Scalloped Potaotes

 

Growing up my Mother made the best scalloped potatoes, they are one of my greatest comfort foods.  Basic but so yummy.  One of the best things about the potatoes, if there were any left from the meal, was breakfast the next morning.  She would warm them in a frying pan and they got a little crispy and so delightful.  This to me is great comfort food.  Missing both Mom and Dad a lot right now and the weather has turned cooler so for dinner and breakfast I turned to comfort food.

 

Mom's Scalloped Potatoes

 

4-5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (I use my food processor)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 cube butter, cut into pieces

flour

salt

milk

 

Butter a casserole dish or a 9x13 pan and dust with flour.  Layer potatoes, onion, butter pieces, sprinkle salt and flour (about 1 to 1 1/2  T. flour per layer)  repeat until the potatoes are all layered leave about 3/4 inch to the top of the pan.  Cover with milk until all of the flour is mixed covered.  Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. The milk on top should be golden brown when baking is completed.

 

Hint I usually start them in the microwave for about 10 mins to reduce the cooking time.  AND I place the casserole or baking pan on  a foil lined cooking sheet in the oven to prevent the milk bubbling over and making a mess. 

 

Variations

Some people put cheddar cheese in the layering as well but this was something we have never done. This was a recipe that was a staple for her family as they lived through very hard times.  They used the basics.  I don't change the goodness she made.  I often doubled the recipe for my family to ensure that we had enough for breakfast and we now like to put an over easy egg and bacon  to the side, we don't make them often but they are a treat when we do.



Chilly Winter Weather means Soups Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copy Cat)

I am sure this has been posted by me before.  It's cold here in Utah and add the wind to the cold well it just makes soup for dinner the go to thing.  So I just wanted to share this one again.  One of my fav's.  Just add some of my breadsticks to it and yum. 

 

 

Zuppa Toscana- (Olive Garden copy cat)

1½ Mild or Medium Italian sausage
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4" slices
3/4 c. onions, diced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. kale leaves, chopped (or less depending on picky eaters)
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt. water
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Cook Italian sausage until brown, drain on a paper towel to remove fat.   Cook bacon and remove from pan, place on paper towel as well, crumble when cool. Place onions in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.  Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken broth, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Mega Meal Day(s) New Dietary Challenges

I got the urge to make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner a week or so ago.  The recipe I have makes a huge batch, big enough that I always made two and froze one for another day.  Now that it is just the Gourmet Guy and I at home I usually cut it in half and still make two and freeze one for another day.  I decided that I would make the full recipe and freeze a couple for us and some small ones for my Mother-in-law.  Simply doing that put me in the mood to make some meals ahead and freeze them for my daughter in Idaho who is having a baby at the end of the month.  Since they don't live half way across the country anymore I can take them to her frozen and not have to do all of the work while I am there. Instead I and can play with the Grand kids and snuggle the newborn and not be in the kitchen all of the time, except for that days meals.  She will have eight meals for days when she just needs to pull one out of the freezer, and as mom of three small children and a newborn she will need them.

 

NEW DIETARY CHALLENGES

Over the years we have had favorite meals as a family. Recently we have had new challenges that have caused us to rethink some of our recipes.  We have a  dairy allergy, gluten intolerance, and most recently a severe nut allergy that gave us quite a scare, as well as diabetes!!!! Actually the nut allergy was one we were aware of but it was hidden in with another ingredient and caused a life threatening experience.  We have to read labels much better than we have ever before and she will have to stay away from bakeries in general from now on. Preparing meals for all twenty three, with the newest addition is going to be more and more of a challenge! As I had these mega cooking and days I had to alter some of the ingredients and my taste buds were put to the test.

 

 Using:

10 lbs of potatoes

1 med bag of carrots

4 stalks of celery

5 onions, diced

1 medium bag of frozen mixed vegetables

6 14.5 cans of beef broth

4 14.5 cans of chicken broth

3 4 oz. mushrooms

6 4 oz. cans tomato sauce (what I keep in my storage)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

2 10 3/4 cans tomato soup

4 10 3/4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 quart tomatoes, home canned

1 pint tomatoes, home canned

3 sleeves of Ritz crackers

4 c. sour cream

1 lb. butter

 

After two days of cooking (I kind of went crazy)  I ended up with 20 meals, 7 mini meals and 

3 1/2 dozen cinnamon rolls. Part of the meals were non dairy. My Mother-in-law took home 9 mini meals this morning when she left our home.

 

After loading my freezer I realized I was able to share with some others in my neighborhood and took some of the warm cinnamon rolls to five families and three meals as well.  It was great fun!  Now to finish putting away Christmas decorations.  I would rather be cooking!!!!!!

Sheperd's Pie or Green Bean Casserole (Multitasking)

(individual portions for tonight and one for a freezer meal for another night, multitasking)

 

 

Shepherds’ Pie or Green Bean Casserole

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped
1 15 ½ oz. can green beans, drained
1 10 ¾ oz. can of tomato soup
3-4 medium potatoes
cheddar cheese, grated

Peel potatoes and cut into smaller pieces to speed up the cooking time, add to salted boiling water.  In a large frying pan brown the ground beef, add the onions when the meat is no longer pink.  When the onions become translucent, stir in the green beans and tomato soup, heat through.  Place the meat mixture into an oven safe casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until the cheese is bubbly on top. 

Multitasking/ Mashed Potatoes

While making potatoes for chicken pot pie I knew that I had Shepherd's Pie on my menu and also wanted to the  make Cinnamon Rolls that I had been craving so I make extra potatoes.  Peeling  potatoes takes time and since I was already in the moment I decided to do it all at one time.  After cooking the cubed potatoes I removed the quantity that I wanted for the pot pie mixture and then I mashed the remaining potatoes and put them in the fridge for another day or two. While I could use instant potatoes for both the Shepherd's Pie and Cinnamon Rolls, and I have, I love the real thing.

Chicken Pot Pie (update)

(for this post/batch I only did a half of a recipe and still had enough for 2 ramekins for a dinner, a freezer meal for the "Gourmet Guy" and I and a small freezer meal for my Mother-in-law.  I also had two previously grilled chicken breasts in the freezer that I used on the fly for this instead of cooking a whole chicken like I typically do.

Chicken Pot Pie

 

Boil a chicken roaster or use rotisserie chicken left overs or any leftovers you many have such as turkey.
 

Make Gravy:                                                       Half recipe gravy:

2/3 c. margarine or butter                                  ½ c. butter                    
2/3 c. flour                                                         ½ c. flour                                  
1 t. salt                                                               ½ t. salt                                   
½ t. pepper                                                          ¼ t. pepper
3½ c. broth                                                         1¾ c. broth
1 1/3 c. milk                                                        ¾ c. milk

Melt butter over low heat, blend in flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly, remove from heat.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir one minute.  Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.  (reserve about 1/3 of gravy for top when serving.)

Stir in

2-4 boiled potatoes, cut up
cooked meat                               
1 4 oz. can mushrooms
1 16 oz. bag of frozen vegetables

Pie Crust

1/3 c. plus 1 T. shortening                                         
1 c. flour                                                                       
1/2 t. salt
 2-3 T .cold water

(Double for two crust)

Pie crusts did not come easy to me until my mother-in-law showed me how to make them.  The method of rolling them out in wax paper was the best advice I have ever had.  A double pie crust recipe was perfect to top all of these.  For the full recipe it would take two double pie crust recipes to top all of the mixture.  These freeze really well for up to about six months.  Because they freeze like a brick they should be taken out the night before and placed in the fridge to thaw.  They may still be partly frozen and need to be out on the counter for an hour before baking.  I have put them in completely frozen and it took at least two hours to cook through and some even longer.  Bake them at 425 until the mixture bubbles through the slits on the top of the pie and the crust is golden brown. the fruits  of one evening, four meals and I did extra potatoes and mashed them for a couple of other projects that will be in the next few days,  Maybe it is has been awhile but they were the best tasting mashed potatoes that I have make in quite awhile, I guess good practice for the upcoming holiday! 

 

 And the chicken filling inside of the flaky crust was just the meal I was looking for that night. Pure comfort food.



 

The efforts of the night and multitasking in a nice way!

Zuppa Toscano (Copy Cat) repeat

Zuppa Toscana- (Olive Garden copy cat)

1½ Mild or Medium Italian sausage
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4" slices
3/4 c. onions, diced
6 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. kale leaves, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt. water
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Cook Italian sausage until brown, drain on a paper towel to remove fat.   Cook bacon and remove from pan, place on paper towel as well, crumble when cool. Place onions in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear.  Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken broth, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Dairy Free Thanksgiving (Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes)

We discovered that my little guy had a dairy sensitivity a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. I was so bummed! I didn't think that I would be able to eat any of my favorite things. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, traditional dressing (stuffing that isn't stuffed into the bird) yams (brown sugar, butter and marshmallows YUM!").  I had not done a big Thanksgiving dinner with everything yet and was determined to do it this year and I felt really let down. I started researching and found that I could make pretty much everything we normally have. Actually I could have made everything, but I didn't make Pumpkin roll; I'm not ready to jump on the tofu band wagon for the cream cheese substitute. I made everything that I knew I could make taste good and be dairy free. 

Turkey (Dairy, Soy and Gluten Free)-

I used the Alton Brown turkey recipe and I made my own vegetable stock the day before.

It is Dairy, soy and Gluten free. Make sure you use Canola oil not vegetable though because vegetable oil contains soy. 

Gravy (Dairy, soy and Gluten Free)-

Normally I use a gravy packet because I was always nervous that it would just taste like flour. All gravy packets have dairy proteins in them, so I had to make my own. 

Traditionally gravy is made with a roux(butter and flour) or you can use a cowboy roux(flour and water). With a roux the butter has to be a high heat to be melted and it releases the starch from the flour so you can't taste the flour. A cowboy roux on the other hand does not get as hot before it starts to thicken so the starch does not release and you are left with a flour taste. I used arrowroot instead which thickened the gravy but did not add a flour flavor.

drippings from the turkey pan 

2 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot

1 cup water

Mix arrowroot and cold water until it is smooth then add it to the hot drippings and heat until thickened. 

Arrowroot does not add flavor and it produces a clear thick gravy. You can use cornstarch instead but it calls for 1Tbsp per cup of cold water. These are great gluten free substitutions.

Mashed Potatoes (Dairy, soy and Gluten free)
When I made these I hadn't discovered the Earth balance spread. Grapeseed oil has a neutral flavor and adds the fat that butter normal does which makes the potatoes more fluffy. The earth balance works better because of the texture of it, but both are great alternatives to butter and are both soy free. 
Potatoes
Grapeseed oil or 
Earth Balance natural buttery spread
Salt
Pepper 
Cut peeled potatoes into cubes and boil until soft. Strain most of the water leaving a little bit of the potato water. Mash the potatoes and add grapeseed oil or Earth Balance natural buttery spread, salt and pepper to taste. 

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

Creamy Baked Potato Soup

2 med potatoes, baked
¼ c. butter
1/2- 1 c. onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 c. chicken stock
4-5 slices bacon cooked and roughly cut
1 c. milk
1/3 c. flour
½ c. sour cream
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 T. green onions, sliced

In medium sized pot sauté onion, and garlic in butter until translucent. Dice potatoes into cubes. In a bowl whisk together milk and flour, add to the onion and butter mixture and thicken. Slowly, add the chicken stock and thicken. Stir in cheese and sour cream, top with green onions. (I like to out the soup in a bowl and add the toppings to garnish and serve.)

Frittata

I love frittata's more all of the time! This was our latest.

Eight slices ranch style bacon, fried and crumbled

2-4 baby red potoatoes, sliced thin

2 mushrooms, sliced thin

Assiago cheese, grated

fresh Basil, chopped

4-5 eggs, beaten

1/4 onion, chopped

Fry the bacon until slightly crisp, cool and crumble. With the bacon grease fry the potatoes and the onion until softened. Mix the remaining indredients and cook until soft. Place in a 350 oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Morning "Glory"

When I bake potatoes I often bake one or two extra to do things with at a later date. One of the things we like to do is "Morning Ray." It is actually from a show that we watched on the food Network Rachel Ray's Travels. Rachel purchased Morning Ray at a place in Park City called Morning Ray and it is one of their specialties. She highlighted it and we decided to try a version of it on our own. Forgetting the name I called it "Morning Glory" and it has been nicknamed that in our family since then.

First we take a potatoes and dice them into 1/2 inch cubes.

We also cut up mushrooms, minced garlic onion, and peppers. I like to use the smaller peppers to get a variation in the color. My Home Ec. teacher would be proud!

While cutting up the veggies we brown 3-4 slices of thick cut bacon cut into small pieces.
(I love the bacon from our local grocery store that you get at the butcher's counter. It is thicker and a little more expensive but it doesn't shrink down as much so I feel it more than compensates for the cost.)

After frying the bacon drain it on a paper towel to get rid of the extra grease.

With the remaining bacon grease we brown the potatoes until they are golden on the edges.

The mushrooms take a little extra time so we start them before the rest of the vegetables. They do better if they are easily spread out in the skillet and not touching another.

When the mushrooms are soft and turning brown add the onion, garlic, and peppers and cook until they are translucent. In another pan make scrambled eggs. Grate the cheese.

First layer

Add the veggies

Next the bacon top with avocado or guacamole and salsa.

Finish up with the scrambled eggs and cheese. Enjoy. We don't make "Morning Glory' very often but it is sure a treat when we do.

Morning Glory

6 baked potatoes, cooled, peeled, coarse chopped
1-2 bell pepper, coarse chopped
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, coarse chopped
12 mushrooms, sliced
½ pound bacon, cut in ½ inch pieces
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
salsa of your choice
grated cheddar cheese
guacamole

Fry bacon in skillet until done. Drain and set aside. Cook potatoes (hash brown style) in bacon fat until browned and crunchy. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In another skillet, heat olive oil and butter and saute the mushrooms until browned. Add the onions, garlic, and peppers and cook until just tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a third skillet, scramble the eggs.

Place small pile of hash browns on center of plate. Cover with vegetable mixture. Place eggs on top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Garnish with guacamole and salsa.

Mom's Beef Stew

Growing up my Mother made a stew that I loved. One of those that cooked for hours and melted in your mouth as you ate it. It really is simple. I always pick the leanest stew meat that I can find. The meat is usually twice as big as I like it so I double the batch immediately by cutting it into smaller pieces. Once cut to the right size I dredge it in flour and then brown it in hot oil. My greatest endorsement for this stew came from my six year old Grandson after trying it.

After the meat is browned I add potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion.
When the onions become translucent I add a large can of tomato juice and two small cans of tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.

In an oven safe pot I put the stew into a 300-325 degree oven for two to three hours. Checking the moisture periodically so that not too much moisture is lost.

The meat is so tender that you can cut it with a fork. Serve with warm bread or rolls. Great for a cold winter day.

"Mom's Stew"

2 lbs lean stew meat
2-3 carrots, sliced round
2-3 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 large cans tomato juice
(tomato sauce can be used)
2 T. vegetable oil

Brown meat in oil, add remaining ingredients and cook until tender. This can be simmered on a stove top, baked in the oven, or in a slow cooker. The longer and slower the better. Other herbs such as Rosemary, Bay leaves, Marjoram, or Basil can also be added for flavor. Salt and pepper to taste.

Lion House Potatoes/Funeral Potatoes

I love these potatoes and in this area they have become famous for serving at luncheons for families after a funeral. There are quite a few variations for this recipe and so you can see a huge variety when one of these meals are served. When my daughters were much younger and they were attending the funeral of their Great-Grandmother this was the case. They did not know many of those attending the funeral because is was a rather large extended family so they made a game out of tasting the potatoes and rating them. They would take a taste of each pan of potatoes and then rate them from one to five based on taste and appearance... As I recently took Lion House Potatoes to a luncheon for a friend of mine I smiled as I saw the variety of "funeral potatoes" being served and thought of my girls. The following is my favorite variation. (Funny sideline is that you can give the same recipe to ten different women and get ten variations of the same recipe!)

I got these great Idaho potatoes from a friend this fall, this is actually my second fifty pound bag of them! I peel them and cut them into small cubes to cook faster and then they just have to be drained.
The recipe says not to mix the sour cream mixture into the potatoes but to just put on top, my variation is to mix it in a little bit to give flavor to the potatoes. Top with cheese mixture and bake.

Lion House Potato Casserole

5 Large Potatoes, cubed or shredded (if shredded, cook potatoes whole then shred)
3 TBSP butter, melted
1 can (10 ½ ounces) cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
3 TBSP finely chopped green onions (this makes the whole dish even better!)
¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¾ cup cornflake crumbs or dry bread crumbs
2 TBSP Butter, melted
3 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese

Boil potatoes until tender and drain. Place in 2 or 3 quart casserole dish. Pour melted butter over potatoes (3 TBSP). Mix together soup, sour cream, milk, green onions and cheese. Pour evenly over potatoes. Do not mix. Toss crumbs with remaining melted butter and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Eggs in a Nest

When we lived in Sequim Washington and our oldest daughter was in fifth grade at the middle school she had a unit on cooking. She was so excited to come home and make Eggs in a Nest for us. It was a family hit! Still a favorite for an occasional Saturday or Sunday breakfast!

Brown hash browns in a skillet until golden on one side, flip over.
Salt and pepper to taste, and crack eggs on top of the hash browns.

Cover and steam the eggs until set. Approx three to five minutes.

Top with grated cheese.

Plate and serve.

This is so easy to do and only takes one pan, in a large skillet you can cook up to six eggs at a time.

Potato Salad-the torch has been handed down!

Grandma Smith's Potato Salad

For years this salad was something that my mother was asked to bring to family gatherings, she saw it as a burden but we all loved it so much and no one could make it like her. When she passed away it fell into my hands to try and recreate her salad, at times I come pretty close. Two of my daughters have now also come really close to making "Grandma's Potato Salad" this is Rebecca's latest version. She just made it one day because she was craving it, don't you love it? My mom never used real mayonnaise for this it had to be " Miracle Whip" and she made the dressing by taste rather than by measuring, I have tried to measure it as I have made it so the following recipe reflects that effort.

Grandma Smith’s Potato Salad

16-18 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 ½ c. Miracle Whip
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 ½ T. sugar
1 ½ T. mustard
6-7 hard boiled eggs
paprika
salt

Peel, cube, and boil potatoes in salted water. (Grandma always boiled the potatoes in their “jackets” and then peeled them and cut them up the day before she assembled the salad.) Boil the eggs and cool them. Chop the onion up finely. Mix the vinegar, Miracle Whip, sugar, and mustard. When the potatoes have cooled cover with the dressing and the onions and mix together well. Quarter and slice all but two of the hard boiled eggs and gently mix into the salad, thinly slice the two remaining eggs and layer across the top of the salad, salt to taste, sprinkle the top with paprika.

(Note the dressing for her salad was made with Miracle Whip only, mayonnaise does not give the same flavor for her “two day salad.” This salad was always requested by the family! for special occasions.)

Potato Cheese Soup

I actually have had this soup posted with a bunch of my other favorite soups but one of my daughters complained that it was too hard to find so here it is by itself. I love this one but only fix it 2-3 times a year, usually when it is really cold outside and you want something warm and comforting.

Potato Cheese Soup

3 c. boiling water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

4 c. diced potatoes

½ c. chopped onion
½ c. chopped celery

½ c. chopped green pepper
½ c. chopped carrots

1 t. salt

½ c. flour
2 c milk
¼ c. butter
3 c. cubed Cheddar Cheese

Add veggies to boiling water, cook 20 mins or until done. Mix flour with milk and salt and thicken soup. Add butter and cheese and melt. Serve when cheese is fully melted.

Eggs In a Nest

When our oldest daughter, Jessica, was in fifth grade they did a unit on cooking. She came home and wanted to make dinner for us and proceeded to make Egg In a Nest. It has been a family favorite breakfast for us every since!

You start with frozen Hash Browns, enough to have a layer in the bottom of a skillet. Place 1-2 T. butter in the pan and heat when butter is melted place the hash browns in the pan and salt to taste. Cook until they are brown.

Turn and make an indention in the hash browns and crack the egg into that space. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook the eggs until the yolk is firm.
Turn onto a plate and top with grated cheddar cheese.

Pork Pot Pie/ Yummy left overs

Our Sunday Pork Roast dinner left us with plenty of meat to make several different meals. I made extra gravy to use in the pie but got carried away making the mashed potatoes and forgot to leave some for the pie. So I peeled 3 large potatoes and cubed them in 1/2 inch cube sizes and cooked them.

While the potatoes cooked I diced a medium onion and minced a clove of garlic and sauteed them in butter until they turned translucent.
Once the potatoes are fork tender drain and mix with the onion and garlic.

I took half of the left over pork roast and cut into bite sized pieces, added 3/4 of a 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a 4 oz. can of mushrooms (drained) and 1 t. salt.

With some of the left over gravy I blended the vegetables and meat together

and turned into a prepared pie crust (use can use frozen ones too!)

topped it with another crust and cut air vents into it.

In a preheated 475 degree oven bake until golden brown about 20-25 minutes

Serve hot!

There was still enough meat to make Pork Enchiladas Verde (already published) and another undetermined meal. This roast was so good and great for the budget.