Funeral Potatoes

Funeral Potatoes

1 (30-32 ounce) package frozen shredded potatoes

1 cup sour cream

1 cup diced onion (I sometimes use a frozen blend that has onions and bell peppers)

2 1/2 cups grated cheese (cheddar or I use the blend from Costco)

4 T melted butter, divided

2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup

Pepper

2/3 sleeve of Club Crackers

Put the shredded potatoes in a mixing bowl and defrost in the microwave for 3 minutes. 

Place 2 T butter in a pan and saute the diced onions.  

Add the sour cream, cheddar cheese, onions (including buttery liquid), soup, and pepper to the potatoes and mix thoroughly.  

Pour mixture into 9x13 glass pan that has been sprayed with Pam.  

Melt 2 T butter in a small mixing bowl in the microwave.  

Crush up the crackers with your fingers and use a spoon to mix with the butter.  

Place the cracker mixture on top of the casserole.  Use more crackers and butter if you like a lot of topping.  

Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for around an hour (or until cooked through and golden on top).  

Serves 12-15 people.

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:
2 diced yellow onions
4-6 minced garlic cloves garlic
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup flour
16 cups of broth (I use water with bouillon cubes)
2 cans of chicken breasts or chop up a roasted chicken if in a hurry (optional)
1 large bag of frozen broccoli pieces (or fresh is fine - about 4 heads of broccoli)
salt & pepper to taste
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 cups milk
1 16 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese chopped into little chunks
1 cup grated mixed cheese

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic until tender. Set aside.  Mix flour and butter and cook over low heat (to make a roux).  It will be ready when it bubbles and starts to turn brown.  Mix together.

In separate pot, mix water and bouillon to make a broth.  After it is warm, add the roux mixture stirring the whole time so it doesn't clump up.  Add the chicken, broccoli, and spices and cook for around 30 minutes.  Add cheese and milk and stir.  When cheese is melted in, the soup is ready to serve.  Top with grated cheese.

This makes A LOT of soup (serves 16-20?).  We eat some fresh and freeze some for another day.  Warning, this has a kick to it so use less cayenne pepper if you'd like it more mild.

Cheesy Mexican Rice

This is a delicious side dish that a gal from our elementary school (Tara Phelps) makes every year for our Teacher Appreciation luncheon.  The recipe is so popular that we actually make copies of the recipe to distribute and the teachers would be so sad if we stopped serving it.

2 cups cooked rice
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cumin

Mix.  Put in square baking dish.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Top with cheese and bake until melted.  Double recipe for a 9x13 pan.

I imagine you could add chicken to it and turn it into a casserole.  I'll try that out sometime.

Potato Casserole

2 lbs. Frozen Hash Brown Potatoes
1/2 Diced Spanish onion
1 can Cream of mushroom soup
1 lb carton Sour cream
1/2 stick butter
8 oz. package grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Corn flakes or potato chips

Directions:
Put all the ingredients except corn flakes (or potato chips) together in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Top with 1 C crushed corn flakes or crushed potato chips.  Bake uncovered at 375 for about 1 hour.  Bake at 350 degrees if using a glass dish.

From Janet Garrick (Pam's mom)

Creamy Ranch Chicken with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Time: 20 min. prep + 4-6 hours crock pot cooking
Yield: 6 servings

Creamy Ranch Chicken:
5-6 chicken breasts (I used frozen)
2 (14 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
 4 T butter, melted 2 (1 ounce) packages Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
4-5 cloves garlic

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
7 large russet potatoes
4 T butter milk salt and pepper

1. Find yourself a nice crock pot. Spray the inside with cooking spray and place 5-6 chicken breasts in it. (I used frozen)
2. In a small bowl combine 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 packages ranch mix and 4 tablespoons melted butter. Spread it over the top of your chicken.
3. Peel your garlic and place the cloves on top of a sheet of tin foil.
4. Wrap the foil around the cloves and up into a nice little package.
5. Place the garlic package in the crock pot on top of the chicken. Cover the crock and let the old girl cook away on low for 6 hours, or on high for 4 hours.
 6. When your chicken has cooked through carefully take the tin foil package out of the crock pot and set it on a plate.
7. Peel your potatoes and chop them into chunks. Boil them for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender and then drain the water out of the pan.
8. Mash up some of the roasted garlic and add it to the potatoes. Just start with a small amount of garlic, maybe 1-2 teaspoons. You can always add more, if you want it really garlicky...but you don't want to overpower it.
9. Add 4 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper and a bit of milk. Beat the potatoes until light and fluffy, tasting along the way and adding more salt and pepper or butter or milk or garlic to your own very personal liking and desire. Serve the potatoes with the gravy from the crock pot and the heavenly Creamy Ranch Chicken. Enjoy!

Chevy's Sweet Corn Tomalito

Ever eaten at Chevy's and had that yummy corn cake mushy scoop on the side of your order? It is called Sweet Corn Tomalito and I just made it! This side dish goes well with Mexican dishes or BBQ.

Ingredients:
4 cups frozen corn, thawed
1/3 cup butter, softened (about 2/3 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup masa harina (corn flour like they use to make tamales)
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use salted butter so I didn't add the salt)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2) Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer. Add milk and masa and mix well.
3) Use a blender to puree 2 cups of corn until smooth. Add pureed corn to butter/masa mixture and mix well. Add corn meal, baking power, salt and remaining corn and mix until combined. I didn't have masa harina so I just ground up popcorn kernels to make corn flour and it worked great.
4) Pour mixture into an ungreased 8x8 glass baking pan (I used a 7x10 pan because that is all I had). Cover with tin foil and place the pan into a 9x13 baking pan. Add hot water to the big pan until it is about 2/3 full.
5) Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes or until cake is firm in the center and not gooey. Remove from oven and let it sit on the counter covered for 10 minutes before serving. To serve, scoop out 1/2 cup portions with a large spoon. Makes about 8 large servings.

Melissa's Strawberry Crunchy Salad

Melissa’s Crunchy Strawberry Salad

1 package ramen noodles
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
8 cups torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Discard seasoning packet from ramen noodles. Break noodles into small pieces. In a skillet, saute noodles and walnuts in butter for 8-10 minutes or until golden; cool.

For dressing, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the oil, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce; shake well. Just before serving, combine the romaine, onion, strawberries and noodle mixture in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss gently.

Spicy Ginger Sweet Potatoes

3-4 large sweet potatoes (baked)

Slice the baked sweet potatoes after they have been cooled and peeled. Place them in a glass pan.

Mix in bowl:
1 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS Butter
½ tsp Chili powder
¼ cup brown sugar
3 TBS fresh grated ginger
2/3 cup OJ
2 TBS Lime Juice

Pour mixture on top of sweet potatoes.

Cover and bake for 20 minutes.
Uncover and bake for a few more minutes.
Green onions to garnish.

Lexine's Yam Casserole

3c mashed cooked yams (big can of yams)
1 c sugar (if you use the canned yams in lite syrup don’t use the sugar)
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt

Mix all together and put in 7x11 pan. If 9x13, double recipe.

Topping
1 c. coconut
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix together and put on top of yam mixture.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
¾ cup milk
Pepper to taste
1 1/3 cups French Fried Onions
2 cans green beans (drained)

Mix soup and milk, then add pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions. Place in casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot. Stir. Top with remaining onions and bake 5 more minutes.

Doubled Recipe:
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 ½ cup milk
Pepper to taste
2 2/3 cups French Fried Onions
4 cans green beans (drained)

Homemade Mac & Cheese

8 ounces macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
2 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

Boil macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles and set aside. Melt butter, then add 4 tablespoons flour, stir well and cook for a few minutes. Add milk, salt and dry mustard. Cook for about 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add most of the cheese and stir. Combine sauce and macaroni and place in greased casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Baked Rice

2 cups rice, uncooked
¼ cup margarine
4 tsp. Parsley flakes
2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion
6 bouillon cubes (chicken or beef)
4 cups water

Melt margarine in 9x13 baking dish. Add parsley, onion, bouillon, and water. Mix well. Add rice. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.