Naan with Easy Cheesy Bean Dip-Secret Recipe Club

Sometimes when I am checking out the recipes at my assigned Secret Recipe Club blog I will come upon something that I have been thinking about making for awhile.  Such was the case with the blog Tasty Cheapskate, where I found not one but two different recipes for Naan and one for bean dip.  Since theses are something that I have been thinking about making, I decided that I need to get “off the fence” and just do it

Jeanie has been blogging since 2010 so has shared many great “tasty” and “cheap” recipes with her readers.  She feeds four children, one husband, and herself and shares my view that tasty food doesn’t have to mean expensive food

I did come upon a post that I want to point out that has nothing to do with food-How to Get Crayon Out of Washed and Dried Clothes Cheaply.  I have no children living here that I could blame that situation on if it happened now, but I would have loved having this information when it did happen when I had kids.

Now, back to the cooking.  There were two recipe for Naan,  One with yeast and Quick Naan made with baking powder.  The Quick Naan uses yogurt which I did not have on hand so I made the one with yeast.  It took a little time because of the rising, but the rest of the process was easy  I used all white whole-wheat flour instead of a combination of all-purpose and whole-wheat flour because I had it on hand.  The directions did not say how much or long to knead the dough so I kneaded it 100 times, turning the dough ball over after every 10 kneads.  After the first rising, I made 15 dough balls.  Mine may have been a bit smaller than Jeanie’s as she made 10.

I have a glass rolling pin so rolled the dough balls out between two sheets of waxed paper and was able to get them quite thin.  It took about 30 minutes to “bake” the Naan in a frying pan.  I would roll a new dough ball out while another one was “baking.”

I wanted something to eat with the Naan so made the Easy Cheesy Bean Dip.  I cannot begin to say how good these were together.  They definitely will a regular rotation at my house.

The bean dip recipe uses taco seasoning.  I never buy commercial taco seasoning as I always have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make it myself.  I use various homemade taco seasoning recipes and used the one Jeanie has on her blog.   I was hesitate to use the amount of salt called for since refried beans can be a little salty.  I did use that much salt and felt that the dip was just a little too salty for my taste.  I would recommend  omitting the salt in the seasoning recipe, tasting the dip and adding salt if it is needed.  Hubby is not much of a bean eater, and this makes a lot of dip so I am going to freeze some of it and see if that works.

Now I had a dilemma, should I post one recipe (and which one?) and just reference the other, or should I post them both.  I decided that it would be more convenient for my readers to post both recipes here instead of making them click around for the second one.

Of course there were lots and lots of other recipes on this blog that I am going to try.  Apple harvest is in full swing here and  I think Rebbeca’s Apple Cinnamon Rolls should be on my table soon.  There is a whole week of breakfast cookies posted back in 2010 that should be checked out.  Being one who has always liked fresh Brussels Sprouts, I loved the post on How Not to Hate Brussels Sprouts and am going to make them that way next time I have some on hand.

A visit to The Tasty Cheapskate will be well worth you time, and one thing you should check out is the Cheap Eats Challenge where Jeannie attempted to feed her family of six on $6 a day in 2011.

Naan
adapted from The Tasty Cheapskate
1 T. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
14 c. sugar
3 T. milk
1 egg, beaten
2 t. salt
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast in the warm water.  Stir in sugar, milk, egg and salt.  Mix in 1 to 2 cups flour.  Add another cup flour and then add flour 1/2 cup at a time until you can’t mix it with a spoon any more.  Turn out onto a floured surface ( I use a cookie sheet) and knead.  (I kneaded 100 times, turning the ball over after every 10 kneads.)  Let rise, covered in warm place until dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour). Punch down.  At this point you may knead in minced garlic or herbs if you like.  Make balls of dough about the size of golf balls.  Cover and let rise 30 minutes.  (This rising can be skipped if you’re pressed for time.)  Keep dough balls covered before rolling them out.  Heat a heavy bottom, oiled skillet until just above medium.  Roll dough balls out into rough circles and as thin as you can.  (I do this between two sheets of waxed paper, using new paper if the dough begins to stick.).  Place a dough circle in skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes until air pockets begin to form.  Turn and cook on the second side another 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove to pie plate or platter and repeat with remaining dough balls.  Stack cooked Naan to keep them warm.  Makes 10 to 15 pieces.  Let cool if not eating right away and store in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator or freeze.

Easy Cheesy Bean Dip

adapted from The Tasty Cheapskate
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (Place cheese in a zip-top bag and immerse bag in a bowl of hot water for 15 to 20 minutes to quickly soften the cream cheese.)
1 c. sour cream or Greek yogurt (I used sour cream)
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
2 T. taco seasoning (I used one recipe of the homemade mix here)
1 1/2 t. onion powder
1 1/2 t. garlic powder
1 c. (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese-divided
choice of chips, veggies, etc. for dipping (I used torn pieces of Naan)

In a medium mixing bow, blend everything together until well blended.  Spoon half the bean mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan.  Layer with half the cheese.  Repeat layers.  Baking at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling at the edges.  May also be layered and cooked in a crockpot on low for about 4 hours.  Since I was eating this by myself, I placed some bean dip in a individual ramekin, sprinkled some cheese on the top and microwaved it for about 1 minute until the dip was hot and the cheese was mostly melted.  Makes about 10 servings.

Visit here to learn how to join in the fun of Secret Recipe Club.

An InLinkz Link-up

Cheeseburger Meat Loaf-Improv Challenge

The ingredients for this month’s Improve Challenge hosted by Kristen over at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker are cheese and crackers.  We could use any kind of crackers and any kind of cheese and do anything we wanted as long as the cheese and crackers were included.

I hadn’t made meatloaf in a while and had been disappointed with the meatloaf recipes I had tried that included cheese in the ingredients.  The cheese always seemed to disappear into the meatloaf so that it didn’t even seem to be there.  I had toyed with the idea of making a layered meatloaf, sandwiching the cheese between layers of meatloaf mixture.  This seemed to be a good time to try it.

I had made meatloaves with saltine crackers, but chose to use Ritz Buttery Garlic crackers in this meatloaf.  I also used ketchup for the moisture.  This made the meat loaf quite red.

The meatloaf did not slice quite as nice as I would have liked, probably because of the layering technique I used.  I prefer to make free-form meat loaves, but the meat loaf can be baked in a loaf pan.  I would line the pan with foil.

Hubby and I both really liked the flavor of this meatloaf.  He had two big helpings.  This recipe will have a permanent place in my “tried and true” recipes.

Cheeseburger Meat Loaf
1 1/2 lb.  lean ground beef (I used 80/20 because that is what was on sale, I would have preferred 85/15)
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (I used Buttery Garlic)
1 t. seasoned salt (I used Lawry’s)
1 t. sage
1/2 c. ketchup
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. minced, dried onion
2 eggs
1 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Place ground beef in a mixing bowl.  An easy way to crush the sleeve of crackers is to hold the sleeve between your hands and push them toward each other.  The crackers will crush easily.  Remove paper and add crackers to ground beef.  Add seasoned salt and sage and mix together lightly.  Measure ketchup into a glass measuring cup.  Add Worcestershire sauce and dried onion.  Add eggs and beat well.  Let set for a few minutes to allow onion to soften.  Add to ground beef mixture and mix well.  Divide meat into three equal amounts.  Grease a 7x11-inch baking dish.  Take one-third of the meat mixture and form into a rectangle in the baking dish.  Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the cheese over the meat rectangle.  Keep the cheese at least 1/2-inch from the edges.  Form second third of meat mixture into a rectangle over the first layer.  Sprinkle another 1/3 cup of the cheese over the second meat layer, again keeping the cheese at least 1/2-inch from the edges.  Form a rectangle with the last third of the meat mixture and place over the second layer.  Smooth the outside edges together to seal in the cheese.  Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle the last 1/3 cup of cheese over the top of the meatloaf.  Bake another 15-20 minutes.  Let set for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

You can find all the information for joining in the fun of Improv Challenge by visiting Kristen's Improv Challenge Page.

Check out the links below to see what other bloggers have made with cheese and crackers.

Pasta and Cheese Stuffed Meat Loaf-Improv Cooking Challenge

Pasta and cheese are the two ingredients that Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker picked for the September Improv Cooking Challenge.

In trying to think about something a little different, I remembered that, when my kids were growing up, I made a dish called Macaroni and Cheese Meat Loaf.  The kids liked both meat loaf and mac and cheese, so they really liked having them together.  Two comfort foods, what more could they ask?

I haven't seen the recipe I used in years but thought that I could probably create one of my own.  I adapted a recipe I found in my recipe cards (copied from Family Circle in 1981) that had mac and cheese served on top of a meatloaf. I am sharing the meatloaf mixture that I used, but your favorite meatloaf recipe that uses 1 1/2 lbs. meat can be substituted.  I chose to use rotini pasta so that is why I did not call the recipe Mac and Cheese Stuffed Meat Loaf.  I did not include a topping because the pan is very full, but a very thin one could be added, if desired.  I love red peppers and used them for nutrition and color, but have listed them as optional in the recipe.  Leave them out if you have picky eaters.

To prevent having to clean the oven, I place the loaf pan on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Pasta and Cheese Stuffed Meat Loaf
1 1/2 c. rotini, macaroni or other pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped red pepper (Optional)
1 egg
2/3 c. evaporated milk
1 T. butter or margarine
1 T. flour
3/4 t salt
Pinch black pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp, but you can use mild or medium or American cheese if you prefer)
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c. dry breadcrumbs
1 T. minced dried onion or 1/2 c. minced fresh onion
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2/3 c. evaporated milk
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Cook pasta according to package directions, undercooking it 1 to 2 minutes and adding red pepper to pasta water 1 to 2 minutes before you remove the pasta from the heat.  Meanwhile beat egg and milk together in a small bowl.  Drain pasta.  Return pasta to pan and quickly stir in  butter or margarine, flour, salt and pepper.  Heat and stir until butter is melted.  Stir in milk/egg mixture and cook stirring constantly until mixture is thickened.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Set aside.   Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl.  Add bread crumbs, instant minced onion, salt and pepper.  Mix to combine.  In a glass measuring cup, mix together evaporated milk and Worcestershire sauce.  Add to ground beef mixture and mix lightly but thoroughly.  Place half of the meat mixture in a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan and spread evenly.  Top with all of the pasta mixture, spreading evenly.   Cover pasta mixture with remaining meat mixture.  (Pan will be very full.)  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour.  Cover and let set for 10 minutes.  Drain off any fat if necessary.  Slice and serve.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

More Improv next month with cake and frosting.  You can find out more about joining the Improv Challenge by visiting Kristen's Improv Page.

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Saturday Sharefest

Potato Zucchini Meat Loaf Roll

Good Monday, all.  Welcome to my new followers.  As always many thanks to those who take time from their busy lives to stop and read this blog.  You are much appreciated, and I hope that what you find here is useful to you.

Still getting zucchini from my daughter, still trying to find ways to use it.  As I said last week, hubby really doesn’t care for zucchini except in sweets, but this is a dish that I dreamed up that passed muster with him.  He actually said that it was very good and ate the leftovers for his dinners last week until it was gone.

It wasn’t all that creative, I just decided to use my go-to meatloaf recipe, roll it out and spread it with a filling of shredded potato, zucchini, diced red pepper and onion bound together with an egg, add some grated cheese, roll it up and bake it.

Now I would like to say that everything went smoothly, but I did have a little trouble with the meat roll separating a bit in the middle.  There are two things that I will do differently the next time I make this.  I will salt the zucchini and potato. put it in a sieve and press some of the moisture out.  I will not pat the meat loaf mixture out as thinly as I did this time.

I omitted the onion in my meat loaf since I was putting it in the filling.  I used a Lucerne (Safeway) product called Mac and Cheese Blend grated cheese which melted very nicely in this.  I made a simple gravy to serve with the meat roll using a can of beef broth, 1/4 c. flour, 2 t. Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of garlic powder and a bit of coarse ground pepper.  Ketchup or tomato sauce could also be spread over the top of the roll before putting it in the oven.

Zucchini, Potato Meat Loaf Roll
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 c. dried bread crumbs
1 t. salt
1/2 t. rubbed sage
1/4 t. pepper
2/3 c. milk
1 egg
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 c. grated potatoes, about 2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 c. grated zucchini
1/2 c. finely chopped red pepper
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
1 c. shredded cheese, flavor of choice

Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl.  Add bread crumbs, salt, sage and pepper.  Mix lightly to combine ingredients.  Measure milk into a glass measuring cup.  Add egg and Worcestershire sauce and beat well with a fork or whisk.  Add to meat mixture and mix lightly until well blended.  Spread a length of foil (about 15 inches long) out on baking sheet.  Turn meat mixture out onto foil and press out to about a 1/2-inch thick rectangle.  Place potato and zucchini in a sieve and salt lightly.  Let sit for a few minutes over a bowl.  Press vegetables with the back of a spoon to remove excess moisture.  Place in a medium bowl and add red pepper and onion.  Add beaten egg and mix until all the potato and zucchini is moistened.  Spread the vegetable mixture in an even layer over the meat mixture.  Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the vegetable mixture.  Using both ends of the foil to assist, roll up as for a jelly roll.  Leave foil under meat loaf and place baking pan in oven.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, bring ends of foil over meat loaf and let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Cut into slices and serve.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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Time to Sparkle

Quick, Creamy Chicken Chilaquiles

I am not overly fond of spicy Mexican type dishes, especially those that use salsa.  However, every-once-in-awhile, I find one that I want to try.  This recipe came from the back of a Kraft Mexican Style Queso Quesadilla Cheese package.

Two things made me want to try this recipe.   I had some cooked chicken on hand and also some bits and pieces of tortilla chips leftover from making nachos for hubby for lunch.  The dish  takes less than 20 minutes to prepare which makes it a great weeknight dinner.

I added onions, red peppers and frozen corn to make the recipe more of a one-dish meal.  Since I am a wimp when it comes to heat and did not have any mild salsa on hand (hubby is the salsa eater, and he likes medium), I used half medium salsa and half mild Picante Sauce.

The original recipe called for 3 c. of crushed tortilla chips.  I had only 2 c. on hand, and that amount worked fine.

To save money and calories, in the future I will use only 1 c. to 1 1/2 c. of cheese.  The full 2 cups was a bit of overkill to me.  If you cannot find the Queso Quesadilla cheese, I am sure that Mexican Blend Cheese or Cheddar cheese would work instead.  If I was making this for a potluck or just for me, I would add some sliced ripe olives (hubby doesn't like olives).

All in all, we both liked this dish, and it will go into my regular lunch/dinner rotation.

I wonder, am I the only one who still makes recipes found on food packages?

Quick, Creamy Chilaquiles
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 c. chopped red peppers
1 c. frozen corn
1 1/2 c. salsa (I used half medium salsa and half mild Picante)
2 c. shredded, cooked chicken
2-3 c. coarsely crushed tortilla chips
1-2 c. shredded Queso Quesadilla Cheese, Mexican Cheese, or Cheddar cheese

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium high.  Add onion, red pepper and frozen corn.  Cook until onions are tender, about 5  to 10 minutes.  Add salsa and chicken.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add crushed tortilla chips and mix well.  Top with cheese.  Cover, cook on medium-low heat 3 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve topped with sour cream, green onions, and more salsa if desired.  Makes 6 servings.

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Stuffed Iceberg Lettuce Salad-Eating the Alphabet

I will not be posting a Saturday Sweet today as this is the day to post for this month's Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  You can, however, find a recipe for a Double Berry Giant Eclair in Thursday's post.

The letters for June are I and J, and they are, indeed, a challenge.  The only two vegetables I could think of were iceberg lettuce and jicama.

Although it is somewhat looked down upon now, when I was growing up in the late 40’s and 50’s, iceberg lettuce was the most common lettuce found at the grocery store so people ate a lot of it. Creative cooks dreamed up many ways to serve it.  After all, this was the era of peach and pear halves made into faces and bananas made into candles.

In my area of the country, a popular “ladies’ lunch” dish was Stuffed Iceberg Lettuce Salad.  This dish consisted of cream cheese and other ingredients that were combined and stuffed into a cored head of lettuce.  The whole thing was tightly wrapped, chilled for several hours or overnight, then sliced for serving.  Generally, the slice of lettuce was smeared with a mayonnaise-based red dressing.  Because the slice of lettuce was cut up and everything mixed together to eat it,  this was also sometimes called a Knife and Fork Salad.

In the spirit of reviving an old favorite, today I am sharing a recipe for Stuffed Iceberg Lettuce Salad.  I have included two dressing choices, one for vegetable salad and one for fruit salad.

When selecting a head of lettuce to stuff, look for one that is heavy for its size and that has the core centered as much as possible.

The stuffing mixture is very flexible so if I have an 8-oz. package of cream cheese on hand, I use half of it.  If I have to buy cream cheese, I sometimes just buy the 3-oz. package.  Either can be used.

Almost any ingredient that one wants can be mixed in with the cream cheese.  Vegetables such as grated carrot, minced onion, peppers, tomatoes, radishes, celery, cucumber are common.  For a fruit salad chopped fresh or canned fruit such as apples, cherries, peaches, pears, pineapple, mandarin oranges or strawberries can be used.  Usually nuts are added to this.  Chopped cooked chicken, ham, tuna, salmon or bacon can be added for a more main-dish salad.  Consider the recipe below just a basic guide.

Stuffed Iceberg Lettuce Salad
1 medium head Iceberg Lettuce
3-4 oz. cream cheese, softened (regular, low fat or fat-free)

2 T. shredded Cheddar
2 T. minced onion, regular or green
2 T. minced red pepper
2 T. chopped black olives
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except lettuce in a small bowl and mix until well blended.  Set aside.  Smack core of lettuce against the edge of a counter to dislodge it.  Twist and remove the core.  If cavity does not seem big enough to hold all the cream cheese mixture, reach in and remove additional lettuce with a clean hand.  Stuff the cream cheese mixture tightly into the lettuce cavity.  Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill several hours or overnight.  At serving time, remove from refrigerator.  Cut into thick slices with a very sharp knife.  Lay on serving plates and smear lettuce with a thick red dressing such as the ones below.  Makes about 4 servings.

Quick Red Dressing (for vegetable or main-dish salad.
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. chili sauce or ketchup
2 T. pickle relish
1 t. lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a small bowl until well blended.  Chill to blend flavors.  Makes about 3/4 c.

Cranberry Dressing (for fruit salad)
1 c. jellied cranberry sauce
1 c. mayonnaise
2 T. lemon juice
1 c. whipped cream (opt.)

Beat cranberry sauce and mayonnaise with an electric mixer until well blended.  Stir in lemon juice.  Chill to blend flavors.  For a richer dressing, fold in whipped cream.  Makes 2 -3 c.

There is still time to join in the fun and help us finish up the rest of the alphabet.  You can find all the necessary details on Brenda's Eating the Alphabet page.

Click on the links below to see what other bloggers have dreamed up for the letters I and J.

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Loaded Baked Potato Cubes

Welcome to my new followers and thanks to all who take the time from their busy lives to read this blog.  I hope that you find what you read here useful.  Hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and that you found the time to remember family, friends and service people who have gone before us.

About a year ago, I ran across a recipe over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook for Buttermilk Dressed Potatoes.  That was the inspiration for this dish.  Although I love the flavors in ranch dressing, hubby is not particularly fond them. He does love loaded baked potatoes so I decided to make something along that line and came up with Loaded Baked Potato Cubes.

The Mennonite recipe had the potatoes cooked separately and then cooked in the oven.  Since I am inherently lazy, I decided to see if I could just cook the potato cubes in the oven and then add the “loaded” ingredients.  This worked really well, and I have made this dish often over the last few months.

Red potatoes, russets, Yukon gold potatoes, both unpeeled and peeled have been used for this dish, and they all have worked just fine.  Although I prefer a 3-cheddar cheese blend made by Kraft, I usually use whatever cheese I happen to have on hand.

The temperature at which the potatoes bake is very forgiving so this is a great side dish for a main dish that is being cooked in the oven.  Anywhere from 350 to 400 degrees will work.

If there are people who don’t like bacon (they don’t live at my house) or green onions, reserve them and serve them on the side for people who like them to use.

Loaded Baked Potato Cubes
6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled or not
1 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
1/2 t. coarse ground pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/3 to 1/2 c. water.
1/2 to 3/4 c. sour cream (low fat is fine)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 c. crisp cooked bacon bits
1/4 c. thinly sliced green onion

Peel potatoes if desired.  (If peeling, I usually peel six and see if that amount covers the bottom of my jelly roll pan.  If not I peel one or two more or whatever it take to make a single layer.)  Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and mix until the cubes are well coated.  Combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl and mix well.  Sprinkle evenly over the potatoes and stir until well mixed.   Spread potatoes out in an even layer on a non-stick sprayed 10x13-inch pan.  Pour enough water into the pan to just cover the bottom.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are just tender and water has evaporated.  (If potatoes are tender, but there is still some water, just pour it off.)  Remove from oven and  gently mix the sour cream into the potatoes until they are evenly coated.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top and then the bacon bits.  Return to the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with the green onion.  My hubby uses additional sour cream on his, I don’t on mine.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Cheesy Sausage Potato Bake

Good Monday to all.  Welcome to my new followers and thanks to everyone who takes time from their busy lives to read this blog.  I hope that you find some useful information here.  Have a great first week in April.

Recently I need to use up a roll of Jimmy Dean Sausage that I had in my refrigerator and wanted to use it to make something for dinner.  After wandering the internet to get some ideas; as usual, I pretty much came up with my own thing.

I combined the sausage with some diced potatoes, added a cheese sauce, and topped the whole thing with French fried onions.  I could have added peas, peas and carrots or other veggie to make this a one-dish meal.   Of course, I added some diced red pepper.  You could use green pepper if that is more your thing.

Hubby liked this one.  It is the kind of thing that is easy for him to reheat to eat on the nights that I work.

 Cheesy Sausage Potato Bake
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks (enough to cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish in a single layer)
1/2 c. diced red pepper
1 lb. ground sausage
1/2 c.  flour
3 c. milk
1 to 2 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 can (6 oz.) French fried onions

Place potato chunks in a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes.  Add diced red pepper and boil 5 minute more.  Remove from heat and drain off water.  Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large skillet.  Place potato/red pepper mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Remove sausage from skillet with a slotted spoon and spread over potato/red pepper mixture in a single layer.  Add flour to skillet and stir well to mix with sausage drippings.  Gradually add the milk, stirring and bringing to a boil.  Boil 1 minute or until thickened to medium/thick sauce consistency.  Stir in cheese and cook until cheese is melted stirring to blend.  Pour cheese sauce over sausage and potatoes in baking dish.  Spread French fried onions evenly over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees until browned and bubbly.  Serves 6 to 8.

Secret Recipe Club-Cheesy Breadsticks

I am finally out of the doghouse with my ISP, so after tending to some family things I am back to posting.  Thanks very much to my readers and followers for being patient with me.

The blog that I was assigned for this month's Secret Recipe Club is Fake Ginger.  I was really excited about this when I received my notification.  I have been a subscriber to Fake Ginger for a couple of years.  Amanda has been blogging since 2007, and her blog is crammed full of delicious recipes.  There are so many it was difficult to choose just one for this post.  One recipe that I make often is Green Beans with Bacon and Candied Pecans.  Two recently posted recipes I want to try are Iced Oatmeal Cookies and Caramel Crown Coffeecake.  If you have not been to this blog, you definitely need make a visit.  Plan to spend some time there feasting your eyes on the gorgeous photos and reading the delicious recipes.  One feature tAmanda added that is very helpful is listing the recipes she posted the same day in previous years.  If a recipe title catches your eye, it is very handy to be able to just click over to it.

I love Little Caesar's Italian Cheese Bread, but I don't eat it often because it is quite greasy.  When I saw the photo for Cheesy Breadsticks, I knew that was what I had to make.  These were so good and not greasy at all.  I was not disappointed.  Since Amanda's recipe called for a pizza crust, purchsed or homemade, this gave me the opportunity to try a recipe for pizza dough that I had in my computer files which is ready to bake in less than 60 minutes.  The recipe made enough dough that I could make 16 breadsticks and a 10x15-inch pizza for my hubby for lunch.  The unfortunate problem for my hips may be that I will be making this recipe way too much.

I had unsalted butter so added just a pinch of salt to the melted butter.  I also used an Italian blend cheese as I discovered I was out of mozzarella.  If breadsticks are made from all the dough from the recipe I made, the rest of the ingredients will need to be doubled.  I melted the butter and added the garlic as soon as my dough was ready to rise and let it set so that the flavors would meld.  The butter solidified somewhat but was still soft enough to spread with my pastry brush. 

      

Cheesy Breadsticks

from Fake Ginger

1 unbaked pizza dough (purchased or homemade.  I made Less than 60 Minute Pizza Dough.  Recipe coming tomorrow)

2 T. salted butter

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

I used half of the dough from the recipe I made and stretched it to about 9x13 in a 10x15-inch pan.  Melt the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave (about 1 1/2 minutes at 50% power) or in a small saucepan on the stove.  Add garlic and cook just for a few seconds until fragrant.  Using a pastry brush, spread butter over the dough.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese then the Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown.  Let cool slightly before cutting.  Half of the dough recipe I used made 16 breadsticks.

Thanks so much, Amanda, for sharing such a great recipe.  You can find all the details about joining in the fun of Secret Recipe Club here.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Although I always make up a turkey soup after roasting a turkey, this recipe is probably my favorite way to use up leftover turkey.  It is easy and cheesy, and of course, can also be made using cooked chicken or even drained, canned salmon or tuna, if desired.

The original recipes called for topping the tetrazzini with sliced almonds, and I sometimes do that.  I also like it topped with French fried onions, and that is what I used when I made the dish in the photo

The tetrazzini can be assembled ahead, covered and refrigerated until baking time.  Just bake 10-15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.  If I do this, I do not add the cheese and almonds or French fried onions on the top until just before baking.

This recipe has been in my computer files for many years, and I do not know the source.   I, of course, have adapted it to my family's taste.

 
Turkey Tetrazzini
1 package (7 oz.) spaghetti
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. flour
2 c. turkey or chicken broth
2 c. half and half or milk
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 c. grated Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
2 c. cooked, cubed turkey
1 c. frozen peas and carrots
1/4 c. sliced almonds or enough French fried onions to cover the top of the casserole.

Cook spaghetti as directed on package.  Rinse with cold water and set aside.  Melt butter in a 3-qt. saucepan.  Stir in flour and cook for a minute or so.  Gradually add broth and half and half or milk.  Stir in salt, pepper, and chicken bouillon granules.  Heat and stir until thickened.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese, stirring until cheese melts.  Add turkey and peas and carrots mix well.  Stir in spaghetti.  Turn into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan or a 2-qt. casserole dish.  Sprinkle top with reserved cheddar cheese and almonds or French fried onions.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  May be assembled ahead and baked later.  Do not add the topping ingredients until just before baking.  Add 10-15 minutes to baking time.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Linking to these great parties:
Full Plate Thursday

  

Italian Sandwich Casserole

A few weeks ago one of my Friday Finds was a Meatball Sub Casserole from Dining with Leslie.  Since we had our Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, I decided to make this on Thanksgiving.  Sometime I “jump the gun” and don’t plan ahead very well.  That is what happened with this recipe.  I didn’t check the recipe early enough so when I needed to make it, I did not have time to let the cream cheese soften or the meatballs thaw.

Going to Plan B, I checked my pantry, freezer and fridge to see what I could find.  I had purchased the Italian bread so had that and spaghetti sauce in my pantry.  In my freezer I found a pound of browned-up Italian sausage, and in my fridge I found Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Crème, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  If I had not found the Italian sausage, I would have used browned-up ground beef and added some Italian seasonings to it.

I thawed the Italian sausage in my microwave and combined it with the other ingredients to make what I call Italian Sandwich Casserole.  My husband and son liked this very much, and it reheated very well in the microwave.

Two changes I will make when I make this again.  I left the bread slices whole, and they were a bit difficult to cut through.  Next time I will cut all the bread slices in half so that I can cut between them.  I will save some mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on the top of the second layer of bread slices along with the parmesan.  My recipe reflects those changes.

Italian Sandwich Casserole
10 slices firm bread such as Italian or Texas Toast, cut in half
1 carton Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Crème
1 lb. Italian sausage browned or ground beef browned with 1 t. Italian seasonings added
1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 jar (28 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese

Place bread slices on a large baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes to toast slightly.  Remove and set aside.  Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil.  Place 10 half slices of the bread in the prepared pan.  Cover bread slices with the cooking crème, spreading evenly.  Spread the browned Italian sausage or ground beef over the cooking crème layer.  Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the meat.  Pour spaghetti sauce over the cheese and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with another 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Add the last 10 half slices of bread, placing them over the previous slices.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle the last of the mozzarella cheese over the top along with the parmesan cheese.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes more.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.  To serve, cut between the bread half slices and remove to plates.  This is very hearty so could make as much as 10 serving depending upon what is served with it and whether it is served for lunch or dinner.

Thanks Leslie for a great idea.  So tell me, do you ever create a dish with ingredients that you have on hand?

Linking to these great parties:
Hunk of Meat Monday
Mop It Up Monday
Busy Monday
Making Monday Marvelous
Marvelous Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Mix It Up Monday
The Bulletin Board
Make the Scene Monday
Made by You Monday
Must Try Monday
Meal Time Monday
Mangia Monday

Cheesy Sausage Corn Chowder

Recently I had part of a roll of breakfast sausage and some Colby/jack cheese that I needed to use up.  It seems as though I have needed to “use up” quite a lot of food lately.

I needed to make soup for lunches so thought that using the sausage and cheese as a base for some chowder sounded good.  I add all the veggies that I like in a chowder and came up with a soup that was comforting and good on a cool fall day.

Cheesy Sausage Corn Chowder
1 lb. breakfast sausage (I use roll sausage and had about 3/4 lb.)
2 ribs celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 c.)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. chopped red pepper
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 t. thyme
1 bay leaf
1 qt. milk
1 can (15 oz.) cream style corn
1 c. water
1/3 c. flour
4 oz. Colby/jack cheese, diced

Brown sausage in a large saucepan and pour off any excess fat.  Add veggies and cook about 5 minutes.  Add potato, chicken broth, thyme and bay leaf.  (Add a bit of water if broth does not cover completely.)  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in cream corn and milk.  Cook until heated through but do not boil.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Measure water into a glass measuring cup.  Add flour and mix until smooth.  Slowly add to soup, stirring until soup thickens to chowder consistency.  Add a bit of milk if soup becomes too thick.  Heat through.  Remove bay leaf and serve.  Makes about 8 servings.

Linking to these great parties:
Trick or Treat Tuesday
Show Me What You Got Tuesday
Tuesday Talent Show
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Tasteful Tuesday
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Get Your Craft On
Terrific Tuesday

Hidden Treasure Mini Meat Loaves

It is Monday and time for me to welcome my new followers and to thank all who take the time from their busy lives to read this blog.  I appreciate it very much and hope you find the information I post here useful.

When my kids were growing up there were two things that they liked when it came to food.  One was getting their own individual dish of something and the other was dishes with interesting names.  So this could have been Cheese Stuffed Mini Meat Loaves, but my kids would have preferred Hidden Treasure Mini Meat Loaves.

Meatloaf isn’t the standby in this home that it used to be what with the price of ground beef now, but I do make it fairly often.  This one is still a favorite because each person gets their own little meatloaf with cheese hidden inside and topped with a tomato gravy.  Even though kids no longer live here, these are always welcome at our table.

Various cheese can be used here.  I have used cheddar, Swiss, Colby/jack and mozzarella.  For a little kick, pepper/jack would probably be good.

The tomato soup topping is something that my mother always put on meatloaf, and I have continued this tradition.

Hidden Treasure Mini Meat Loaves
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
3/4 c. quick or old fashioned oats+
1 t.  salt
1/4 t.  pepper
1 t. poultry seasoning
1/4 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. ketchup
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
8 (1/2x1 1/2 sticks) cheese of choice
1 can (10 oz.) condensed tomato soup

Place ground beef in a mixing bowl.  Add oats, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and onion.  Mix together well.  An easy trick to measure the liquid ingredients is to measure the milk into a 2-cup glass measuring cup.  Add ketchup until the liquid reaches the 1 cup mark.  Add Worcestershire sauce.  Break egg into the cup and mix everything together well.  Pour into ground beef mixture and mix gently until everything is well combined.  Putting a stick of cheese into each one, shape mixture into eight equal size mini loaves.  Make sure that cheese is totally encased in the meat.  Place loaves in a greased baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Place equal amounts of undiluted tomato soup on top of each loaf.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes more.   Spoon any soup/gravy in the bottom of pan over meat loaves when serving them.  Makes 8 servings.

Linking to these great parties.
Busy Monday
This Week's Cravings
Mangia Monday
Made by You Monday
Making Monday Marvelous
Moping It Up Monday
Must Try Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Spaghetti Pepperoni Pie

I am always looking for new recipes to try for lunches.  Recently I purchased a package of pepperoni that was near its sell-by date for half off.

I remembered a recipe I had clipped from a Family Circle magazine some time ago.  I made a few adaptations and made the recipe for lunch.  We liked it, and I think it is a dish that would appeal to kids.

Turkey pepperoni can be used in this dish.  I don’t care for it, so I degrease regular pepperoni using the microwave.  I have included the directions to do that in the recipe.

Spaghetti Pepperoni Pie
1/2 lb. spaghetti, broken into thirds
1/3 c. dry bread crumbs
2 T. grated parmesan cheese (the shelf stable kind)
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
4 oz. sliced pepperoni (may use turkey pepperoni if desired)
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 T. grated parmesan cheese

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions, cooking for 8 minutes.  Drain spaghetti and set aside.  Meanwhile, combine  bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl and mix well.  Pour into the bottom of a 10-inch pie pan and spread evenly.  Set aside.  Line a microwave-safe plate with a paper towel.  Place pepperoni slices on a plate as you would for a pizza.  Cover with another paper towel.  Add another layer of pepperoni slices.  Cover with another paper towel.  Repeat one more time.  Cover with a paper towel.  Place plate in microwave and microwave on high about 30 seconds.  Pat top paper towel to help it absorb excess grease from pepperoni.  Stack 5 or 6 slices of pepperoni and cut into quarters with kitchen shears.  Repeat with remaining pepperoni.  Add pepperoni, spaghetti sauce and 1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese to spaghetti.  Mix well.   Add eggs and mix until very well blended.  Carefully turn spaghetti mixture into bread crumb lined pie pan.  Spread spaghetti evenly.  Place in a 350-degree oven and bake 30 minutes.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and the 3 T. grated parmesan cheese over the top of spaghetti.  Bake 10 minutes for or until cheese has melted.  Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes.  Cut pie into 6 wedges.  Serves 6.

 Linking to:  Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Must Try Monday

Mop It Up Monday

Making Monday Marvelous

Made by You Monday

Mangia Monday

This Week's Cravings

Hunk of Meat Monday

Ingredient Spotlight-Herbed Potato Frittata

 

The theme for today’s Ingredient Spotlight over at Eat at Home is Eggs 2012.  Now eggs go into lots of things, but this is for recipes that highlight eggs.  I am sharing one of my favorite egg dishes.

This is one of those dishes that Rachael Ray calls a B, L, D.  It can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  It is a good, basic recipe with which much can be done.  Just use your imagination.  Other cheeses, other seasonings, the addition of chopped cooked veggies, whatever.

This frittata can be a meatless main dish, served as a side dish with meat, or cooked meat can be added to make it a one-dish meal.   Bacon, sausage, ham, ground beef, chicken, and even cooked chopped steak could be added if desired.

If the potatoes are cooked ahead of time, this can be on the table in less than 15 minutes.   If I have cooked the potatoes ahead, I cook the red pepper in the butter for about 5 minutes, before adding the other ingredients.

Any leftovers warm nicely in the microwave.  Since hubby does not eat breakfast, I sometimes make this up and use it for a quick and easy breakfast dish that I just have to warm up.

Herbed Potato Frittata
2 cups diced red potato
1/4 c. finely chopped red pepper
1 T butter
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. paprika, smoked if you have it
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

If potatoes are not already cooked, cube them and cover with water.  Salt lightly.  Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Add red pepper to water after 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.  Melt butter in a 10-inch non-stick skillet.  Add green onions and garlic and cook 2 minutes, stirring often.  Add seasonings and cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring.  Add potatoes and stir until they are well coated with seasonings.  Spread potatoes out into an even layer.  Pour the eggs over the potatoes.  Cook, uncovered, over med-low heat until almost set, about 8 to 10 minutes.  If the handle of the skillet is not ovenproof, wrap it in foil.  Place skillet under broiler and broil until egg is completely set, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with cheese, and broil until cheese melts, about 1 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Cut into 4 to 6 wedges, depending on whether it will be a main dish or a side dish.  Serves 4 as a main dish and 6 as a side dish.  (Or me all by myself for a few days!)

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight
Cast Party Wednesday
Wow Me Wednesday-Ginger Snap Crafts
Wow Me Wednesday-Polkadots on Parade
What I Whipped Up Wednesday
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Whole Foods Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
Tastetastic Thursday
Tasty Thursday
Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff

Easy Beef Enchiladas

Here it is another week, and I want to wish a warm welcome to my new followers.  Thank you for following my blog and thanks once again to all those who take the time out of your busy lives to stop here for awhile.  It is truly appreciated, and I hope what you find here is useful.

This is another freezer/pantry shelf recipe that can be made with ingredients easily kept on hand.  It appears on our table monthly.  Hubby and I get a good meal, and there is plenty leftover for him to eat a couple of evenings while I am at work.

I make my own red enchilada sauce and am including the recipe.  However, purchased sauce could be used.  I think it would take a couple of cans to equal the amount of sauce that the recipe makes.  I put the tomato sauce into the pan before the water and then use the can to measure the first cup of water.  This rinses out all the tomato sauce.  I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods so use only1 T. chili powder in the sauce and 1 t. chili powder in the ground beef.

I use my already browned frozen ground beef which usually has onions, celery, and red peppers in it, but I like to add additional onion and red pepper when I heat the ground beef for this recipe.  I think that it helps to give the dish a fresher taste.

Easy Beef Enchiladas

Enchilada Sauce
1 T. minced garlic
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 1/2 c. water
1 to 2 T. chili powder (I use 1 T.)
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained


Beef Filling
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped red or green pepper
additional chili powder to taste (I use 1 t.)

10 (8 inch) flour tortillas [or 8 (10 inch)]
1 1/2 c. (4 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded Monterey jack cheese  OR
2 1/2 c. (8 oz.) shredded Mexican Blend cheese

In a medium saucepan, combine garlic, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, salt, cumin, oregano, and green chilies.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, brown ground beef and onion in medium skillet.  Add 1 cup of the enchilada sauce to the ground beef and continue to cook beef until the sauce has been absorbed, about 5 to 10 minutes.  To assemble enchiladas, heat a tortilla either in the microwave for about 10 seconds or in an ungreased skillet for about 15 seconds per side.  Dip tortilla in sauce,  fill with about 1/4 c. of beef mixture and top with about 1 T. of cheddar cheese or Mexican Blend cheese, if using.  Roll up tortilla and place seam-side down in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Repeat with rest of the tortillas.  Pour remaining sauce evenly over tortillas.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let set 5 minutes before serving.  Makes 8 to 10 enchiladas.

Linking to:  Mop It Up Monday
Recipe Sharing Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Must Try Monday
Mangia Monday
Made by You Monday
Making Monday Marvelous

Crazy Cooking Challenge-Loaded Pizza Grilled Cheese

 When I saw that grilled cheese was the topic for May’s Crazy Cooking Challenge, I knew that I wanted to do something pizza inspired.  I found a recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese at Never Enough Thyme.  I wanted a few more things in my sandwich so here is my take on that recipe.

Lana made a compound butter.  I did, too, but added garlic powder to mine, used Italian seasonings instead of oregano, and used 1/4 c. parmesan cheese.

I make my own no cook pizza sauce so I made up a recipe of that.  If I have leftover pizza sauce, I put it in ice cube trays and freeze i.  I put the frozen in a freezer bag; and when I want just a little pizza sauce, I put them in a bowl and thaw in the microwave. 

Besides cheese and pepperoni, I wanted Italian sausage, olives and green onion in my sandwich.  I browned up a pound of Italian sausage, drained it and blotted it with paper towels.  That is the amount that I had on hand so there was extra sausage.  I divided it into 1/4 c. amounts, put that in snack bags and put them into a freezer bag for the freezer.

I like to degrease my pepperoni so I put the amount needed for the sandwich between two pieces of paper towel and microwave it for 5 seconds.

A sturdy bread is needed to hold all the filling in this sandwich.  I used a multi-grain bread in my sandwich, but any favorite sturdy bread can be used.

I found a mozzarella/ provolone cheese blend at my local grocery store.  They had both sliced and shredded, and it was BOGO so I got both.  I ended up using the shredded.

Although I did not do it when I made this sandwich, I like Lana’s idea to brown the sandwich on both sides and then put it in a 325 degree oven to finish melting the cheese.  I think this would be good to do when making a number of sandwiches at a time.

Italian Garlic and Cheese Butter
!/2 c. butter, softened
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese (shelf stable)

Combine ingredients and mix well.  Chill to let the flavors blend but bring to room temperature to spread on your sandwich.  Makes about 3/4 c.

No Cook Pizza Sauce
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 t. sugar or to taste
1 t. dry oregano
1/2 t. marjoram
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. garlic salt or 1/4 t. each garlic powder and salt

Combine ingredients and let set at least one hour to let flavors blend.  If using sooner than that I would heat the mixture until it boils and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.  Makes 1 cup.

To make one sandwich:
2 slices bread of choice
2 T. Italian Garlic and Cheese Butter
2 T. pizza sauce
enough pepperoni slices to cover 1 slice of bread, usually 5 to 6
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Italian sausage, cooked
sliced ripe olives as desired
sliced green onion as desired

Place pizza slices between two layers of paper towel and microwave 5 seconds to degrease and cook slightly.  Set aside.  Place a skillet over medium heat and start  heating it up.  Spread one side of one slice of bread with about 1 T. butter mixture.  Place in skillet.  Spread about 1 T. pizza sauce on the other side of bread.  Arrange pizza slices on the bread.  Top  with the cheese.  Sprinkle the Italian sausage over the cheese.  Top with the amount of sliced ripe olives and green onions desired.  Spread remaining pizza sauce on second slice of bread.  Place bread on sandwich and spread remaining butter on the top side.  Press down lightly to help keep ingredients together.  Continue cooking on first side until bread is as brown as you like.  Turn sandwich and cook on second side until it is as brown as you like and cheese has melted.  Remove sandwich to a plate, cut it in half and enjoy.  Makes 1 sandwich.

Come and join in for next month's challenge.  You can get all the details at Tina's Mom's Crazy Cooking blog.

Linking to:  Crazy Cooking Challenge

Cooking from the Blogs-What I Made

I have just one recipe that I have cooked from the blogs recently that I was able to get a picture of, but what a good recipe it is.  If you did not check out the link to Three Cheese and Onion Stacked Roasted Potatoes in my post for the Improv Cooking Challenge you must click on over to Little Mama Big Appetite blog and get it now.  Go on.  Go get it.  Your won’t be sorry.

Little Mommy was a genius to think up this idea of stacked, roasted potatoes.  I posted here about making her original recipe.  They were so good that when she revised the recipe to include onion and cheese, I knew I had to make them again.  They were absolutely wonderful.

I have found that 3 T. of the olive oil is enough for me.  I have also used melted butter so either can be used.  Of course, the olive oil is healthier.  I used dried minced onion instead of the grated onion called for.  I mixed the onion with the olive oil and seasoning and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes.  I also did not have any pepper jack cheese so used cheddar and an Italian cheese blend.

The potatoes are crispy on the bottom like fried potatoes without all the work.  This is such a versatile recipe, I will be making it a lot by varying  the seasonings and cheese      Thank you, Little Mama, for a wonderful recipe.

Improv Cooking Challenge-Boursin Smashed Red Potatoes

There will be two posts from this Grandma today.  I am also participating in Eating the Alphabet and that gets posted on the 15th this month also.  Look for a second post.  Hint:  It involves carrots.

When I started thinking about a potato and cheese dish, I could not get Boursin cheese out of my mind.  I just was not sure what type of potato dish I would use it in.

Well, a funny thing happened.  We get America’s Test Kitchen on Saturdays here.  My husband happened to be in the house when they were making Smashed Potatoes.  He thought they looked good.  I said I hadn’t made them because he doesn’t usually eat potato skins.  Well he said that the potatoes looked good enough that he would be willing to try them.  I thought, OK, how about smashed potatoes with Boursin topping; and so an idea was born.

I make my own Boursin, but it certainly can be purchased at most grocery stores.  It is fairly expensive to buy and easy to make at home, so give it a try.

It turned out that the recipe from America’s Test Kitchen was for very small potatoes not more than 2-inches across they said.  I went on a hunt for other smashed potato recipes.  I liked the method that Simply Recipes used to cook her Smashed Potatoes.  That involved baking them in the oven with some butter.  I adapted her method, but added some additional baking time.  I also want the potatoes topped with the Boursin, Cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onion so they would be more like a thick potato skin.

The potatoes can be baked ahead and refrigerated.  The toppings can be added and the potatoes baked some more to serve them.

This is very flexible recipe.  The amount of potatoes used  is determined by the size of the potato, the number of people being served, and the appetite of those people.  I am, therefore, going to list the ingredients by what is needed for the number of potatoes used.

Boursin Smashed  Red Potatoes
1 or 2 red potatoes per person depending on size of potatoes used
1 T. butter cut from cube of butter for each four potatoes
1 T. melted butter for each four potatoes
1 T. Boursin cheese for each potato
1 T. grated sharp Cheddar cheese for each potato
1/2 slice bacon cooked and crumbled for each potato
chopped green onions as desired

Place washed and dried potatoes in a baking dish or pan that can be covered.  Slice a tablespoon of butter from a cube for each 4 potatoes, cut into 4 pieces and place a piece of butter on each potato.  Cover and bake potatoes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove potatoes from oven and roll around so that all surfaces of each potato is covered in butter.  Cover potatoes, return to oven and bake until tender, abut 45 minutes.  Remove potatoes from oven and smash with a potatoes mashed until they are about half their original size.  Brush 1 tablespoon of butter on every four potatoes.  Return to oven for 15 minutes. (This crisps up the skin and makes the potatoes more like potato skins.)  Top each potato with 1 T. Boursin cheese.  Return to oven for 10 minutes to allow cheese to soften.  Spread cheese over the top of each potato.  Sprinkle each potato with 1 T. grated Cheddar cheese and 1/2 slice cooked, crumbled bacon.  Return to oven 5 to 10 minutes until Cheddar cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped green onions if desired.  Serve with sour cream if desired.

If you haven't joined in the fun and would like to be part of  Improv Cooking Challenge, you can find all the information right here.  In April we will be doing peanut butter and jelly.  Now that should be a fun one.

Visit the links below to what other bloggers made with the ingredients of potato and cheese.

Linking to Ingredient Spotlight

Ingredient Spotlight-Chex Croutons-GF

A slightly different way to use any of the Chex Cereals is to make croutons with them to serve with soup or salad.  If you use Rice or Corn Chex, the crouton will be gluten free.

The croutons are very easy to make and almost don’t require a recipe.  Mix 5 cups Chex cereal with 1/4 c. melted butter and 1 t. seasoning of your choice.  I am giving a recipe below for Garlic and Parmesan Croutons.  You may use almost any seasoning of your choice either individually or mixed.  I have made these with garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, Italian seasonings, taco seasoning mix, lemon/pepper mix.  You name it I have probably used it to make these.

Leftover croutons can be crushed and used over casseroles or vegetables.

Garlic and Parmesan Chex Croutons
5 cups Corn or Rice Chex cereal or a mix of the two
1/4 c. butter
1 t. garlic powder
3 T. grated 100% Parmesan cheese (shelf stable kind)

Measure Chex cereal into a large mixing bowl.  Melt butter in a glass measuring cup in microwave or in small saucepan on stove top.  Stir in garlic powder until well blended.  Drizzle butter mixture over cereal.  Toss until cereal is well coated.  Sprinkle cheese over cereal and toss again until well coated with cheese.  Turn cereal out onto a baking sheet or jelly roll pan.  Bake at 325 degrees 10 to 15 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Make 5 cups croutons.

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight