Mashed Potato Casserole

So it has been an incredibly busy Thursday, but such is life when you work in retail and it is 9 days before Christmas.  I just got home from work and my wonderful hubby has leftover turkey and stuff from their work potluck, so thats what I am having for dinner.  So what does that make me really want--my mashed potato casserole.  Okay, this is the EASIEST thing ever.  And is a great twist on mashed potatoes and baked potatoes, and I guarantee will be a hit for the holidays.

Baked Mashed Potato Casserole

**Boil your favorite potatoes for mashed potatoes just like you normally would.  Prepare them with butter, milk, salk, pepper just like you normally would once they are soft.  (at this point they would be just like normal "mashed potatoes")

Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese, chedder is best
Diced Onion
Bacon, cooked crispy and chopped up (you can also use diced ham if you like it better)
Green onion, diced

(you will notice that those are not exact measurements, that is because it is up to you to decide how much you want to "jazz it up", use as much or as little as your taste likes, we personally like a lot of onion and lot of cheese, but not as much bacon in my house, so thats what I do.  Customize it to your taste)

**Mix with your mashed potatoes your sour cream, diced onion, bacon (you can also used diced up ham if you like that better), and 3/4th of your shredded cheese. 
**Put in baking dish.  Cover with remainder of your shredded cheese, and diced green onion.
**Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes until cheese on top is golden and bubbly. 

Serve immediately!!

So I hope you all are having a great week, and I hope you all are cooking some great meals.  Let me know what you have experimented with and what has worked for you and what hasn't.  Let me know if you have tried anything new, and what it was.  I'd love to hear your recipe.

Jennifer

Do you like Broccoli?????

Okay so I must admit.  Veggies are NOT my favorite thing.  I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate them, but I would say I don't like most of them, and if I could choose not to eat them, I will most definately do that.  So if I can find a way to either hide them in something else or disguise them I will do that.  My mom shared with me a recipe that I love and have been making over and over again, and continues to get requested at potlucks and dinners that I go to over and over again.  And the miracle is that I don't even mind that there is broccoli in it.  I guess if you disguise broccoli with cornbread and a lot of butter it is good.  So try this!!!  (try it on your kids, they won't even realize what you have done before they are asking for more)

Broccoli Cornbread

2 boxes of jiffy cornbread mix
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1 med onion, chopped (you can also saute if you like)
1 1/4 stick butter, melted
1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 package chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 cup skim (or your choice) milk

**Mix cornbread mix, salt, eggs, onion, and butter together until well incorporated.  Add cottage cheese, and remix, don't try to break up cottage cheese lumps, baking will take care of that.
**Drop in broccoli and cup of milk and well mix.  Evenly distribute broccoli throughout mixture.
**Put in baking dish.  I prefer metal because it browns more evenly on the bottom.
**Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Serve immediately or serve later.  Can be microwaved for a few seconds if it gets cold and it is wonderful (and that is coming from me who HATES leftovers).

This will make a wonderful addition to your holiday table.  Okay, I gotta go get mine out of the oven.  I have some cooking for two potlucks:  one for my work and at hubby's work.  Happy cooking.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Almond Cookies

So let me just say that today I whipped up my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and decided that it was pretty boring.......

So, I added into the mix about 2 cups of sweetened Coconut, and about 2 cups of slivered almonds.  Baked these at 375 for -10-12 minutes, and mmmmm.....they were so yummy.  It took a basic chocolate chip cookie and jazzed it up.  Try it.  You will not be disappointed.

Green Chili Chicken Recipe

So this recipe is something that you can do a lot with.  You can put this on nachos, make it into taco's or burritos, put it on a salad (if you are my healthly hubby), or make it into a casserole.

Oh yea, and the longer it sits, the better it is.

Green Chili Chicken
1 pkg bonless skinless chicken thighs
Onion Powder
Adobo Powder
Diced Onion (2 medium)
4-5 cans of diced green chilis
1 jar of green chili salsa

**Sautee whole pieces of chicken thighs in some olive oil with onion powder and adobo powder to personal preference (adobo can be very salty, so be careful with it)
**Once they get cooked about 75% of the way through, take them out, and dice them into 1 inch pieces.  Put back into pan with onion, and turn down on low.
**Put in all but one of the can's of diced green chilis, and put the green chili salsa.
**Depending on the thickness of the mixture, you can add the additional can of green chilis.  If needed, add it, if not, save it for next time. 
**Simmer on LOW for atleast one hour, or you can move to your crockpot and simmer on low in there for atleast an hour.  But, the longer it simmers, the better it is.  And it is always better on day two.

If you like it a little spicier, you can add some diced jalapenos.

ENJOY!!!

Let me know what you think and all the ways you use this. 

Lets get started........

So, I hope that through this I can help you find some passion for cooking much like I have.  Cooking and baking can be a wonderful stress relief.  Whether you are a professional chef, stay at home parent, or someone who rushes to put dinner on the table after getting home from work, you can easily LOVE cooking and easily put wonderful healthy meals in front of your family.  So are all the recipes I suggest going to be 100% healthy.  DEFINATELY NOT!  I can assure you that not everything that we eat in my house is completely healthly, but it is all created with love, and is enjoyed.

What am I going to share with you:  stories about my food, about my food experiences, and recipes.  And I hope you will do the same with me.  I will post as often as I can.  Please try my recipes, and give me as much feedback as possible.  These are my recipes, and I hope one day that I can use them to create a cookbook or catering business.

So your first recipe to try is definately NOT health food.  But it is sooooo yummy.

Stuffed French Toast

Loaf of fresh french bread (sliced into about 1 1/2 inch slices)
1 package of plain cream cheese (at room temp)
1 small jar orange marmalade
1/2 dz. eggs (cracked-whip with few tablespoons of water)
cinnamon to taste (mix into eggs)
vanilla extract (mix into eggs)

**In your slices of french bread cut a pocket along the edge of the crust.  Make sure not to cut all the way through as this is where you will stuff the cream cheese mixture.
**Mix cream cheese and marmalade together with either a fork or with a hand mixer until smooth.  Spoon this mixture evenly into the slices of french bread.
**Mix eggs with few tablespoons of water, cinnamon and extract.
**Coat the bread after stuffing with cream cheese.  Soak in egg mixture for about 1 minute.
**Move immediately to hot skillet or griddle until browned on both sides.

Serve immediately with powered sugar and/or syrup.  And definately enjoy!!!!  My family loves this!!


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and happy cooking.  Cook everything you do with passion and love and it will be perfect.

Jennifer