Tator Soup (from Princess Re)

Tator Soup (from Princess Re)

Bake 3-5 lbs. potatoes, scoop out the innards.

Saute 1/2 cup onion (recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups but that is too much)

Add potatoes and 1 qt. chicken stock or qt water with lots of chicken bouillon cubes)
1 qt. half 'n half or milk
1 lb. cheddar cheese or more.
Salt, pepper and cayenne

Yours in cooking,
Marie - Funny Farm

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Lasagne ala Debbi

Lasagna ala Debbi

1 lb Ground Round/Beef
1 lg chopped Onion
2+ cloves minced Garlic
1 large chopped Green Bell pepper (you can also use red ones. I love both.)
1 (16oz) can chopped Tomatoes
1 sm can Tomato Paste
1+ cups Red Wine
2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 cube Butter
1 lb Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
8 oz shredded Mozzarella Cheese
10 oz chopped frozen Spinach (thawed and drained)
1 lb Lasagna Noodles

Brown meat; add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, butter, seasonings and red wine. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Cook and drain lasagna noodles. Mix together ricotta and spinach. In a lasagna pan, layer half of the noodles, half of the ricotta mixture, half of the mozzarella and top with half of the meat sauce.

Next layer remaining ingredients as follows:
Noodles, ricotta, parmesan, meat sauce and top with mozzarella.

Bake at 350° F for about 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is bubbly.

Even better the second day.

BETTER! Make in the crockpot. Killer... 

Debbi
(1/28/10)

Comment:

Direct from the Potters mouth.  However as we all do I tweaked it a bit.  Below is what worked for me and it is just as greaaaaaaaaat! 

used 7% ground beef.
2 large sweet red onions
10 cloves garlic (Go Emeril!)
no mushrooms cause didn't have them on hand
used red pepper whole , not crushed.
used homemade ricotta (goat of course)

Yummy,yummy. Had left overs last night and will have two more meals. All in all I got 4 meals for two out of this recipe and lunch two days for the Em girl. Who by the way gave it her stamp of approval.

L  of  C

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Dreadfully Delicious Cheese and Bacon Bread

So I've got this dreadfully delicious cheese/bacon bread I like to make for my morning breakfast at work and I wondered if it is possible to double a bread recipe so I bake two pans at a time. I know simply using twice the listed ingredients in some cookies is not as good as the single recipe. Toll house cookies wind up so salty as to be inedible the one time I tried that.

It's a yeast bread, heavily modified from the one I found on King Arthur Flour. The oven at 375°F from the article, I use 380°F. Make sure the oven really is at temperature.

Dreadfully Delicious Cheese and Bacon Bread
3 cups KA unbleached special bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp powdered onion
1/4 tsp powdered garlic
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2/3 cup milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup water (depending on humidity)
1 heaping cup (4.5oz) shredded cheese (any type of cheddar)
4 oz (sorta) bacon
     I cut the sliced stuff as thin as possible and fry so it's sorta done. Do this first so it's room temp when you put it in the dough.

Mix dry ingredients, add butter, water and milk, stir to form a shaggy mass let sit for 15 minutes.

Knead until it's smooth and elastic, knead in cheese and bacon.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour.

Turn dough out, form into loaf, then put in baking pan (I line mine with parchment paper - works great).

Let it rise for an hour.

Bake for 25 minutes (or in my case 35 minutes). If the cheese is browning too fast tent lightly with aluminum foil after the first 15 minutes baking (never needed to, but that's in the instructions). An instant read thermometer should read 190°F.

The original recipe is on the King Arthur Flour website and called Cheddar Cheese Bread if you want to see what I started with.

Elena
(1/17/10)

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Denise's Best Tuna Casserole

I haven't made tuna casserole in YEARS, but I've been thinking of it for a while. Dunno why.

I started with "Best Tuna Casserole" from allrecipes.com, but of course I'm constitutionally unable to make a recipe as written, so I will share the modifications. You can go look up the original if you please.

Denise's Best Tuna Casserole

16 oz pasta, cooked al dente and drained
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup diced mixed sweet peppers (red and green is nice)
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup shredded mixed cheeses (mine were holiday leftovers)
2 small cans tuna, drained
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of onion soup
fresh ground pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crunchy fried onion topping (or potato chips)

Mix all but the last two, pour into a 9"x13" pan. Top with cheese, then crunchies, bake 15-20 min at 425°F.

The two cheeses I mixed in were flavored monterey jack - one with leek and mushroom, one with salsa. I had 2-3 ounces of each left over from holiday snacking. Swiss, cheddar, colby, or any other shred worth cheese would work, too.

Denise
(1/7/10)

---

Comments:
Well, duh, Debbi! make half a casserole! That recipe is easy to halve - one can of soup, one can of tuna, half a pkg of noodles, etc. Put it in a 2 qt casserole dish (or 8" or 9" square or a 9" round cake pan) to bake. I was all out of 9"x13" when I made mine, so it went into two smaller pans anyway.

Or make the whole recipe and divvy it up into individual portions without the crunchy stuff and freeze them. The 10-oz pyrex dishes come 4 to a package and cost just a few bucks.

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Chocolate Cheese Fudge

Chocolate Cheese Fudge

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, sliced
1 cup butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts, pecans, walnuts
2 (16-oz) boxes confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Spray lightly the bottom of a 9" by 2" square pan with a nonstick spray.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the cheese and butter together, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and nuts.

In a large bowl sift together the sugar and cocoa. Pour the cheese mixture into the sugar and cocoa mixture and stir until completely mixed. The candy will be very stiff.

Using your hands, remove candy from bowl and press evenly and firmly into pan. Because of the amount of butter in this recipe, pat the top of the candy with a paper towel to remove the excess oil.* Place pan in refrigerator until candy is firm.

To serve candy, cut into squares.

*I'm sorry but is that not disgusting??!!!

Bev
(12/18/09)

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Comment:
Seriously -- TRY it! make half a batch. I said the exact same thing.

Someone tried to get me to make it for years - even would try to get me to taste it. Not Me, I said - I don't eat faux cheese. Then someone *else* gave me some fudge as a gift. Best fudge I ever ate, hands down. Yep. Plastic cheese fudge. They even sell it in Wisc. cheese shops as "chocolate cheese".
Denise

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Old Fashioned Meat Loaf

Old Fashioned Meat Loaf

1 can (10-1/2oz) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup*
2 lbs. Ground Beef
1/2 cup fine dry Bread Crumbs
1 medium or large Onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. chopped Parsley (dry is fine)
1 tbsp. Worcestershire
1 lg. Egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. Salt
Pepper to taste
a few Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 fresh Tomato, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (I add 1 cup)

*I get an organic brand instead of the Campbell's soup junk.

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Put into a shallow baking pan or a meat loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until done.

Deb note: halfway through cooking, I pour any grease out. This makes for a nice crust. I prefer the butt-cuts. ;)

Note: If you have enough for a second day (depending on family size, etc.), slice the cold meatloaf and lay out on a broiling pan. Broil, turning when brown. This gives another flavor that is excellent to leftover meatloaf.

Debbi
(10/9/09)

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Crawfish Fettucini Casserole

Crawfish Fettucini Casserole

3 lbs. crawfish with tail fat (or substitute)
3 sticks butter
2 large onions, diced
3 sticks celery, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
4 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp corn starch (dissolved in 1/8 cup hot water)
1 pint half and half
1 lb. jalapeno jack cheese (or substitute Velveeta for smoother texture)
1 pound fine or medium egg noodles (boiled per package directions)

Over medium heat, saute onion in melted butter until transparent, then add celery and bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add parsley and crawfish then cook additional 10 minutes. Add cheese, cream and corn starch slurry.

Boil noodles about 10 minutes. Grease casserole dish with oleo. Mix noodles and crawfish mixture in casserole dish. Top with grated cheese (American or parmesean) if desired. Bake at 350°F for 15-30 minutes or until bubbly.

xanytoo
(6/8/08)

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Baked Potato Soup

I modified this recipe, of course. I had to call my daughter's husband and have him come take half of it home. We have enough for tomorrow. I could barely eat a soup bowl-full. It was very filling and yummy. I changed it a little. I will put my changes in parenthesis.

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 cup Butter
2/3 cup Flour
7 cups Milk
4 large Baking Potatoes*, baked, cooled, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
4 Green Onions, sliced (I used a small bunch. It was not too much. I used a 1/2" of the green part.)
12 strips of Bacon, cooked well and crumbled
1-1/4 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used 8 oz. shredded)
1 cup (8 oz) Sour Cream
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

*I used 4 large baking potatoes (6" long or so) makes about 8 cups, cubed. I baked the potatoes after oiling and putting foil around them, cooled them and removed the foil, then put in the fridge overnight in a covered dish, before peeling and cubing them. They stayed cubed and had a nice toasted bit under the peel.

In a large soup kettle or dutch oven, melt the butter over low heat. Take off the stove and blend in the flour until smooth; return to heat and gradually stir in the milk. Stir constantly until slightly thickened. Add potatoes and onions.

Bring to a boil (just starting to bubble), stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. (I still stirred constantly.) Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8-10 servings. Recipe from Taste of Home's Big Book of Soup. Page 92.

Rich and delicious. My husband only could make yummy sounds as he ate. (grin)

Debra
(4/21/08)

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Easy Black Bean Burritos

Black bean burritos are great.

Tortillas (white flour) or your choice. Spoon on black beans, cheese, and heat in microwave. Then add cilantro, tomatoes, onions, tomatoes, black olives, sour cream and anything else your little heart desires.

Deck with salsa, taco sauce, etc

Jessica
(4/18/08)

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Erin's Easy Appetizers

Erin's Easy Appetizers

The easiest thing I can think of is a fantastic spread that is made of one jar of dutch feta (sold in jars filled with olive oil and herbs) and one jar of roasted red peppers. I literally just throw both into the food processor and it comes out beautifully. If you're feeling like that isn't enough, you could throw them on some pastry shells with black olives.

Alternatively a baked brie is also impressive but low effort. You buy a round, slice it in half and fill the middle with raspberry, apricot or cranberry preserves and then bake. To take up another level, you can wrap it in phyllo and then bake (I like to arrange the dough like a bag with the top just tied up with kitchen twine which can be replaced with chives or green onions after baking). Just bring crusty bread to go along with it if you don't bake it in dough.

erin in UT
(12/29/07)

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Potato Casserole

Potato Casserole

My Grandmama made this every holiday, and I miss it SO much:

1) Slice baking potatoes to fill a large casserole when layered. I usually use about 3 pounds. This really depends on having good potatoes. The potatoes can be peeled (pretty) or unpeeled (better for you).

2) Butter the casserole dish, and heat the oven to 450° F (if you aren't already cooking something).

3) Spread 1/2 (or 1/3, if you are going to make this gooey) of the potatoes in a layer in the casserole dish. It is really pretty to overlap them in concentric circles.

4) The next step is to layer sauce. When I was really little, she made a white sauce with cream and butter, and added a jar of sliced mushrooms. As my Grandfather got diabetic, she changed the sauce to Campbell's Cream of Mushroom. At Thanksgiving,m there might be sliced mushrooms and slivers of butter in the layer as well. (Healthy Choice works fine.)

5) Spread with shredded cheddar. We liked it best when this was SHARP.

6) Repeat steps 3-5 once (or twice if company is coming).

7) Be sure to top with cheese (and if you have dried onions, add some now).

8) Bake until golden brown and the potatoes are cooked. For an 8" by 8" dish, at 450° F, I tend to need 40-50 minutes. If I am cooking at 400° F, maybe 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Shelly P.
(11/22/07)

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Chiles Rellenos

Chiles Rellenos

4 Poblano peppers, try to get pretty ones with long stems that aren't deeply indented or
     they will be a bitch to peel
monterey jack cheese (or your preferred filling)
2-3 roma tomatoes
a tbsp of tomato bullion
1/2 of an average white onion
a clove of garlic
3 eggs, separated
a small amount of flour (I dunno how much, maybe a 1/4 cup?)
oil or lard for frying
toothpicks, unless you like to live on the edge

Wash and dry your peppers. Blister (blacken) the outsides of the peppers (I do this over the flames of my gas stove, but you can use a griddle, just takes longer). The peppers will get lighter in color. Wrap the peppers with a damp towel.

Grate your cheese and separate your eggs and/or make your side dish.

Rub the skin off of the chiles. It doesn't have to be perfect, but get as much as you can. Make a slit in each chile. Clean out the seeds and stems, but be careful! Those suckers BURN (ask me how I know!). Stuff your chiles with cheese and toothpick them shut. Flour your chiles.

Heat oil/lard for chile frying. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Beat the yolks in their separate bowl. Fold yolks into whites, being careful not to deflate the whites. When oil is hot, dip/roll chiles, 1 at a time, into the egg mixture and fry them. This works best if you bathe the top of the chile with oil while the bottom is cooking. When the bottom is a nice golden color, roll the chiles over and let the top cook. Remove to drain on paper towels.

Heat a little oil/lard in a sauce pan big enough to fit your chiles. Roughly chop your tomatoes (3 or 4 pieces is good). Put in blender with onion, garlic, bullion, and a bit of water (just enough to blend). When thoroughly pulverized, fry sauce in the oil until the color turns a nice deep red. Add water to get the consistency of tomato soup. Put your chiles in the sauce to reheat.

In our opinion, these are best served with fresh warm tortillas and mexican cream, with arroz rojo on the side.

geeze...it really looks more complicated than it is. I made these just a couple days ago and it took probably about 1/2 hour to make the whole meal, including the rice. If you choose not to use the bullion, you will need to add salt. If you do use it, don't add salt or it will be too salty.

~Jen
(11/28/06)

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Pumpkin-Sage Polenta

Pumpkin-Sage Polenta

Serve this alongside pan-sautéed ham steaks. Polenta thickens if you make it ahead of time; just thin it with water or chicken broth. Rewarm it over medium-low heat, stirring with a whisk. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the Parmesan cheese.

2-1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 cups water
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1-1/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups instant dry polenta
3/4 cup (3 oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup (1 oz) shaved fresh Parmesan

Bring milk and water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add pumpkin and salt; stir with a whisk. Reduce heat to low, and gradually whisk in polenta; cook 1 minute or until thick. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, cream cheese, and sage; stir until cheeses melt. Top with shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)
CALORIES 197 (21% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 3g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 10.1g; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 253mg; SODIUM 614mg; FIBER 3.2g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28.7g
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2003

Maggie
(11/26/06)

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Cheese Straws Cracker Un-Recipe

My gran used to make cheese straws, basically shortcrust pastry with cheese in the dough and more grated cheese sprinkled on top. She cut hers into strips and twisted them. No reason why you shouldn't cut yours into political shapes instead.

Be sure to use a good sharp cheese with plenty of flavor so they taste of cheese not pastry. A little fresh ground black pepper in the dough helps too, but leaves little black dots.

J.
(10/31/04)

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Cheese Crackers from Carolyn

Here's a recipe from Bernard Clayton.

Makes 4 dozen tiny crackers (note -- I haven't made these, but his recipes are generally good. I suggest you double this recipe because your crackers won't be tiny, and the quantities below seem small.)

Cheese Crackers

1-1/2 oz Cheddar cheese (I'd go with something very sharp)
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp tepid water
1/2 tsp malt syrup
2 tbsp solid vegetable shortening, room temperature

Shred the cheese. Into a mixing bowl measure 1 cup of the flour and add all dry ingredients and the cheese. Stir.

In a separate bowl dissolve the malt in the water and add the shortening. Mix with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add flour, a few tablespoons at a time, to form a dough that can be kneaded by hand or with a dough hook on the mixer. If the dough is wet, continue to add sprinkles of flour. Once dough has formed, place in refrigerator for at least one hour, wrapped. (Can be kept up to 2 days in fridge this way before baking).

Roll dough out into rectangle, very thin. Dough should not be thicker than 1/16" according to Clayton. Fold the dough from the ends to make three layers (as if you were making puff pastry). Turn the dough and again roll into a rectangle no thicker than 1/16".

Cut your shapes and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, in a preheated 400°F oven, for 8-15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt when done.

Like I said, I haven't made these, but they sound pretty good. It may be a bit dicey cutting your elephants and donkeys. Let me know how they turn out.

Carolyn
(10/31/04)

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Colorado Cheese Steak (Hearty Sandwich) Recipe

Colorado Cheese Steak (Hearty Sandwich) Recipe

Last nights dinner was Colorado Cheese steaks, change in location obvious when you read the recipe :)

1 large yellow onion sliced into half rings thinly
1 large red bell pepper also sliced into thin strips
1 leftover bison steak
cheddar cheese
french rolls

Thaw out rolls in microwave so you can slice them. Toast under broiler for a few minutes until slightly browned.

Fry onion in small amount of peanut oil until nice and golden with a few burned bits (oops). Add pepper and thinly sliced bison steak. Cook until warmed through.

Pile pepper/onion/meat mixture on rolls, top with sliced cheddar cheese and toast under broiler until cheese melts.

No salt or spices needed, the steaks had some garlic and pepper on them when they were cooked but nothing else.

Serve with a pint of strong ale or really hoppy IPA.

It was quick and tasty, only thing I wish I had was a way to make good french fries or oven fries. :) The bison steak gave the whole dish a very different flavor than normal.
Oogie M.
(5/5/04)

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Pasta Bake ala David

Pasta Bake ala David

You'll need:

• mince (we freeze mince in 500g lots, that's, what?, around a pound?) (note: also known as hamburger or minced beef)
• onion
• capsicum
• 2 rashers of bacon (A rasher is a strip of bacon)
• garlic (4 or 5 cloves)
• can of tomatoes
• a spoon or two of tomato paste
• dash of soy sauce
• a dash of balsamic vinegar

Cook pasta. Put in square container in cupboard next to fridge (ok, this probably isn't a useful
instruction to give the rest of the world - its a large corning ware, about 10" square and less
than 2" deep. Its actually meant for microwaving sausages, but we ignore that :)

Cook veggies (I assume he thinks bacon is a veggie ;), add mince, tomatoes, and sauces. Sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook down until not very runny poor on pasta top with frozen cheese, bake at 220° C until brown on top. Done.

(oh, damn - I forgot the salt and pepper. Shhhh... nobody tell him...)

Lea
(5/4/04)

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Crustless Quiche

ooo, synchronicity!

I tried a new recipe for this on Saturday, and it's delicious. Adapted from "The Frugal Gourmet".

Crustless Quiche

1/2 cup butter
10 eggs (gulp! it makes a big pie)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb large-curd cottage cheese (I used a 12 oz container of small curd)
1 lb jack cheese, shredded (I used 6 oz of Swiss)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Melt the butter. Whip the eggs until fluffy and add the flour, baking powder, salt and butter. Stir well. Add the cottage cheese and 1/2 of the shredded cheese. At this point you can add anything you want. I added chopped onion, green pepper, and 1 box of thawed frozen chopped spinach squished dry. Pour into a greased 9" X 13" baking dish. I topped with slices of tomato. Finish off with the rest of the shredded cheese.

Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Lower oven to 350°F and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before cutting up for serving.

Yummmm, it's even good microwaved on the 3rd day. My husband has been out of town, so I've been having it for breakfast every morning.

Jeff Smith's suggestions were Caraway and Onion, Garden with zucchini, tomato and parsley, or clean-out-the refrigerator.

J. Gayle
(4/5/04)

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Basic Meatballs

Deanna, this is from Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cook Book. The first few pages are missing so I don't see a copyright, but I KNOW it's from the 50's (don't ask me how!)

Basic Meatballs

3/4 lb ground beef
1/4 lb ground pork
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
salt and peper to taste

Mix together all ingredients; form in balls the size of large walnuts. Brown on all sides in hot fat; continue cooking 30 minutes in all.

Submitted by both:
Charleen and Nyondo
(3/23/04)

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Amy Sedaris' Li'l Smokey Cheeseballs

Amy Sedaris' Li'l Smokey Cheeseballs

2 cups shredded smoked gouda or smoked cheddar
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1 stick butter (she doesn't say salted or sweet)
About 2 or 3 tsp milk
2 tbsp A1 steak sauce

Let ingredients sit until room temperature. Blend together and then refrigerate for a while. Form a ball with the mixture. Roll in crushed walnuts. Put back in fridge. Serve at room temperature, spread on Ritz crackers.

I presume that the A1 steak sauce stands in for the bold and salty taste of the secret ingredient in the play.

I heard from a friend who has been to Amy's performances that she sells cupcakes and cheeseballs in the lobby during intermission. Amazingly, she also has her email and home phone on her website, with the single caveat that if people want to call her they should not call too late at night. :-)

Alfred
(11/17/03)

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