Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

This recipe is an adaptation from a recipe at allrecipes.com, one of my favorite go-to sites. It is perfect for potlucks, family dinners and with a bit of tweaking (see below), is just right for large gatherings (2 pans). This is the perfect dish to prepare the night before and bake the following day. And yes, I had to taste it for "quality control" <koff koff>.

Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes (or 6 regular)
• 1/2 pound lean bacon (or Real Bacon Bits)
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 3/4 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
2. Poke a few holes into each potato using a toothpick.
3. Bake potatoes in the preheated oven until fully cooked, about 1 hour. Cool for about 15 minutes.
4. Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels and crumble.
5. Cut a thin slice from one side of each potato; carefully scoop out the flesh and transfer to a bowl. Discard skins. Mix 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, butter, chives, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder with potatoes. Spread potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish; top with 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until just bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
7. 
   

*Let the 'tweaking' begin. I baked 5 lbs of potatoes and, after letting them cool slightly, I scraped the contents into a big bowl and chopped them up with my spoon. I added a full bag (8 oz) of sharp cheddar, 1 1/2 c of sour cream, 2 tbsp of dried chives, half bag of Kroger 'real bacon bits', ground pepper and salt (didn't measure, just poured some on my hand and then into the bowl). I didn't use garlic salt because the chives provided sufficient seasoning). I used about a cup of milk and about 4 tbsp of butter. The potatoes were still hot enough to melt the butter when mixed in. I folded everything together, put it in one larger foil lasagna pan and one smaller, more shallow aluminum foil cake pan (about 8.5" by 12.5") for us. I used another half bag of shredded sharp cheddar to top the two pans and sprinkled liberally with dried chives and about half the pack of bacon bits. The casserole was moist, not wet, before baking and because I like my casseroles well cooked, the small one took about 25 minutes to warm through with bubbly cheese. I will probably cook the large one for about 30-40 minutes. Turned out tasty, slightly puffy and smelled delicious!*

Ham & Swiss Quiche

While some say "real men don't eat quiche," my hubby would disagree vehemently! Especially when it includes left-over Christmas ham and his favorite Swiss Cheese, that is! Quiche is NOT difficult. It just takes a light touch and the right ingredients. And yes, once again, I "cheated" with a commercial crust.

Ham & Swiss Quiche

Simply 'yum'

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 c milk (I used low-fat). If desperate, you can use 1/2 evaporated milk and 1/2 water
• 1/2 c Swiss cheese (cut into small pieces)
• 1/4 c diced sweet onion
• 1/8 - 1/4 c dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or regular pepper)
• approx. 1/4 c grated Parmesan/Romano Cheese for topping
• 1 commercial or home-made pie crust 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until light and frothy. Add milk and continue whisking until blended. 
2. Stir in Swiss cheese, salt and red pepper flakes, onion and parsley flakes until mixed. It will be a bit chunky.
3. Place pie crust in 9" pie plate and pour in the mixture. 
4. Top with Parmesan/Romano mix.
5. Bake in oven for approximate 20-25 minutes, until knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean and dry. A wee bit of moisture may remain - that's ok!

Note: You  may prefer cheddar to Swiss, and you may prefer to mix the Parmesan/Romano into the rest of the mixture, but we really enjoyed it just as it turned out. The top 'crust' was really tasty and looked attractive. A delicious accident, since I made it this way by forgetting to add those cheeses! Whoops.

Turkey Pot Pie

Got turkey? We got a bit turkey happy at Thanksgiving (those "buy one, get one free" offers at the supermarket are great!) so I froze a bunch to serve later. And later came after Christmas, when we were all "hammed out!" Here is a full-size, simple turkey pot pie with all the traditional touches and home-made deliciousness (while using a commercial crust - true confession).

Turkey Pot Pie

Can you taste it now?

Ingredients:

• 2 c chopped cooked turkey
• 1/2 med. sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1/2-3/4 c)
• 4 medium carrots, washed, pared and finely sliced
• 1/2 c frozen peas
• 2 large russet or 4 red potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 to 1 1/2c left-over turkey gravy (I had frozen some) PLUS 1/4 to 1/2 c water
• 1 tsp of salt and a dash of pepper
• 1 pkg of 2 commercial pie crusts (in refrigerated section of store)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. Prepare vegetables and turkey as directed.
2. Place in a large saucepan or 10" frying pan with margarine (or butter) and saute on medium heat until vegetables are slightly softened and flavors are blended (approximately 5-8 min.). Add gravy, water, salt and pepper and stir into mixture, simmering for another 5 minutes. Use enough water to thin the gravy a bit and make the mixture 'sauce-y' but not runny.
3. Place bottom pie crust in 9" pie plate. Pour turkey mixture over, spreading evenly. Top with the other pie crust and make roughly symmetrical 2" slits from the inside to the outside with a sharp knife to let steam escape (you can also prick with a fork, but I like slits in my pot pies :) See photo for ideas.
4. Place in oven and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes before reducing heat to 375 degrees for an additional 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on the outside, with the gravy bubbling through the slits. If your crust gets too brown, cover with a bit of foil around the edges. 
5. Let cool about 10 minutes before devouring. You don't want to burn your mouth

Note: Commercial gravy may be used in this recipe; I just prefer home-made.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Slow-Cooker Casserole

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. This includes having a variety of veggies on hand, and a little bit of meat, and not wanting the veggies to go bad before you have the chance to use them. That was the case when I was blessed with my Winder Farms delivery the other day, and had so much in the fridge and in the delivery that I got creative. And guess what? It was good, too!

Ingredients
2 medium zucchini, sliced and halved
4 Roma tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced 
 1 red and 1 green pepper, roughly chopped
3 tomatillos (peeled and cut into small pieces) - optional
1/2 -3/4 c pearl barley
2 breasts boneless  chicken, cut into cubes
2 c boiling water mixed with 2 chicken bouillion cubes (enough to almost cover veggies)
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp celery flakes
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp dried parsley)
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1/4 c light golden sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preparation
Spray slow cooker with 'Pam' cooking spray. Set on high. Place all ingredients in slow cooker, making sure the liquid covers the vegetables and meat. Cook on 'high' for approximately 4 hours, until everything is cooking and vegetables are softening. Cook an additional 2 hours on 'low' or 'medium', until fully cooked. Keep on 'warm' until ready to serve. May be served with rice, pasta or potatoes. The amount of pearl barley you use will determine the thickness or density of the casserole.

Skillet Chicken and Potatoes a la Weight Watchers

Yes, folks, I have finally pulled out the old Weight Watchers cookbooks and have rediscovered a wealth of great, healthy, lower-cal recipes that are (gasp) actually helping me lose a bit of my poundage. So, of course, I have to share these with YOU!

Chicken and Potato Dish with slight modifications

Skillet Chicken and Potatoes

(from the Weight Watchers Meals in Minutes Cookbook)


Here's a dish that is actually a meal in a skillet. It's tasty, filling and has everything from vegetables to meat to potatoes in it! As such, by the old plan, it has 2 Protein Exchanges, 1 Bread Exchange, 2 1/2 Veggie Exchanges, 1 Fat Exchange and 25 Optional Calories The calorie count stands at 275 calories: 19 g protein; 10 g fat; 28g carbohydrate; 88 mg calcium; 578 m,g sodium; 55 mg cholesterol; 4 g dietary fiber.


Ingredients

• 6 oz thinly sliced, pared all-purpose potatoes
• 2 tsp olive or vegetable oil
• 5 oz ground chicken, or as I prepared it, the equivalent amount of finely diced boneless, skinless chicken
• 1 tbsp whipped butter
• 1/2 c each diced onion (I used green onions), diced green bell pepper and sliced carrots (I used baby carrots, finely sliced)
• I used a mixture of freeze-dried garlic and peppers from Winco - 2 tsp.
• 1 can diced Italian tomatoes (with liquid) - approx. 12 oz.
• 1 tbsp parsley, freshly chopped or dried
• 1/4 tsp each thyme, salt and pepper

Preparation

Not really green in color, just how the photo turned out!

1. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil.
2. Add potatoes and chicken and cook over high heat, stirring constantly until chicken is lightly browned (about 2 minutes). Transfer to bowl.
3. In same skillet, melt butter; add onion, bell pepper, carrots, and garlic. Saute over high heat until tender-crisp (2 - 3 minutes).
4. Return potato/chicken mixture to skillet; add tomatoes, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cook until mixture comes to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend and potatoes are tender (approx. 10 minutes)

Note: You can also use substitute left-over turkey or pork for this dish.

Mike's Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions

My husband's favorite dish from our carnival and Italian street fair days. Quick, easy and just a bit like a feast in a bun. You can use either whole sausages, or, to be more economical, you can cut the sausages into chunks before frying.


Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 4 Italian sausage links (sweet, hot, or a combination)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 orange bell peppers, sliced into 2-3 inch strips
• 4 garlic cloves, slivered or 2 tsp of garlic powder (salt)
• 1 small (15 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 c red wine (if desired)
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Poke sausages a few times with a fork. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large frying pan with a lid (prevents splatter and evens the heat); add sausages and cook until browned, turning occasionally to even the color. Remove from heat.
2. On medium-high heat, stir-fry the peppers and onion, sprinkling with salt and garlic once they have softened and browned slightly.
3. If you desire, add wine, and stir, scraping bottom of the pan to get up all the browned bits. Let reduce to half.
4. Add the tomatoes, oregano and pepper flakes (if a spicier flavor is desired), stirring to mix. Add sausages back in and simmer, then reduce to low to cook peppers and sausages thoroughly (15-20 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

This dish keeps in the fridge for several days. Serve with hoagie buns, Italian rolls or pasta.