Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 large Russet potatoes
4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
4 Tbl. butter, softened
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. milk, give or take
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt (I add way more)
freshly grated black pepper, to taste
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
2 chopped green onions, for garnish, opt.

Directions:

Wash and pat dry the potatoes.  Poke a few holes in each potato, using a fork, and cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through.  Remove from oven, carefully remove foil and cool slightly.  Cut each potato in half lengthwise and scrape out the insides, with a spoon, into a large bowl, being careful to keep the shells intact. 

Add the butter, sour cream, seasoned salt and pepper.  Mash together using a potato masher.  Add enough milk, as needed, to reach desired creamy consistency and stir in the majority of the cheese, reserving a little for topping.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.  Place the potato shells onto a large baking sheet.  Fill each potato shell with the potato mixture and top with reserved cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.  Garnish with crumbled bacon and chopped green onions.  

Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8-10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBS. freshly ground pepper
1 TBS. paprika
2 TBS. garlic powder
6 TBS. hot sauce

Topping:

2 c. Fiesta Blend Cheese or a mix of Cheddar & Monterey Jack
1 c. crumbled bacon
1 c diced green onion

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500F (This is NOT a typo, 500F is correct!)  In a large bowl mix together theolive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder &hot sauce.  Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat.  Carefully scoop the potatoes into acooking spray coated 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible.  Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside.  While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat.  Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F.  Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.  In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix.  Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.  Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Tin Foil Hobo Dinner

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Worcestershire sauce
BBQ sauce
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Use a large square piece of aluminum foil for each tin foil dinner.  Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.  Separate ground beef into 4 equal patties and place in the center of each piece of foil.  Divide potatoes, carrots, and onion evenly between all 4 dinners and place on top of meat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.  Pour a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce on top of each dinner and fold foil up tightly around the entire meal.  Cook on a grill on medium-high heat or an open fire for 25-30 minutes, or until vegetables and meat are cooked through.  Open foil carefully and top with BBQ sauce and shredded cheese.

Roasted Sausage & Vegetables

Ingredients:

4 or 5 potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
1 large green pepper, cut into rings
1 large onion, cut into rings
3 or 4 carrots, cut into pieces
1 (1 pound) package Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, cut on the diagonal
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions:

Use a 9 x 13 baking dish lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  Toss vegetables with oil, sprinkle on salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil.  Cook in preheated 450 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven add sausage. Cook for 15 more minutes.  Makes about six servings.

Cheesy Bacon Potato Bites

Ingredients:

Potatoes
Shredded cheese
Green onions
Bacon bits

Directions:

Slice potatoes into round circles and then boil for 5 minutes. Drain (I pulled out of water with a slotted spoon) and layer on baking sheet.

Top with cheese and bacon bits.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Once baked add green onions.

Summer Vegetable Tian

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato
1 tsp dried thyme
to taste salt & pepper
1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Oven Fried Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 lbs. of potatoes – peeled and quartered
Olive oil

Seasonings:

Dashes of:

Garlic powder
Fresh ground black pepper
Salt
Paprika
Chili powder
Dried oregano

Directions:

Preheat Oven 350 Degrees:

Pat-dry the potatoes with a paper towel and place in a large baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes.

In a small bowl combine dashes of the seasonings and sprinkle over the potatoes. Season the potatoes to your taste. Toss the potatoes.

Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a fork tender and desired crispiness is reached.

These potatoes go great with breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients:

6 Medium Size Potatoes
2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Butter
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.

Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2lbs cubed beef stew meat
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cubes beef bouillon, crumbled
4 cups water
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cold water

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cook beef in oil over medium heat until brown. Dissolve bouillon in water and then add parsley, thyme, and black pepper and then both cans of diced tomatoes. Once meat is done add the meat to the soup mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.
2. Stir in potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion into the pot. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons cold water and stir into stew. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours more.

Hobo Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger
1 small onion
2 medium potatoes, sliced
4 slices American cheese
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/8 cup milk
1 1/2 cups french fried onions
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook hamburger meat until done. Pat ground beef into 8x8 pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice onions and put on top of beef. Slice potatoes onto onion layer, salt and pepper. Layer with cheese slices. 

Mix soup and milk together and spread over cheese. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Remove foil and top with french fried onions and brown for 5 minutes.

Perfect Potato Soup

Ingredients:

6 slices thin bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 whole medium onion, diced
3 whole carrots, scrubbed, cleaned, and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 small potatoes, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Cajun spice mix
1 teaspoon fresh minced parsley
1 cup grated cheese of your choice

Directions:

Add bacon pieces to a soup pit over medium high heat and cook bacon until crisp and fast is tendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do NOT clean the pot.

Return pot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.

Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour until the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food processer** until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in the cream, then stir in the parsley, reserving a little for garnishment.

Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese, and crisp bacon pieces.

** This recipe states to BLEND the soup in a blender/food processer. I tried this and with me holding into the lid as I always do it blew the lid off and went all over me leaving some burns on my arm. My suggestion (what I ended up doing) is taking half the soup out and using a masher or hand mixer **

Oven Roasted Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers

Ingredients:

1 package (at least 1lb) of your favorite sausage (smoked sausage)
4-5 decent sized potatoes
1 small jar of banana peppers
1-2 bell peppers, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Optional - Creole seasoning

Directions:

1. Spray a large baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (I used a cookie sheet)
2. Slice sausages into thin rounds
3. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch chunks.
4. Slice onion and bell pepper into strips.
5. Place all ingredients in large bowl and drizzle olive oil over and toss to coat them.
6. Add salt, pepper, and spices.
7. Top with sliced banana peppers.
8. Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Cheesy Potato & Smoked Sausage Casserole

Ingredients:

3 cups idaho potatoes, peeled, boiled and cut into cubes when cool, approx. 1 lb

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, diced

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 lb skinless smoked sausage (Eckrich is my favorite brand)

1/8 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Cut skinless smoked sausage in half, lengthwise, and then chop into 1/2 inch "half moon" cuts. Cook in a frying pan for about 15 minutes, turning frequently to SLIGHTLY brown.

2. Meanwhile, put cooked & diced potatoes in 2 quart casserole. Add cooked meat and give it a gentle toss.

3. Mix all remaining ingredients (except for shredded cheddar cheese & the paprika) in a saucepan over medium heat until warm, melted and smooth. (Use a whisk and stir constantly.).

4. Pour white/cheese sauce over potatoes and meat. Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top, and then sprinkle paprika evenly over the top.

5. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 35-45 minutes (watch, until golden brown on top).

6. NOTE: You can substitute: 1/2 lb. hot dogs, sliced into 1/2-inch slices OR 1/2 lb. ham diced into 1/2-inch dices OR 12 oz. can of Spam diced into 1/2-inch dices, instead of the smoked sausage.