Tater Tot Casserole

Wow! Almost 2 years since I've touched this blog! Oops!

Life has changed a WHOLE lot in that time.

We moved to a new house. Which is so fun! I also went back to work full time. (So I guess this blog's name is no longer accurate...) I have been working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher since April 2015. It has been a SUPER stressful year as I learned this crazy stressful job, and adjusted to being a working mom, in a new house that needed lots of updating and decorating. Not to mention adjusting to sending my kids to daycare after being with them almost 24/7 since they were born. Hubby has had to step in as Mr. Mom (and he has done an AWESOME job!) and we have had to get used to seeing each other a whole lot less.

I know several people whose lives have also drastically changed but due to death, divorce, etc. and as stressed as I have been, I realize how blessed I am and I am grateful that the Lord has helped me through this difficult transition.

Even though I haven't written anything here for a long time, I still refer to this blog a lot for my recipes. I used to keep all my recipes on Tastebook, but somewhere in the last year, they did something to where I no longer have access to my recipes.
So I am trying to be more diligent in keeping my recipes accessible, but at the same time, I have not been cooking nearly as often as I used to. For several months, my family was lucky to get one home-cooked meal out of me a week.

We just tried this recipe last night and we were pleasantly surprised. The original recipe called for twice the amount of ranch dressing mix (1-1 oz. package), and we found it to be too powerful. Costco sells Hidden Valley Ranch mix in a spice container, which will be much easier to get your 1/2 oz.


Tater Tot Casserole

16 oz. sour cream
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 oz. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
3 oz cooked, crumbled bacon
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 lbs. frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together sour cream, soup, ranch, bacon, and cheddar. Fold in tater tots. Spoon entire mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake fr 40-45 minutes, until bubbly.

Better Than Olive Garden Chicken

I have gotten a lot of requests for this recipe, so I'll post it to make it easier for people to find. 

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest. We love it, but it it a little more labor intensive than I like on a busy weeknight. Since I discovered Tyson's Panko Breaded Chicken at Costco, this has become a go to recipe that is easy enough for a busy weeknight and good enough to make for guests or bring to a sick friend/new mom. 

2 tsp. McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tsp. freeze dried chives
2 Tbsp. dried basil
3 Tbsp.butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4-1/3 c. Italian diced tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

In a saute pan, melt butter. Add garlic and cook for a minute, being careful to not let the garlic burn. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat. 
Stir in cream and tomatoes; bring to a boil. 
Reduce heat to low. Add Parmesan cheese, basil, chives, Montreal steak seasoning, and a dash of freshly ground black pepper. 
Stir and heat until thickened.

Serve over cooked Panko breaded chicken. 

We pair this with mashed potatoes or browned butter Parmesan spaghetti and a nice salad. 
I have yet to make this for anyone who didn't ask for the recipe!

Buffalo Shepherds Pie

A couple years ago when we were living up in the ghetto, I heard about a pub that was in a local hotel. Being the anglophile that I am, I was eager to check it out. It's actually an Irish pub, not an English pub, but close enough.

DH and I along with our little DD were slightly out of our element. Everyone around us was enjoying a pint and we ordered soda. The menu was full of unfamiliar fare so we had to ask the waiter for recommendations. The waiter recommended something called Buffalo Shepherds Pie. It was love at first bite.

We gobbled it up and raved about it to our family. We ate there a few more times until that glorious day when we moved out of the ghetto. The menu had a good description of the dish so DH and I set about to replicate it at home.

We've made it a few times and we learn something new with each attempt. We've got it down to just how we like it. I made it yesterday and divided the goods into three dishes so that in a couple months when we're home with our new little squish, we will have some delicious dinners waiting in the freezer.

Now this recipe calls for beer. We don't drink it but we have no problem cooking with it. The restaurant uses Tetley's Draught, but we couldn't find that locally. I called up a friend who knows beer and asked what a comparable beer would be, he recommended Newcastle, which I found at the state liquor store. (I enjoyed some strange looks at the liquor store, buying beer with an 8 month pregnant belly. Good times.) In the past we have used Guinness extra stout beer, which had a stronger flavor than the Newcastle.


Buffalo Shepherds Pie

• 1 lb. andouille sausage, cooked and sliced
• 1 lb. ground bison, cooked and salted & peppered**
• 1 lb. ground beef, cooked
• 1 yellow onion
• 1/2 lb. frozen corn
• 24 oz. Newcastle Brown Ale
• 1 can cr. of mushroom soup
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 lb. Irish cheddar cheese (Kerrygold Dubliner Irish Cheese, found in most grocery store gourmet cheese islands)
• 14-16 medium Idaho russet potatoes
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 TBSP. sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• Kosher salt to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add peeled and cubed potatoes and cook until tender.

In a large Saute pan, saute onion in a little olive oil until translucent. Add corn and saute. Set aside.

Cook beef and bison, drain fat, season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Cook andouille. Slice lengthwise and then into small (half circle) slices.
In a large pan, combine all meats and beer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

While the meat is simmering, make mashed potatoes. In a kitchenaid, mix potatoes, milk, sour cream and butter until smooth. Season with kosher salt.

When meat is done simmering, drain the beer. Combine meat, corn, onion, cream of mushroom soup, and dried thyme.

Transfer to two 8x8 (or equivalent) pans. Top with a thick layer of mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until bubbling hot.

**ground bison can be expensive. I've never found it for less than $10/lb. But we've learned that the important flavors come from the andouille sausage and the Irish cheddar, so most of the time we just use 2 lbs. of ground beef instead using the bison.

Fondue

I think fondue is our new NYE tradition.
Here are the recipes we used this year. They're all amazing!

FONDUE BROTH

2 bay leaves

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

3 cups beef broth

3 cups water

1 (1 ounce) package French onion soup mix

Mix all ingredients in a fondue pot or on the stove. Simmer for one hour. Bring to a boil when ready to serve.

source



CHEESE FONDUE

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened

• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream

• ¾ cup parmesan cheese ( I used romano)
  

• 1 1/3 cup grated gruyere cheese (or swiss cheese)

• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon salt

In a fondue pot or double broiler over medium heat, gradually add the olive oil, cream cheese, cream, parmesan and gruyere cheese until the mixture is smooth and the cheese has melted.

Add the garlic powder, nutmeg and salt. Mix well.

*If the mixture is too thick, add more cream, if it’s too runny, add more cheese.

source

CHOCOLATE FONDUE
Half of this recipe is plenty!

• 32 ounces chocolate, grated ( I used 2/3 semi-sweet and 1/3 milk, both Guittard)
  
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder (I used Pero)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (preferably Mexican vanilla)
  
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/3 cup hot water

In a double boiler melt the chocolate with the heavy cream. Mix in the instant coffee, vanilla extract, sugar, and hot water. Continue to heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth.

souce

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies and Banana Bread

I found these red velvet cheesecake brownies on Pinterest and I've made them several times now. I can't describe how awesome they are! They come from this site

And they're really easy too!

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup butter
2. 2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 2 large eggs
5. 1 tsp vanilla extract
6. 1 1/2 tsp red food coloring
7. 2/3 cup all purpose flour
8. 1/4 tsp salt
9. 8-oz cream cheese, room temperature
10. 1/3 cup sugar
11. 1 large egg
12. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
5. To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes (mine always take 45-50 minutes), until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
7. Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies. (Hard to do but very important!)
   

Yields: 16 large brownies or 24 small brownies

I also had a craving for my mom's banana bread and these days, when I have a craving, I HAVE TO have it!NOW! :)

Ingredients

½ cup margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed bananas

¼ cup milk

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 cups flour

1½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup nuts (optional)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add bananas, milk and lemon juice.

Sift dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. Add nuts or chocolate chips.

Bake in well-greased 8x4x3 loaf pan for 1 hour at 350°, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Lemon Gelato

My BFF made this for a summer BBQ 3 years ago when we were both pregnant. It has become my favorite summer dessert. The lemon flavor is very strong and it's not overly sweet, but that's what makes it so refreshing. If you have an ice cream maker, this is a quick, super easy summer dessert.

Lemon Gelato

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks, beaten

3 Tbsp. grated lemon zest

¾ cup fresh lemon juice (5-6 lemons)

2 c. heavy whipping cream

Scald milk. Add sugar and cook until dissolved. Temper eggs then add all eggs to mixture. Add zest. Cook until thickened to a custard-like consistency. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Place pan in ice water. Stir in cream. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.* Transfer to ice cream maker and mix until an ice-cream consistency is achieved.

*May be placed in freezer for an hour instead of refrigerator.

Subway Sauces

DH LOVES LOVE LOVES sauces. He's always experimenting and coming up with new concoctions. That's why our fridge is mostly condiments:)
On Sunday night he was craving a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich from Subway, and since it was Sunday we of course weren't going to go get one, so we started researching recipes. By the time I found some good recipes, he had munched on something and wasn't hungry anymore, but I got really excited about our two favorite sauces, the sweet onion sauce and the southwest chipotle. (Try the sweet onion chicken teriyaki with just a small strip of the chipotle sauce, and lots of sweet onion sauce. It's divine!) I was only missing a couple ingredients so I got them today and whipped up these sauces tonight. They were both super duper easy but the sweet onion sauce has a rather strange ingredient that I wouldn't think most people have laying around. This buttermilk powder can be found on the baking isle, but not knowing what it looked like, I honestly wouldn't have found it. Luckily my friend spotted it.

Sweet Onion Sauce

1 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons minced white onion

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 teaspoons white distilled vinegar

2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoon buttermilk baking mix

1/2teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon poppy seed

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch cracked black pepper

pinch garlic powder

Combine all ingredients. Bring to boil. Whisk well. Cool and store in refrigerator.

I used 1 Tbsp. of dried minced onion instead but I'm anxious to try it with the fresh onion.

Southwest Chipotle Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 ounce pureed chipotle chile in adobo

1 tsp. fresh garlic, minced

salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.

I was trying to find some fancy glass bottles but settled on these for now. But really these will work better than glass since they can be squeezed.

So tomorrow night's dinner is homemade Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwiches!!! We're excited. DH just needs to find Subways Italian Herb and Cheese bread recipe.

Ribs

We were stuck at home working for the mortuary today while the rest of our family celebrated Independence Day. So in an effort to not feel sorry for ourselves, we had our friends over for dinner. DH decided to try his hand at beef ribs. (We're not pork eaters) They were fall-off-the-bone incredible!

He came up with this sauce on his own. He loves to get as many spices into a sauce as he can, luckily I was taking notes so I was able to write up a recipe. Like any good ribs, these take quite a while, but they're worth it!

5 lbs. beef ribs
3-4 garlic cloves
1/2 onion, minced
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
14 oz. ketchup
1/2 cup honey
2-3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire
2 Tbsp. liquid smoke
1 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 - 1/8 tsp. ground clove
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. ground sage
3 drops green Tabasco

Saute garlic and onions in oil.
Stir in ketchup, honey and vinegar.
Add remaining ingredients.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Slather ribs in sauce and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 280°. Place ribs in a roasting pan and cover. Bake for 2 1/2 hours then reduce heat to 200°for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Remove ribs and keep covered. Let sit for an about an hour.
Just before serving, place ribs on a preheated grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, just enough sear the ribs.

Recipe Book

I mentioned before that DH's baby sis is getting married next month and that I was making her a recipe book. I've been having too much fun making these recipes cards with my Memory Mixer software. Here are a few:






I hope she likes it!

Potato Basil Puree

I was at Costco the other day and saw Ina Garten on the cover of Costco's magazine. I picked it up and flipped through it when I got home. The one recipe that screamed "Make me!" was the Potato Basil Puree. Being an Italian girl, I am a sucker for anything basil.

(photo from yumsugar.com )

I had some fresh basil leaves so I made it for dinner tonight. It is absolutely delicious!


Potato Basil Puree

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
2 pounds large Yukon Gold or white boiling potatoes
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and fill a bowl with ice water. Add the basil leaves to the boiling water and cook for exactly 15 seconds. Remove the basil with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge the leaves into the ice water to set the bright green color. Drain and set aside.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them in quarters. Add the potatoes to the same pot of boiling water and return to a boil. Cook the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until very tender. Drain well, return to the saucepan, and steam over low heat until any remaining water evaporates.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the half-and-half and parmesan cheese until the cream simmers. Place the basil in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree. Add the hot cream mixture and process until smooth.
4. With a handheld mixer with the beater attachment, beat the hot potatoes in the pot until they are broken up. Slowly add the hot basil cream, the salt, and pepper and beat until smooth. If the potatoes need to be reheated, cover and cook gently over low heat for a few minutes. Pour into a serving bowl, sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese, season to taste, and serve hot.

Serves 4 to 5.

The PERFECT Roast Beef

I found this method of cooking a roast on recipezaar. I tried it today and it truly is perfect!


I cooked mine medium-rare so it does look quite pink. I should have let it sit longer to avoid losing all this juice, but it doesn't matter, it was moist and delicious! I find that often the beef flavor gets covered up by all the herbs and other ingredients that recipe's call for, but this recipe actually lets you taste the beef.

Another major bonus: this roast took less than an hour to cook!

Try it next time you're making a Sunday roast!

Death by Oreo

This is a spin on Hello Dolly's but for Oreo lovers. But beware! they are highly addictive so I suggest you make them to take to a function so they're not sitting around your house.

1 pkg Oreo's
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Grease 13 x 9 x 3 pan with PAM.

Place Oreo's in gallon size Ziplock bag. Crush with rolling pin. Add melted butter.

Spread 1/2 the Oreo's in pan. Spread chocolate chips & marshmallows. Cover with remaining Oreo's then evenly spread sweetened condensed milk on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Chicken Divan

Along with trying the recipes in the Deceptively Delicious book, I've been trying to use the concepts I learned to adapt my own recipes.

One of our favorite dinners is Chicken Divan, or Rice/Chicken/Broccoli casserole.
So, here is the recipe, with my adaptions:

2 (10 oz) pkgs. frozen broccoli florets
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
breadcrumb
Parmesan or cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Slightly cook broccoli and set aside.
Combine soup, buttermilk, cottage cheese, lemon juice, and curry powder in blender and puree.
In a 13x9 baking dish, layer 1/2 soup mixture, all of the rice, all of the chicken & broccoli. Top with remaining soup mixture.
Dust with breadcrumb & cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

My adaptions:
Add 1/2 cup broccoli puree to the soup mixture. I used this instead of the broccoli florets on top, but you could do both.
Add 1/2 cup cauliflower puree to soup mixture.
I used low-fat cottage cheese. I have also low-fat ricotta cheese when I didn't have cottage cheese.
I didn't have buttermilk so I put 1/2 Tbsp. of white vinegar in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and filled the remainder with milk.
I added another drop of lemon juice and a sprinkle of curry powder because the flavors weren't as strong after I added the broccoli and cauliflower.
I add ground flax seeds to the breadcrumb topping.

Tofu Nuggets

My childhood friend turned cousin-in-law got me excited about a book called Deceptively Delicious. I saw it on clearance at Deseret Book so I bought it.
I love the concept of hiding vegetables in food. DH & DD are good vegetable eaters, so really I bought this with myself in mind.
I spent an evening pureeing foods so I'd have them ready in the freezer. For lunch I decided to make tofu nuggets for DD & myself. I had to make these when DH was working, he gags at the thought of tofu.

I thought they were delicious!


Tofu Nuggets

1 cup whole wheat or white breadcrumbs ( I only had Italian and I think it added lots of flavor)
1 TBSP flax seed meal (buy a big jar at Costco for cheap)
1 TBSP grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 cup spinach, broccoli or pea puree (I used broccoli)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (14. oz) package extra firm tofu , preferably with calcium
1/2 tsp. salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 TBSP olive oil


1. In a bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, flax seed meal, Parmesan, and paprika. Set aside.
2. In a shallow bowl, much puree and egg with a fork, and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.
3. Slice the tofu 1/2 inch thick and cube it or cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Sprinkle both sides with salt. Dip tofu pieces into the puree mixture, then roll them in breadcrumbs until the tofu is completely covered and you can't see the puree.
4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil.
5. Add the tofu nuggets in a single layer (be careful not to crowd the pan!) and cook until nicely browned on one side 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until breadcrumb coating is crisp and golden, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I don't know about you, but every time I have had homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken, it never tastes as good as you get at a Chinese restaurant. The sweet and sour sauce is always too vinegary and if you buy the jarred sauce, well, that's just nasty.

Last night around one a.m., I told my hubby that I was craving Chinese food. Since there are no restaurants open that late, I looked at recipezaar and, like always, searched by rating. This is the first recipe that popped up. We were too tired to make it last night so I made it for dinner tonight.

It tastes exactly like you get at a GOOD Chinese restaurant! The sauce is sweet and the batter on the chicken is beautiful! Best of all, it's EASY.Go here for the recipe

Sugared Cinnamon Almonds (Like you get at the mall)

My mom made these the other day and I had to try them for myself. She found them here. They really are just like the ones you get at the mall and they make your house smell fabulous!

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups whole almonds
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with vegetable oil.

In a large bowl combine sugar and cinnamon.

In another large bowl, beat egg white until slightly frothy. Stir in vanilla and salt.

Add almonds to egg mixture and toss to coat

Pour almonds into cinnamon sugar and toss to coat

Spread sugar coated almonds onto lined baking sheet

Bake for 25 minutes; stir after 10 minutes

Let cool and remove from pan with slotted spoon

Orange Dream Cookies

I saw this on Ducks In A Row and had to try it. Oh. My. Gosh. So incredible!

Orange Dream Cookies
1 c. butter softened

2/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. grated orange rind

2 t. orange extract

2 1/4 c. flour

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2c - 2 c. white chocolate chips ( I like just 1 1/2 cups)

Cream butter, sugars, eggs, extract and orange rind together. Combine flour, soda, and salt and then slowly add into mixing bowl with other ingredients. Mix in the chocolate chips at the end with a wooden spoon. Drop by tablespoons onto a cookies sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4 dozen cookies (when made with 2 cups chocolate chips)


Give them a try!

Easy Tortilla Soup

It's cold here in Utah. It's also the first snow that is sticking to the roads which meant doing my grocery shopping with a few adventures.

It's definitely a soup kind of day.

I read about an easy and filling tortilla soup and decided to give it a try.



Build your own Tortilla Soup:

Heat:
2 cups chicken broth
1-2 cups salsa (I did one cup)

Let everyone add their own fix-ins, such as:
shredded chicken
cheddar cheese
sour cream
black beans
corn
crushed tortilla chips
and whatever else you can dream up!


My mistake was that I was trying to get rid of some thanksgiving turkey and I added it to the broth to heat it up. Maybe it's just me, but you can't fake turkey for chicken. I just ate around it and added some cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips. Yummmmm!

Rolled Turkey and Stuffing

My dad used to make this and we all loved it. DH and I are going to be on our own for Christmas and I thought this would make for a good Christmas dinner. I decided to try it out for Sunday dinner.

I found a 4 1/2 lb. bone-in turkey breast. After thawing it all night I woke up and boned it. I've never boned poultry before, I just tried to stick as close to the bone as possible. It was quite fun, I felt like I was back in the Operating Room.

Anyway, after I boned the turkey I laid it out flat. I made 2 batches of Stove Top stuffing and cooked up some loose sausage and mixed the two together.

I spread out the stuffing/sausage on the turkey and then rolled it up, securing it with thread.

I baked it in a roasting pan and served it with mashed potatoes and pan gravy.

MMMMMMMMM GOOD!

It definitely doesn't need 2 batches of stuffing, but DH LOVES stuffing and only likes turkey.

Creamy Potato Soup

Swine flu has been rampant in my house. Before DH got it and he was taking care of me, I asked him to make this recipe that I found on Recipezaar. It is surprisingly delicious!


Creamy Potato Soup:

4 cups chicken broth
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks


Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.

Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.

Smash a few potatoes to release their starch for thickening.

Reduce to low heat.

Add cream cheese.

Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.