"Funeral" potatoes

This is one of my favorite sides dishes.

Serves 10-12

1 small-medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. butter
1 28-oz. bag shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 c. sour cream
1 10-oz. can cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom) soup
2 1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

OPTIONAL: Crushed cornflakes, seasoned bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.  Remove from heat.  Add the thawed hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, salt, and pepper and combine well.  Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Spread the mixture into a 9×13″ (or similar) dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the casserole is hot in the center and the cheese is bubbly throughout. 

My favorite mix for salad

No measurements- sorry, but some approximations. This is my favorite salad- the kids agree.

Lettuce (I prefer romaine, but iceburg is fine too)
carrots (chopped or grated)
mandarin oranges (small can, drained)
raisins
bacon bits (optional)
cashews (this is my favorite part, as you can imagine Sam skips this part as he doesn't like nuts in things)
cheese (preferable a mix like Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend)

Put in a bowl as listed above. Very easy and good for you!

Super Easy chicken

I almost feel silly posting this, but it's a favorite staple of our house:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Put 4 (boneless) chicken breast in a pan. Melt 1/4 c butter and put over chicken. Sprinkle with 1-2 t seasoned salt. Bake for 50 mins and voila! Yummy chicken! I like to serve it with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Lindsay's Spaghetti sauce

I have to admit I never had measured the ingredients for my sauce. I just made it up as I went along. Last nite I finally tried to figure out the measurements. Here's what I did:

(Serving 6 with left overs)

Put in medium sized sauce pan:

3 (6oz) cans of tomato paste
9 oz water (or 1 1/2 cans from the paste)
1 T veggie oil
1 t sugar
1/4 t pepper
1/8t salt
2 t Italian seasoning (this is a mix of marjoram, thyme, oregano, rosemary, savory and basil.. if you don't have this on hand then increase the oregano to about 2 t, basil to 1/2 t, thyme to 1/2)
1 1/2 t minced onion (optional)
1 t seasoned salt
1/2 t garlic powder (or you can substitute minced garlic, but NOT garlic salt)
1 3/4 t oregano
1/2 t parsley
1/2 t lemon peal (optional)
1/4 t thyme
1/4 t basil

You can also add 1 small can of chopped mushrooms and/or cheese to the mix, but if you do so you will need to increase slightly the amount of oregano, basil, and garlic powder, as cheese and mushrooms do tend to make the seasonings a bit more dull.

When you put together the tomato paste, water, and oil in the pan it will be slightly thick sauce. If it gets too thick while you are cooking it over heat then add more water though. It should be the consistency of Prego spaghetti sauce. My rule of thumb is that 1 can of paste makes sauce for 2 people; and 1/2 can of water per can of paste. Everything else was purely on sight. I will be playing with this one more, as I never make this sauce the same twice. I would encourage anyone who uses this recipe to certainly do the same. Serve it over your pasta of choice (our being spaghetti, angel hair, or elbow macaroni) and enjoy!

**note feel free to play with the amounts of spices when making the sauce to what you and your family like- I always do.. sometimes I'll add chopped mushrooms to my sauce as well**

Gluten free peanut butter cookies

I got this recipe from a great sister from our old ward. We tried it out and I really like it- good stuff and simple to make

Preheat oven to 350*F

1 c peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t baking soda
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 c coconut

Mix peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut. Form 1 tbsp into balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on parchment before moving to cooling rack. Yummy!

White chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies

One of my favorite kinds of cookies!

2 c flour
2 t cinnamon
1 t cardamom
1 t baking soda
1 c (2 sticks) butter (softened)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin (from canned pumpkin like Libby's)
1 egg
2 t vanilla
2 c (12 oz) white chocolate chips
2/3 c chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts

Combine flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and baking soda in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar in large bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla until well mixed. Gradually beat in flour mix. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto greased baking sheets; flatten slightly with back of the spoon.

Beat at 350 for 11 to 14 mins or until centers are set. Cool for 2 mins remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Double Chocolate Chip cookies

Sam tested and Sam approved (obviously- he is a chocolate- holic!)

2 1/4 c flour
1/2 c baking cocoa
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c butter (softened)
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
2 c (12 oz) chocolate chips

Combine flour, cocoa, soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-10 mins or until puffed up. Let stand 2 mins; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

Oatmeal Scotchies

This is one of my favorite kinds of cookies. They are so good and one of those kinds that you can freeze easily and just pop in the microwave and have still be awesomely good (much like my mother-in-law's CCC's).

1 1/4 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla (or grated orange peal)
3 c quick or old-fashioned oats
2 c (12 oz) butterscotch chips

Combine flour, soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour mix. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 7 to 8 mins for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 mins for crispy cookies. Let stand for 2 mins; removed to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Maya Angelou's Bread Pudding

I really like this book. There's some classic recipes in it (but most take too much thought and effort for me). It's a great read with lots of stories in with her recipes. Here's one of my favorites from her book

(from Hallelujah! The Welcome Table by Maya Angelou)
serves 6

1 loaf stale sliced white bread
4 T (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 c raisins
1 c sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 c milk
2 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease with butter a 3 qt casserole dish. Butter both sides of bread slices, place on tin foil. and put in oven. Toast slices on both sides.

Place raisins in bowl of hot water to plump. Cover, soak for 20 mins, and drain.

Combine sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix well.

Break up toasted bread, and put in casserole dish. Add drained raisins. Pour egg mixture over bread, and stir. Bake 40 mins. Serve hot or cold.

Hungarian Goulash

I made this for the missionaries while we were in Maryland. Truthfully, I was hoping to find a recipe that would taste like my Meemaw's goulash. This is nothing like her goulash, but it was still really good. It's very Hungarian (I guess hence why it's call "Hungarian goulash" and not "Norwegian goulash"). It's very filling, pretty good especially on a chilly day.

(from BH&G Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes)
serves 6

3 medium potatoes (cut in 1 inch cubes)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs beef
1 (14 1/2 oz) can beef broth
1 (14 oz) chunky tomatoes with garlic and spices
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 T paprika
1 t caraway seeds or fennel seeds
1/2 t salt
1 (9 oz) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
3 c hot cooked noodles
1/3 c sour cream

1. In slow cooker, place potates, onions and garlic. Add beef. In bowl, combine broth, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, seeds, and salt. Pour over all.

2. Cover; cook on low-heat for 10 10 12 hours or high-heat for 5 to 6 hours.

3. Stir in artichoke hearts into cooker. Cover and let stand for 10 mins. Serve over hot cooked noodles. Top each with a serving of sour cream.