Barbara's Potato Casserole/Ham and Potatoes

I think most people call these "funeral potatoes." We always have them on Easter Sunday with ham.

1 can cream of chicken

1 c. sour cream

1 c. milk

1 Tbl. dried onion

1 c. shredded cheese

3 Tbl. melted butter

Spray 9 x 13 pan. Fill pan with frozen hash browns. Mix rest of ingredients. Pour over potatoes but do not stir. Sprinkle with corn flake crumbs (what I do) or the following topping.

Topping:

1/2 c. cornflake crumbs

3 Tbl. melted butter

3 Tbl. parmesan cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 min. to make crispy.

Strawberry Shortcake

From the kitchen of my Aunt Diane. I wish my husband liked strawberries so I had someone to make this for, because it is so good.

1 white cake mix - follow the directions

Bake the cake mix in 2 - 9 x 13 pans OR in one jellyroll pan. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Let cool in pan.

Mix:
8 oz. soft cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar

Mix til stiff: (in a separate bowl)
1 pint whipping cream
1 c. powdered sugar

Fold the 2 mixtures together and spread over the cooled cake. (You can do this much ahead of time if necessary. Cover with foil and put in fridge overnight.)

4-5 baskets of strawberries washed and cut in half
1 jar Marie's strawberry glaze

Cover berries. There should not be a lot of extra glaze on berries. Put the berries on top of the cake and chill before serving.

Fresh Peach Dessert

From the kitchen of Aunt Barbara.

1 lb. package French Vanilla Creme cookies (Keebler)

Roll into crumbs, and put 3/4 of crumbs into 9 x 13 pan.

Cream well:
1 square of butter (not margarine)
2 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs

Spread creamed mixture onto crumbs.

Cut 6 or 7 large peaches in wedges and cover creamed mixture. Fill to top of dish.

Whip 1 pint cream. Don't sweeten.

Spread over peaches and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 of crumbs.

Chill 4 hours before serving.

Homemade Ice Cream

From the kitchen of my Grandpa, this is soo good. On the chance you have leftovers (very rare), it's really good right out of the freezer too. I know the ice cream maker is important too. All my extended family has White Mountain ice cream makers. I've never made this myself because I don't have a White Mountain. Maybe I'll try it myself this summer in my own and see how it turns out.

Beat until creamy:
5 eggs
2 1/4 c. sugar

1 c. evaporated milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 gallon whole milk (won't use it all)
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
3 Tbl. vanilla
3-4 junket tablets (these help it set up somehow. All I know is my Mom can't find them where she lives and has to stock up sometimes when she comes to Utah.)

Don't mix it too much with the beaters. Crush up the junket tablets and dissolve them in a small amount of water. Combine everything in ice cream maker except whole milk, then add the whole milk until container (6 qt.) is 2/3 full.

Freeze. Fill the ice cream maker with ice, then rock salt. Repeat until full, and then while freezing and it melts a little.

Edit: I tried it with my ice cream maker (not a White Mountain) and it wasn't as creamy but it was still REALLY good!

Homemade Pizza

I got this recipe from Jen. My whole family loves this homemade pizza.

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ Tbsp oil
about 2 ½ - 3 cups flour

Add the water, yeast and sugar first. Then salt, oil and flour. Mix until bread is pulling away from side of the bowl. Mix for about 4 minutes or knead till elastic. Let rest for a few minutes. Roll dough into desired shape. Poke with a fork to avoid bubbles, then top with canned pizza sauce, grated mozzarella cheese, and desired toppings. Bake at 450° for 10-14 minutes. Crust should be slightly brown.

Variation: Ham and Broccoli Roll
Make bread dough. Roll out ¼” thick. Spread ham, broccoli, and cheese over the dough. Roll up like a cinnamon roll. Cut into ½ - 1 inch thick slices. Place on greased cookie sheet so they aren’t touching but will tough when they rise. Bake on 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Tip: Let your kids slice the olives with an egg slicer. They love to help and they can't cut their fingers with it.

Super Caesar Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce - torn
5-6 Romana or plum tomatoes
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
1/2 pound bacon - cooked and crumbled (or chicken for a Chicken Caesar Salad)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
4 Tbl. parmesan cheese

Dressing:
3/4 c. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tbl)
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 can tuna fish, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 c. uncooked egg noodles

Cook noodles, drain and rinse. Add tuna and soup. Warm through. May serve sprinkled with crushed potato chips.

Pinto Beans

A classic dinner from Kevin's family.

2 c. dry pinto beans
6 c. water
1-6 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. taco seasoning

Let beans soak overnight. Change the water. Add remainging ingredients and turn on low for all day, or on high for 4-5 hours.

Top with cheese. Serve with ketchup if desired.

French Dip Sandwiches

Cook beef brisket at 350 for 6 hours in 4-5 cups of beef broth (you can also use a crockpot). Cut the meat into slices and serve on rolls or hoagie bread. Serve with additional beef broth for dipping.

Fajitas

Cut steak or chicken into strips, brown in a small amount of oil, and add fajita or taco seasoning. (Or use those frozen grilled chicken strips from Costco and microwave for a couple minutes.)

Cut up bell peppers into strips. Use the green peppers as a base, but the red, yellow, and orange peppers are sweeter and will add more flavor if you mix in a few of them. Don't forget to add strips of onion too. I always forget the onion.

Cook the peppers and onions in a small amount of olive oil (or sometimes I steam them for a lower-calorie option) and mix in the meat right before serving. The trick is to get the peppers just right so they are soft but still have a little texture to them without being crunchy.

Serve in warm tortillas with cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Or, for another look:

So this year for Halloween I added too much water and it was more of a soup than a casserole AND I forgot the chow mein noodles. Still tasted good.

1 lb. hamburger
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 stalks celery chopped
3/4 c. Minute Rice
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 3/4 c. water (off of the celery)
chow mein noodles

Boil celery and onion. Brown hamburger. Mix all ingredients together. Bake covered 1/2 hour at 350. Uncover and sprinkle with chow mein noodles. Bake uncovered another 15 minutes.

Serve with more chow mein noodles.

*We bake this in a pumpkin on Halloween and serve it out of the pumpkin. Serve by candlelight with orange jello topped with cool whip ghosts and chocolate chips eyes, root beer, and yummy mummies.

Taco Meat/Taco Salad

For my tacos I just brown a pound of hamburger with an onion, then add taco seasoning and a can of kidney beans.

Serve tacos in corn shells or flour tortillas. Top with salsa, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream or dressing.

For taco salad, use more lettuce to make and salad, use above toppings, and finish with ranch dressing and Frito corn chips.

Nothing special and really easy, but so good.

Breakfast Pizza

This is a tradition for our family on Christmas morning and every six months for General Conference. On Christmas we have it with orange slices topped with powdered sugar, and for Conference sometimes we'll make orange julius to go with it.

2 packages crescent rolls
1 package sausage, cooked
1 1/2 c. frozen grated hashbrowns
12 eggs
salt and pepper
grated cheese
parmesan cheese

Roll out the packages of crescent rolls to cover a jelly roll pan (3 long ways, and 1 across the bottom). Pinch the seams together to seal and be sure to make a crust around the edge of the pan or the eggs will run underneath.


Sprinkle the sausage and hashbrowns evenly across the pan. Whip the eggs in a separate bowl and pour over the sausage and hashbrowns. Top with salt and pepper and grated cheese. Finish with parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with ketchup. It's good without ketchup too. :)