Scalloped Ham and Potatoes

Scalloped Ham and Potatoes

3 lbs. russet potatoes, washed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 c. diced ham
3 c. half-and-half
¼ c. flour
2 c. grated white cheddar
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a large casserole dish.

Peel and thinly slice potatoes.  Boil for about 7 minutes to help take the bite out.  (You can skip this step, but sometimes when I make gratin my potatoes stay a little crunchy and this helps with that.)  In a large skillet, heat olive oil and cook onion until tender.  Add cubed ham and cook until heated through.  Set aside.

Microwave half-and-half for a minute or so, until no longer cold.  In a small bowl, combine flour with a little of the milk to make a slurry and whisk into remaining milk.  (Helps with clumps to do it this way.)  Add pepper to taste.  No need to add salt since ham is already salty.

Layer ⅓ of potatoes in casserole dish.  Sprinkle with ⅓ ham mixture, then ⅓ cheese.  Pour ⅓ milk mixture on top.  Repeat two more times, ending with cheese.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

BBQ Hash

I love a dish that can all be thrown into one pan to cook.  This recipe doesn't have to be followed exactly.  That's the good thing about a hash.  It would be a great way to use up leftovers.

BBQ Hash

1 lb. flank steak
2 c. dry red wine (or beef broth)
1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. chili powder
12 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. chopped green onions
1 (15 oz.) can unsalted great northern beans, rinsed and drained
favorite BBQ sauce

In a small saucepan, bring red wine, peppercorns and bay leaf to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes or until reduced by half.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Marinate steak in marinade and place in fridge for at least 4 hours.

In a pot, bring cubed potatoes to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Drain.

Remove steak from marinade and sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder.  Cook in hot skillet until desired doneness.  Remove from skillet to carving board and allow to rest for five minutes.  Cube meat.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add potatoes and onions, cook 4 minutes (do not stir).  Stir in beans and steak; cook 2 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and pour favorite BBQ sauce over the top.  Can be served with a fried egg on top.  Garnish with sour cream.

Mississippi Roast

Have I said before that we get home from church so late?  Well, we do and we are all usually starving!  I love to use the crockpot on Sunday and my go to was always this roast.  Recently, I made something with onion soup mix and Jason had the unfortunate experience of catching a stomach bug after eating.  He has banned anything with onion soup mix until further notice.  I've been sad to not be able to make roast in the crockpot because it is so easy and a great meal to come home to.  I've seen this Mississippi Roast all over the internet, so I decided to finally give it a try.

Mississippi Roast

1 chuck roast
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet McCormick au jus gravy mix
1 stick butter
5 pepperoncini peppers

In crockpot, place roast.  Sprinkle with ranch dressing mix and au jus gravy mix.  Place one stick of butter on top.  Then spread around the pepperoncini peppers.  Do not add any liquid.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  I also add potatoes and carrots to the crockpot and let them all cook together.  It was all very good and I'm glad to have a crockpot recipe again.

This pot roast still remains my all time favorite.

Loaded Turkey Potato Skins

I hope you are starting to load up on those fresh fruits and vegetables!  In fact, this morning we went to the farmer's market close to our house and loaded up on some corn, peas, butter beans, blueberries and our first Chilton county peaches of the season before heading to the park.  I haven't been making many new things around here lately.  I have been putting foods up in the freezer at lightning speed in preparation for Baby Pea, but all of those recipes have already been shared.

This is the one new thing I have made recently.  We are a big beef family!  In fact, cattle put shoes on our babies' feet and food on our table.  The Dish Washer is pretty hard to please when it comes to replacing ground beef with turkey, so whatever I make better be good.  I found this recipe on Skinnytaste and changed it up a bit to what we like, using a can of Rotel tomatoes and omitting the corn and black beans.  He definitely said he could eat it again, so I thought I would share to remember the recipe.

Loaded Turkey Potato Skins

Sausage Gumbo with Roasted Potatoes

Before Christmas. this was one our "Friday Night Soups".  I first noticed this recipe in Southern Living and saved it as a "to make" recipe.  I finally got around to trying it and it was very good.  The original recipe called for chicken, but I decided to just double the sausage and skip the chicken.  Of course, I used Conecuh!!

Sausage Gumbo with Roasted Potatoes

2 lbs. Conecuh sausage, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (or andouille would work)
1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. flour
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 c. thinly sliced celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper (optional)
6 c. chicken broth (or 48 oz. container)
small bag of red potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper

In a large skillet, cook sliced sausage until browned.  Remove sausage.  Drain and pat dry with paper towel.  In large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.  Gradually whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 15-18 minutes or until roux is light chocolate brown in color.  Be careful not to burn.  Stir in onion, celery, Cajun seasoning, and red pepper.  Stir for 3 minutes.  Gradually stir in chicken broth, keeping a smooth consistency.  Add sausage.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, dice potatoes and coat in olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and roast at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm gumbo over potatoes.

**We at this as leftovers the following day and I served it with rice.  I think I may prefer it with rice, which is surprising since I am such a potato girl.  The rice just sops up the juices better.  Also, the flavors were stronger the next day after they had some time to sit together.  You may consider making it the day before you plan to serve.  Has a kick, but not too spicy if I am able to eat it.

Hasselback Potatoes

Last night, I made Taco Meatloaf and I used a peach salsa I had in the pantry to change it up a bit.  It was really good and inspired by PW's peach bbq chicken (although that was a heck of a lot of whiskey!) she had posted that morning.  I'd love to make that soon.  But in the meantime, the peach salsa held me over.  I had some baking potatoes that I really wanted to use up and have always wanted to try this recipe, but just never did until now!  It was so easy and is pretty to serve.  It is a cross between a baked potato and roasted potatoes.  Is it crazy that I always think of Elizabeth Hasselback when I think of this recipe!

Hasselback Potatoes

baking potatoes (however many you are serving)
olive oil
fresh garlic cloves, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Slice potatoes 3/4 way through the potato, the whole length of the potato.  Use two wooden spoons as your cutting guide by placing two spoons on each side of the potato.  That keeps the knife from going all the way through the potato.  Place a slice of garlic in between potato slices.  I did every 3 or 4 slices but you can do more or less depending on how much garlic you like.  Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 425 for 1 hour.  (I may or may not have dotted some butter on the potatoes half way through cooking!)  :)

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

I really enjoyed PW's Crash Hot Potatoes that I linked up to before.  I was on her Tasty Kitchen site and found this recipe for Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes.  The original called for using brown sugar, which I didn't want to use, so I adapted it to what we would like.  To be honest, they weren't as easy as the originals to "crash" so I probably won't make them again the same way, but will definitely use the seasonings in Mashed Sweet Potatoes soon.  I'll post the "somewhat" original recipe for you, though, so you can decide what to add or leave out.  It is going to seem like a lot, but really just standing at your spice rack will make it easy.

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

2 whole medium to large sweet potatoes

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 quarts water

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1-1/2 Tbsp. light brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice about 1-1/4 inches thick.  Add 1/2 tsp. salt to water and bring to a boil.  Add potato slices and simmer for about 12 minutes or until somewhat softened.  Remove carefully to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Line a large, heavy sheet pan with parchment paper.  Using a flat-bottom bowl, slightly mash each potato slice, taking care that they stay intact.  Drizzle each slice with mixture of butter and olive oil, using half of the mixture.

Blend the topping ingredients (sugar and all spices) together really well, making sure to completely incorporate the brown sugar.

Sprinkle the slices evenly with half of the mixture.  Make sure to avoid getting the top on the sheet between the slices to avoid the sugar burning.  Gently turn over each slice and drizzle remaining butter/oil mixture and coat with remaining spice mixture.

Roast at 375 for 20 minutes, carefully flip each slice and return to oven for about 10 minutes more.  Serve hot.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Creamy Basil Vinaigrette

This was served with the flank steak from yesterday.  I thought that they were very good.  Especially when the grill marks mixed with the vinagrette.  I followed the directions exactly, but next time will boil the potatoes longer.  There was some some rawness to a few of the big pieces.  Overall, delicious!!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

3 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 4 to 5)
Vegetable cooking spray
Creamy Basil Vinaigrette

Bring potatoes and water to cover to a boil in a large pot.  Cook 12 to 15 minutes or just until slightly tender.  Drain.  Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.  Drain well.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Peel and cut into wedges.  Place potatoes on cooking grate, that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and grill for 6 or 7 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.  Drizzle potato wedges with Creamy Basil Vinaigrette, and serve immediately.

Creamy Basil Vinaigrette

1/2 c. plain fat-free yogurt
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Southwest Mashed Sweet Potatoes

We've already talked about my love for savory sweet potatoes.  I'm always looking for new ways to try them out.  When I was recently going through recipes I cut out over the years I found this one.  We became huge green chile fans on our honeymoon in Santa Fe and haven't looked back since.  I knew we had to try it.

Southwest Mashed Sweet Potatoes

5 to 6 medium-size sweet potatoes
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into cubes.  Bring potatoes to a boil and boil 12 minutes or until tender.  Drain and return potatoes to pan.  Add sour cream and next 4 ingredients.  Mash with potato masher until smooth.  Serve warm. 

Low-Country Boil

I am resolved to get in the kitchen and start trying new recipes again.  My brain is in recipe overload and I have several that are already on my to do list.  The ingredients are purchased...I'm ready!  I can't guarantee that I will always take a picture which really stinks, because I love looking at pictures with food!  But my pictures are never that appetizing anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter!  Obviously, my idea of printer friendly recipes is also a disaster and so that shouldn't be expected either.  I'm just going to stick with sharing the recipes!! 

We went the whole summer without having our Sunday school supper club and The Dish Washer and I were really missing it, so we decided to host August.  We love having people over to the house and The Dish Washer decided he wanted to do a low country boil as a good way to end the summer.  First of all, we have never made it before.  Second of all, I HATE shrimp!!!  But I took one for the team and Low-Country we were!  I think it is a pretty basic thing and other than our potatoes getting a little overcooked (meaning they didn't hold their shape and wanted to mash whenever you went to scoop) it was a pretty good success for our first time.  The Dish Washer even built a special cooking station.  He actually built it for frying fish.  We've only done one fish fry since we have been married, but now that we have this maybe we will do more!  It's empty right now, but here is the picture.

Random side note is that you can see one little sprout of basil.  Normally I have basil coming out the wazoo, but this year my basil has disappointed me.  I blame it on a pesky chipmunk living in the vinca you see behind the table.  I tried to scare him off with some dashes of cayenne pepper!  I bet that really woke him up the first morning he got a sniff!  :)  Anyway, from all of my "chatting" you can tell I have missed this.  Let's get to the recipe:

Low-Country Boil

1/4 pound fully cooked, smoked sausage per person, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 c. Old Bay seasoning, or more to taste (we used MUCH more but we had a LARGE pot!)

2 small new potatoes per person

1 ear fresh corn, per person, shucked, silked and broken in half (The Dish Washer prefers white corn)

1/2 pound large fresh shrimp per person, shell on

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all of the ingredients.  Add the sausage and Old Bay seasoning and allow to boil for about 20 minutes so that the sausage can flavor the water.  Taste, and add more seasoning if you think you need more.  Add the potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes.  Add the corn and boil about 10 minutes more.  Finally, add the shrimp and allow to cook for 3 minutes.  Taste shrimp and it is cooked through, drain immediately and serve.  We dropped ours down in a cooler to keep it cooler while everyone fixed a plate and went back for seconds, but I think it more fun to dump it out on newspaper.  And EVEN better if you drop the tailgate and dump it out on newspaper! 

Serve with cocktail sauce and tartar sauce.

Spam and Potatoes

I love fine dining or even just casual dining for that matter, but I am not too proud to admit that I LOVE fried Spam!!!  Just this week our Sunday school had a discussion on Spam and they were shocked to find out I had just bought three cans of it at the grocery store!!! 

I think Spam gets a bad wrap.  I would bet that the majority that say they hate it have never tried it!  The Dish Washer is anti-Spam, but if he tried this he would like it.  It is pork, afterall.  One of his favorite meats.  :)

Spam and Potatoes

3 medium baking potatoes
1 large onion
1 can Spam
vegetable oil

Chop potatoes, onion and Spam into bite size pieces.  In a large skillet, pour some vegetable oil into the pan.  Allow to warm.  Cook the potatoes alone for a little while before adding the onions, so that you don't burn them.  Once onions and potatoes are browned, add Spam and continue until browned.

I only season the potatoes with pepper.  The Spam is salty enough for me, so add salt according to taste.

Very good served with ketchup on top!!  :)

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

This could be considered somewhat of a cold version of the Roasted New Potato Salad that I have made. In our office building, there is a deli that at least one person in our office relies on for breakfast or lunch. He has the best breakfast sandwich (that The Bun and I are certainly enjoying regularly), very good Chicken Pot Pie that I have to get every time, and he also has a cold potato salad with bacon and ranch flavor. I've had the same salad at a restaurant before, and I believe it can be purchased at Sam's. I finally saw a similar recipe in Paula's magazine and changed up a few things to make her version more like the deli's. This was what I made to go with the Sloppy Joes.

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

1 bag new potatoes, unpeeled and sliced (so still in circles)
1 pound bacon, fried and crumbled
1-1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream
1 (1 oz.) pkg. ranch dressing mix

Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and allow to cool. Place in mixing bowl and add bacon. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix in with potatoes. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Homemade French Fries

I love homemade fries. Ever since I was little, this is how they were made. For Father's day, we were sent packing with some red potatoes from The Dish Washer's parent's garden. Even though he isn't thrilled about eating potatoes (and actually didn't eat one of these...the willpower he has is unbelievable!!) I made these to go with our hamburgers because I didn't want them to go bad waiting for The Dish Washer to eat them.

Homemade Fries

Potatoes (baking, red, etc.)

oil

seasoning

Slice potatoes into circles. I like to get them pretty thin so the fries get crunchy on the edges like chips. Fry in oil (I just put oil in a pot on the stove instead of deep-fryer) and cook until they are to your liking. Season with your favorite. Growing up we always just used salt, but now I love to put Tony Chachere's seasoning on them. So good! (So bad, but so good!!)

The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

I wish y'all could smell my house right now with those vegetables roasting! The last recipe I wanted to share with you was a recipe that used the remaining new potatoes that I had from making Roasted New Potato Salad . I've had it starred in my google reader for quite some time and was so glad to finally be able to make it.

My version is pictured above, but you really should check out her site if you haven't already. She is great at taking pictures of her food (and not making the pan look as greasy as mine!).

The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

Very easy and very good!

Sergeant's Potatoes

Before I get to the rest of my recipes from this past weekend, I wanted to share this one with you. My Co-Worker makes this for our breakfasts at work, and it is sooo good. The real reason for sharing this recipe now is to tell you about her 16 year old son, Carson, and his friends. They are being recognized for having good, clean fun and they deserve every bit of this excitement! You can read all about it here and here.

If you live in Birmingham, they will be featured on the local CBS news tonight and Fox's Great Day Alabama Friday.

I've also included their YouTube video and THE commercial, which is what got them all this attention in the first place. The shots are REAL and took hours to complete.

Hampton Inn commercial features Hoover boys

Their commercials are going to be played in TIMES SQUARE, y'all! Can you imgaine!?!?!
Not that they would EVER read my blog, but GREAT JOB GUYS!! You deserve the biggest bowl of Buffalo Chicken Dip ever from me!!

Sergeant’s Potatoes

6 medium baking potatoes
6 Tbsp. butter
2 c. cheddar cheese
2 c. sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. dried minced onion

Boil potatoes until done. Let cool then store in refrigerator overnight. In a large sauce pan, cook butter/cheese/sour cream/salt/pepper/onion until melted. Peel and shred potatoes and mix into cheese mixture. Bake uncovered in 2 quart casserole for 45 minutes at 350. Serve immediately.

Roasted New Potato Salad

picture from myrecipes.com

I've done a lot of cooking this past weekend because I had company all weekend long! On the first night for dinner I made meatballs using the basic meatball recipe that I've made before (meat, oats, eggs and onion - obviously NOT the hot sauce). To that meat mixture I added lemon pepper for flavor and used the sauce from those yummy pork chops we had a while back (mushroom soup, milk, dijon mustard). This was The Dish Washer's suggestion and it was a great one. They were very good. For sides, we had Squash Casserole and this Roasted New Potato Salad. I've been making this recipe for quite some time and, to be honest, shocked that I haven't shared it until now. I cut it out of Southern Living years ago. Certainly a family favorite of ours. Even if you don't want to make it, you HAVE to click over and look at the picture. If that doesn't make your mouth water, I don't know what will!

My Buddy turned four yesterday, so we also had a birthday party for him. He helped me make his birthday cake, and it turned out precious!

Oh, and I had some more spend the night company earlier last week and made this Sausage and Egg Casserole for breakfast. I told them that I would bump the link up so they could find it easier.

My sister also posted her late mother in law's brown rice recipe that I mentioned, so be sure to click over if you are looking to make brown rice.

That's enough links for one post...more food to come later...my computer keeps freezing up!

Tater Tot Casserole

Well, we had a great time with The Under 6 Crowd this weekend! They were very good for us and even slept until 8:00 every morning! I told their mama that they could stay here everyday if they would do that. We had to come up with a lot of entertainment, so we did fun things like Jump Zone, movie and popcorn, hiking up our backyard woods, and making homemade goodies in the kitchen. They were very good helpers and wanted to put their aprons on and bake stuff all weekend long. We made homemade chocolate chips cookies (recipe from the back of Nestle chocolate chips), 1-Pan Brownies (my mother in law's recipe) and blueberry muffins (from Martha White!). There was lots of bowl and finger licking!

I made it real fun and let them do all the work. They did all the cookie dropping and I baked them that way.

This dish was a big hit for The Under 6 Crowd. It is a recipe that my friend's mother (the friend that really likes to eat Jiffy corn muffins with me!) made for us one night when we were still in high school and I think the two of us ate the whole thing ourselves. I called her the other night for the recipe. She very willingly shared!

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded cheddar cheese

1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen tater tots

In a large skillet, brown ground beef and drain. Mix in mushroom soup and drained corn. Put meat mixture in 9x13 baking dish. Top with cheese. Arrange tater tots on top. Bake in oven for 350 or 375 until tater tots are golden. (I did 375 for 30 minutes.)

We ate it as leftovers a couple of times and even put some ketchup on top. Very good with ketchup, too!

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Round 2 is on their way now, so I am off to make Chicken and Biscuit Dumplings. I'll post that one later. I just love lots of company!!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

I first had these for Thanksgiving with The Dish Washer's family. We loved them, so I decided to make them for a dinner at our house. I always get a little nervous when cooking what could be considered "out of the ordinary" things for friends. You never know who will like what, but I went with it anyway. Maybe I should stick with something like Championship Potatoes?!?!

The recipe for Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes came from Kraft. You can use from the recipe whatever you would like. I chose to omit the nuts. After I added the cinnamon, I believe I remember my mother in law saying she didn't use that when she made them at Thanksgiving. It wasn't bad, but it tasted more cinnamony than I remembered. Is that even a word?

And don't be concerned with Neufchatel cheese...it's just the 1/3 less fat version of regular cream cheese. Who knew? Since company was coming, I just used the real deal because that is what I had in the fridge!

Baked Potato Soup

I'm typing all of these warm food recipes in on Monday, and setting the timer (pun intended since this is a food blog) to automatically post each day so that you won't come back and NOTHING be posted for days and days like last week. (If anybody even checks this thing!)

Mom found this recipe several years ago. It's another easy recipe and very good.

Baked Potato Soup

4 lg. baking potatoes
4 slices bacon
6 c. milk
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
4 green onions, diced
1-1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream

Pierce potatoes with fork; place on paper towel and microwave on high for 15-20 minutes or until tender, turning once halfway through cooking. (HEY, if you want to really bake the potatoes in the oven, no one is stopping you. In fact, it is probably very good - I just don't like waiting that long.) Fry bacon in a large pot, crumble, and set aside. In same pot used for bacon, combine milk and flour, blending very well. Cook over medium heat about 15 minutes or until thick and bubbly. (BE CAREFUL with the heat and stir frequently so your bottom doesn't burn.) Cut cooked potatoes in half and scoop out cooked potato from skin; place in medium bowl and mash well. Add potatoes, bacon, 2 Tbsp. onion, 1 c. cheese, salt and pepper to milk. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Add sour cream. Sprinkle each serving with remaining onion and cheese.

Tomorrow is Brunswick Stew.

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes

We had this meal last weekend...I'm just now getting around to posting it. You can check out my roast recipe here. (I've added a picture of it over there.) There was nothing special about the green beans, but I wanted to share my mashed sweet potatoes. As I've mentioned before, I don't care for Sweet Potato Casserole although I am certain Tossie's recipe is delicious, for those that do like it. I was never even big on eating sweet potatoes until I met The Dish Washer. Now that is all we ever eat. I can't tell you the last time I made regular mashed potatoes.

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes, diced and boiled until tender
milk
butter
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Pour in the milk and butter until the potatoes reach the consistency that you like. (Just like the regular version.) Then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

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Today, after church, we came home and fired up the grill and had grilled chicken wings using the Cha Cha Cha Grilling Marinade. I've added a picture there too! The in-laws stopped by late this afternoon on their way home from the mountains and brought fun Paula Deen treats. We'll be using the Lady & Sons Pepper Mix and Savannah Marinade very soon!!