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.

chili colorado

This recipe will always make me think of my dad.  When my parents were getting a divorce (sad), I was quite worried about my dad starving to death- as he had literally cooked nothing his entire marriage, to my knowledge (besides the corn dog he once exploded, thus ruining both a microwave and his chances in the kitchen in the same kaboom).  Luckily, he learned a few good Mexican dishes he could make that were simple, cheap and filling.  Mexican bachelor food.  This was among them, and when he visited, he taught me how to make it.  Derek and I really love it, and the kids seem to as well.  Very simple, very flavorful, very seemingly-authentic and very delicious.



RECIPE: Chili Colorado

Ingredients:
1 lb stew meat (or chuck roast), thinly sliced/diced
1 onion, thinly sliced/diced
4 potatoes, thinly sliced/diced
1 can enchilada sauce
garlic powder and pepper, to taste

Directions:**
Cook the meat, onion and potatoes in a pot over medium to medium-high heat.  Season with garlic powder and/or pepper if desired.  Once meat is cooked through, add the enchilada sauce.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft.  Serve with warm tortillas.

**Note: My sister Tori discovered that you can throw all the ingredients in the crock pot and then BAM! Dinner! I tried it, and it was awesome! The meat was so tender and perfect! I will be doing it that way from now on. The moisture from the meat/veggies made the sauce soupy, though. So maybe remove the lid for the last 20 minutes to let some moisture evaporate?? Also, add a dollop of sour cream when dishing up! Mmm, mmm, delicious!

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?

salmon chowder

Note: Picture AND recipe courtesy of Kurt & Bonnie Anderson. Kurt ice-fished and brought home some gorgeous, delicious salmon. Kurt de-scaled and de-boned (I know there are real words for these things, but I don't know them) the fish at his own apartment- which was especially kind (ick). And he and Bonnie came over and cooked up this amazing soup for us. They even took the picture. Absolutely none of this is mine, but it was a delicious recipe, and I wanted to share it. Thank you, Kurt and Bonnie! Try it. You will thank them too!

PS. I don't like fish as a general rule. At all. And I LOVED this. It's not really "fishy" and tastes great. So if you're leery of fish like I am, still try it. It really is that good!

RECIPE: Salmon Chowder

Ingredients:

2 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large onion, chopped

1 (49.5 fl. oz.) can chicken broth

1 lb. salmon steaks, bones removed, cut into 1" cubes

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 c. milk

1 c. half-and-half cream

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/2 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, bring potatoes, onion and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Add salmon and bacon; cook over medium heat until fish flakes easily with a fork. Reduce heat; stir in milk, cream, butter, salt and pepper; heat through (do not boil). Thicken if desired.

{Note: He did have to thicken it and used probably 3-4 Tbsp. corn starch (mixed first with cold water) to do so. Also- don't be afraid to bring it to a boil (it needs it to thicken with the corn starch); just don't leave it there.}

Mmm... try it. It's wonderful.

roast with potatoes, carrots and gravy

There's nothing like walking into the house after church and getting ambushed by the amazing aroma of a slow-cooked roast. Mmm. Derek actually instigated this dinner. He let me sleep in, and when I woke up, I could already smell the roast cooking. It was a pleasant surprise. My husband is the sweetest.

We cooked the roast, potatoes and carrots in the crockpot for a long time, making it so tender it practically melted in our mouths! I whipped up a quick gravy just before we ate using the drippings, and the whole thing was delish. All three of us loved it. It was a hearty, cozy, wonderful family meal.



RECIPE: Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 lb. beef roast {this was chuck}
4 potatoes
1-2 handfuls of baby carrots
1/2 c. onion, diced
2 c. water
Lawry's seasoning
black pepper (freshly ground)

Directions:
Rub roast liberally with seasoning and pepper. Wash and cube potatoes. Place roast into crockpot, followed by potatoes, carrots and onions. Add water. Season veggies liberally with seasoning and pepper. Cover with lid (and I usually put a kitchen towel or two on top of the lid, to trap in heat even more). Turn crockpot on a) high for 3 hrs, or until roast is cooked through... or b) low for 5-8 hrs, or until roast is cooked through. {This roast we had alone - with just water - in crockpot on high for 2 hrs, then on low with veggies for about 3-4 hrs more.}

RECIPE: Roast-Top Gravy

Yield: about 1 1/2 c. (depends on drippings)

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
roast drippings

Directions:
In a small frying pan over high heat, melt butter. Once butter is melted and starting to boil, add flour, a little at a time. Whisk quickly to combine. Let the roux boil for about a minute, to cook out the "floury" taste. Then add the drippings a little at a time, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Continue simmering/whisking until the gravy reaches desired consistency. Add more salt/seasoning/pepper if needed {ours was plenty tasty}. Serve warm, atop your meal, and enjoy!

steak with roasted broccoli and steak fries

I really dislike most "raw" vegetables. Always have. I have a few exceptions, but broccoli is definitely not one of them. Broccoli was just one of those vegetables... the kind where you're not surprised by the stereotype that always names it as what no kids will eat. I could stomach it {cooked}, but still thought it was blah. Until.... dun dun dun... Rachael Ray introduced me to ROASTED broccoli.

It's divine. It's nutty and somewhat sweet, with crisp edges and tender, savory insides. You'd never guess broccoli could taste this way. I love it. And my family does, too {especially James, which is sayin' something}. So we eat it a lot. A lot a lot. Here is one example of that.

RECIPE: Steak with roasted broccoli and steak fries

Yield: 2 1/2

Ingredients:

2 steaks

1/2 bag frozen broccoli (any work, but spears are prettiest)

4-5 potatoes

EVOO

Lawry's (or your fav seasoned salt)

Spade L Ranch (or your fav steak seasoning)

salt/pepper (I always use freshly ground pepper... it's tons better.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F and fire up the grill.

Wash and cut potatoes (into wedges, about 8 wedges per potato).

Place potatoes and broccoli on a cookie sheet/stone. Drizzle EVOO over potatoes and broccoli then rub it in with your hands. Sprinkle generously with pepper and a) salt for broccoli / b) Lawry's for potatoes. Give 'em a rub again if they need it.

Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and broccoli has blackened edges.

For the steak, make sure it's thawed and rub EVOO on both sides, followed by a thick rub of Spade L Ranch seasoning and ground pepper. Grill until done to your specifications. (In the above picture, we used the George Foreman since our grill is buried under a mound of snow. It's not as pretty, but it was actually very tasty.)

Serve warm, heaped together on a plate, and enjoy!

zuppa tuscana

For as long as I can remember, my mother's potato soup has been a major comfort food for me. It is so, so delicious and incredibly memory-invoking. I literally can eat bowls upon bowls of it in one sitting. This soup to me is a rainy day with pjs, a cuddly blanket, and a good book. It is sitting at my window, watching a creosote-scented, New Mexico thunderstorm.

Needless to say, I LOVE my mother's potato soup. While in college, I called to get her recipe. I can guarantee it was a raining when I called. My mom's recipes are always really vague {a little of this, a half a dozen or so of these, etc.} because she's naturally a good cook. That or she's been one long enough to disregard measurements. {Side note: This made learning from her as a kid difficult because I am absolutely NOT this way. I'm all about stirring, measuring, and exactness- at least in the beginning. Some might say anal. I say perfectionist.}

The point is: My recipe started with hers.

It became my own {and then only in a copy-cat kind of way} when I discovered Olive Garden's Zuppa Tucsana, loved IT, and thought, "This is practically Mom's potato soup, just with a few added ingredients!" So I added a bit, altered a bit, and came up with this. I love it. And so will you.

RECIPE: Zuppa Tuscana (My Version)

Serves: 12

Calories: 202

Ingredients:
6 med-lg potatoes
2-3 c. chopped carrots
2 cubes chicken bullion, "smooshed"
water
1 lb Italian sausage (I like Jimmy Dean the best.)

3 Tbsp. Real Bacon Bits
1 large onion, diced
1 can evaporated milk
1/3 cup milk
1/3 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese *divided
kale, de-stemmed and chopped

salt/pepper, to taste

Directions:Wash and slice/dice potatoes (the thinner/smaller, the quicker they cook). Put in a large pot and cover with water (about 10 c.). Toss in the carrots, bacon and chicken bullion, too. Boil until tender, stirring occasionally (to make sure they don't burn to the bottom). Using a potato masher, just mash up the potatoes a little in the water (sometimes my spoon does the trick, too).

While the potatoes boil, brown Italian sausage and onions in a frying pan. Drain if desired (I don't.).

Put the sausage/onion mix into the potato pot. Add the evaporated milk, milk, Parm cheese and the kale. Add lots of pepper and salt to taste. Warm (don't boil at this point) until the kale is bright green and the whole thing is warm/hot.

Serve warm, sprinkled with even MORE Parmesan cheese if desiered... and ENJOY!

PS. I've also used like 2 tsp. of minced garlic in it, and it was yum that way, too.