Perfect Potatoes au Gratin (with Ham)

I had potatoes and I had ham, so that settled it—time to make Potatoes au Gratin. I selected The Pioneer Woman’s recipe, tweaked it a little and doubled it for our small group dinner last night. It was crazy good; as in, two helpings good. Which is saying a lot for me because I usually choose to eat two helpings of dessert, not potatoes. Eat! And enjoy.

8 whole russet potatoes, peeled
2-3 T butter, softened
1 pint heavy cream
2 cup whole milk
4 T flour
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 t salt
pepper, to taste (don’t skimp!)
3 C ham, cubed
2 c sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish.

Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths (thicker slices will take longer to cook). In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish, then place approximately 1 C of ham over it. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful.

**This modified recipe serves 8 adults easily and allows leftovers for lunch the next day. To make a nice side dish you could omit the ham and reduce quantities of ingredients by half.

Lazy Day Lasagne

This recipe is from the (old) Zion Cookbook. I think Brook has a similar recipe from her mom. It’s on the menu at our house this week.

1 12-ounce carton cottage cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 eggs

1/3 cup parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 pound ground beef or sausage, browned

9 lasagna noodles, uncooked

1/4 cup water

Parmesan cheese, grated

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, onion powder, basil, and pepper; set aside. In medium bowl, mix spaghetti sauce and ground beef; set aside. In a 9 x 13 pan, spread 3/4 cup meat mixture in bottom. Layer with 3 uncooked noodles. Spread half of cottage cheese mixture and 1 1/2 cup meat sauce. Layer with 3 more uncooked noodles. Spread remaining cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Top with remaining noodles and meat sauce. Pour water around edges. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 additional minutes or until golden brown. Just before serving, sprinkle top of lasagna with Parmesan cheese.

Italiaroni

This is one of the meals I made for the freezer meal exchange. It comes originally from Jana Ghormley in the NZC. As a bonus, I made my version this time for just under $5, which makes this meal about $0.62/serving. Not bad.

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) package rotini pasta
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon dried onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (32-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 (6-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain.
3. Season to taste with onion, salt, garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano, and pepper.
4. Add spaghetti sauce and mushrooms to beef mixture.
5. Drain cooked pasta and combine with ground beef mixture in skillet.
6. Pour in a 9×13 pan.
7. Layer pepperoni on top, then cover with the mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25–30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Note: I use spaghetti sauce that already has garlic and herbs and just skip the spices (step 3).

Sweet Potato Souffle

It’s not Thanksgiving if we don’t eat sweet potato casserole! I’ll be preparing this dish today and baking it tomorrow. It tends to get thrown in with other sides and I now wonder if it’s ever been baked at the right temp for the proper length of time. Clearly, it’s a forgiving dish. And it tastes amazing. Credit to Diane Downing via the old Zion Cookbook (the green one).

Ingredients (Casserole)

• 3 C sweet potatoes, mashed
• 1 1/3 C sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 t vanilla

Ingredients (Topping)

• 1 1/3 C brown sugar
• 1/3 C flour
• 1 C coconut
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• 1 C nuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Butter 9×13 casserole dish.
3. Mix casserole ingredients together.
4. Spoon ingredients into buttered casserole dish.
5. Mix topping ingredients together until crumbly.
6. Spread over sweet potato mixture.
7. Bake for 45 minutes.

Notes

• I reduce the sugar in the potatoes (probably to one cup) and omit coconut from the topping.

Potato Casserole

I love potatoes more than makes rational sense. This isn’t a lowfat menu option, but I think you could cut some corners and make it a bit healthier. I paired it with meatloaf and wasn’t worried about calories at the time. A few days later I reheated some casserole alongside scrambled eggs… oh my goodness, delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 (30 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups crushed corn flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Pour the hash browns into a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cheese, sour cream and soup.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the onion with 1 stick butter and saute for 5 minutes. Add this to the soup mixture and spread this over the potatoes in the dish.
5. Next, arrange the crushed corn flakes over all in the dish.
6. Melt the remaining stick of butter and pour this evenly over the corn flakes.
7. Bake for 1 hour.

Sunday Brunch Casserole

I’m always game for a new breakfast casserole. This one comes by way of the Taste of Home Cookbook from home chef Patricia Throlson of Hawick, Minnesota.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb sliced bacon
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 1/2 C green pepper
• 12 eggs
• 1 C milk
• 1-16oz pkg frozen hash browns, thawed
• 1 C (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1/4 t dill weed

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. In same skillet, saute onion and green pepper in drippings until tender; remove with a slotted spoon.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Stir in the hash browns, cheese, salt, pepper, dill, onion mixture and reserved bacon.
3. Transfer to a greased 9×13 dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Corn Casserole (The Midwestern Way)

This casserole is good stuff. My friend Julie used to make it. She moved far far away, leaving me somewhat sad and Julie-less and without this kind of corn casserole. The recipe includes Velveeta, thus I’ve determined it to be very midwestern in nature. It’s another from the OZC, courtesy of one lovely Dawn Tompkins.

1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 stick butter, melted
1 C cubed Velveeta cheese
1 T onion, chopped
1 C spaghetti, uncooked, broken into small pieces

Combine all ingredients, cover and pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Bake another 15-20 minutes uncovered.

**When you double this recipe, I believe you should cut back on the butter. I had to sop up extra butter from the dish after it was done. Worse things have occurred in my kitchen, but still, consider yourself warned.

Always Good Breakfast Casserole

Served at numerous Mom-to-Mom gatherings, Community Dinners and Champagne Breakfasts. For Brook in particular.

Ingredients

• 1/2-1 lb pork sausage, browned & drained
• 1 pkg (8oz) crescent rolls
• 10 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 C milk
• 1 C mozzerella
• 1 C cheddar
• 1 t dried oregano

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan.
3. Unroll crescents and place on bottom of pan, bake for 5-7 minutes, then remove from oven.
4. Place sausage evenly over crescent rolls.
5. In a large bowl, mix beaten eggs, milk, cheeses and oregano; pour over sausage and rolls.
6. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the center is set.

This recipe is easily adaptable for different tastes. Add veggies, change cheese and meats and voila! A breakfast dish for everyone. The crescent roll base adds a nice flavor.

Three Cheese Baked Pasta

I wanted a baked pasta recipe for community dinner. Allrecipes.com delivered!

1 lb uncooked pasta
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
6.5 C tomato pasta sauce
6 oz provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1.5 C sour cream
6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

1. Boil pasta according to box directions (cook al dente).
2. Brown ground beef and onion in a skillet. Drain if you need to. Stir in pasta sauce, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer the ingredients as follows: half of cooked pasta, all of provolone cheese, all of sour cream, half of sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

**I used penne noodles, omitted the onion (used a bit of dried onion instead), used almost two jars of Ragu for the sauce, and followed the rest of the directions as listed above. I used my new cranberry stoneware from Pampered Chef–and although it’s a 9×13, it’s also very deep. I can’t imagine using my other 9×13 pans as this recipe makes a lot of pasta! It’s a very good and filling recipe for a freezing cold Nebraska evening.

green bean, red potato, bacon casserole thingy

In the fall this is one of my favorite dishes. I just made it today. The quantities are a bit up to the cook depending on how much you want to make.

Red potatoes–washed and cubed

Green beans–cut up (I get the frozen ones when I’m feeling lazy)

Bacon–cut up into small pieces

Cream of mushroom soup (I usually use 2 cans, because you want everything covered in it.)

Salt and Pepper

Mix it all up in a pot and stick it in the over @ 350 degrees until the potatoes get fully cooked.