  Love.  The recipe is not at all mine.  I got it from a blog called Chef Mommy.  But I wanted to post it so that I would remember to make it again.  I altered the ingredients a teensy bit to cater to my exact items on hand as well as my general laziness, but that's it.  Mmm.  Yummy.  Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

RECIPE: Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

1.3 lb chicken breast

1 c. salsa

1 c. sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can black beans, drained and rinced

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crockpot.  Stir/whisk sauce together to incorporate {I did this in the crock pot cause I'm just too lazy to dirty another bowl}.  Cover and turn the crock pot on.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6.  Serve over rice, and enjoy!

tin foil dinners

Nothing says summer like camping, and nothing says camping like tin foil dinners. Although we didn't feel up to driving up the canyon and building a fire (especially since it was past dinnertime already), we used our math skills and figured that if A = B and B = C, then A = C (that's right, Mr. Kerr, I was paying attention). So for us, nothing says summer like tin foil dinners... a la grill! :) We did eat them on our front porch whilst sitting in camping chairs. That counts for something, right?

They're easy-peasy. Here's how you make 'em.

RECIPE: Tin Foil Dinners

Ingredients:

Tin foil dinners can be made with just about anything. The way we make them generally includes the following staples:

tin foil

ground beef

potatoes, thinly sliced

onions, chopped

carrots, chopped

seasoning* (a good amount)

*For seasoning, we generally use Lawry's seasoning salt and freshly ground pepper, but use what sounds good to you. Also, we generally use white/yellow onions, but this time all we had in the house were green ones. So we used those, and it was really tasty! Seriously, tin foil dinners are so easy and versatile. Almost anything goes.

Then we throw in whatever else sounds yummy. This time, we had leftover kabob-ingredients (cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers) in the fridge, so we chopped them up and used them too.

I stop there, but Derek likes to add a dollop of Cream of Mushroom soup to his. Both ways are super yummy.

Directions:

Assembling the lil' guys is easy as well. Lay out a big piece of tin foil (or layer two, if you want to be on the safe side)- about 2 ft. long. Put your meat down in the center; flatten it into a patty of sorts; season it. Then pile on the veggies and whatever else you decided to add, seasoning that as well. Seal the foil up like a package- pulling the longer sides up and rolling them together first, then closing up the ends.

Toss those puppies on the grill, over med-high heat, for 20 minutes- flipping them half way (so 10 minutes on each side).

Serve warm and enjoy. Mmm... summertime!

PS. This is a great meal to let kids help with (which almost guarantees they'll eat it afterward). James assembled his own, grabbing a handful of this and a handful of that. I even let him help with the seasoning. Super fun, and healthy too!

What do YOU put in your tin foil dinners?

creamy italian chicken

This meal doesn't look like much {crock-pot meals often don't, imo}, but it tastes fabulous! Our friends/family Jon and Ashley made this for us and therefore were matchmakers ... because we're now in love with this scrumptious delight! This meal is super delicious. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

PS. As with all crock-pot meals, feel free to add or reduce quantities to your liking {or to your pantry's preference}. If you have tons of potatoes, throw in a few more. If you hate carrots, don't add them at all. The original recipe was actually just for chicken {no veggies added}. You could do it just chicken, shred it at the end and throw it on top of pasta. Or rice. Or roast the potatoes and carrots separately in the oven {with EVOO, S&P and at 400F for 40ish minutes}. We've done that, and it was fab. Really, your possibilities are endless! Be creative. It's divine either way.


RECIPE: Creamy Italian Chicken

Ingredients:
1 packet Italian dressing seasoning (dry)
1-2 lbs. chicken
1/2 c. chicken broth
5 potatoes, quartered
1/2 lb. baby carrots
1 cube cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup

Directions:
Place chicken in crock-pot. Cover with dry Italian dressing seasoning. Add chicken broth {I usually just pour it in around the edges, moisturizing the chicken-meets-crockpot area}. Cover and cook on low for 2 hrs (or on high for 1 hr).

Add potatoes and carrots. Whisk cream cheese and cream of chicken soup together well and dump/spread on top of it all. Cover again and cook on low for about 3 hours (or on high for 1-1/2 hrs) or until veggies are soft and chicken is cooked through.

And you're done! Enjoy!

broccoli cheese risotto

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a risotto, but it's what I'm going to call it- for lack of a better name. It would also make a good casserole... just sprinkle some cheese on top and pop the whole thing in the oven for a bit, until the cheese is browned and bubbly. It's a great meal (or side dish) to make when you don't have much time and want to use up your leftover cooked rice from a previous dish. It's also great if you have a scrawny kid that you need to fatten up. ;)

RECIPE: Broccoli Cheese Risotto

Ingredients:

2 c. broccoli

1/2 med. onion

3/4 c. water

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 c. rice, cooked

1 can cream of chicken/mushroom soup

1-2 c. chicken stock/broth

1/2-1/3 lb. sharp cheddar cheese

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Dice broccoli and onion, toss into a saucepan with water and a bit of oil, over high heat*. Bring to a boil and reduce heat slightly. Cover and boil until soft. Add more water (or chicken stock) if needed. *{You could also roast the veggies, but I was short on time.}

Once veggies are soft, add in cooked rice, cream of chicken/mushroom soup, chicken stock and cheese. Stir frequently, mixing and melting over medium heat. Add salt/pepper to taste {I like lots of pepper... freshly ground, of course}. Serve warm and enjoy!