Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

I got this recipe from Jeremy's aunt Kim a couple years ago. It's a delicious summer recipe.

1 head broccoli
1 head cauliflower
Real bacon pieces (as much as you want)
1/2 cup shredded chedar cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 cup Miracle whip
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar

Mix sour cream, mayo, and sugar in a bowl

Cut broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized pieces.  Add bacon pieces, onion, and cheese in large bowl.  Add mayo, sour cream, and sugar mixture and stir together.

Enjoy!

Creamy Mac and Cheese

I've made this recipe a couple times now - I LOVE recipes with a low number of ingredients. LOVE.  And here is one from Heavenly Homemakers.

It was pretty creamy, I think next time I want to add water or something to break it up a bit. But it was easy and we all liked it. And I don't have to worry about getting weird ingredients or spending a long time making a roux.  So here it is:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta
3 cups whole milk
1/2 t. sea salt
1 cup shredded cheese (I use white cheddar)

Mix pasta, milk and salt in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat STIRRING ALMOST CONSTANTLY until the pasta is tender (10-15 minutes). Remove from heat. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve immediately.

Easy Mac & Cheese

Courtesy of Heavenly Homemakers

This macaroni & cheese recipe wasn't the creamiest I've ever had (maybe I cooked the noodles too long?), but it certainly was a very easy one with so few ingredients! I'll keep this one on hand.  Enjoy!

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta
3 cups whole milk
1/2 t. sea salt
1 cup shredded cheese (I use white cheddar)

Mix pasta, milk and salt in a large sauce pan.  Cook over medium-high heat STIRRING ALMOST CONSTANTLY until the pasta is tender (10-15 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Serve immediately.

Pioneer Woman Potatoes Au Grautin

These were so tasty!  And, like every other Pioneer Woman recipe I have tried, simple to make. 

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
4 whole Russet Potatoes, Scrubbed Clean (I used 6 rather small potatoes)
2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened (I really only needed about 1 TBSP)
1-½ cup Heavy Cream
½ cups Whole Milk
2 Tablespoons Flour
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced (I love garlic, however my husband would probably have liked less!)
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.

Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes.

Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful. Delicious!

Parmesan Potato Wedges

Very good!  Easy and both the hubby and I enjoyed them.  Courtesy of Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.  I'm sure these would be good trying different flavors as well. I subbed in olive oil for the canola oil that Lynn called for.

4 potatoes
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (this is the stuff in the green can, not the real stuff)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cut each potato lengthwise in half. Cut each half into wedges. In a large bowl, sprinkle potatoes with oil; toss to coat. Combine the remaining ingredients. Add to potatoes; toss to coat.

Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with any remaining coating. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown and tender.

Sauteed Mushrooms

OH so easy and oh so delicious! Straight from allrecipes.com, we followed the recipe except omitted the wine. And the basil. So I guess it was just butter, mushrooms, and garlic. Delicious!

1 tablespoon butter
2 pounds sliced fresh mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup red wine
Directions
1.Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic; cook and stir until the mushrooms are a light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil.
2.Reduce heat to low, and pour the wine into the skillet. Simmer until most of the wine has evaporated. Serve immediately.

Hot Crash Potatoes

From Pioneer Woman!  Here they are -

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad - from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Directions
1.In a bowl, combine the broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion. In another bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Cheesy Rice

From CD Kitchen
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash ground red pepper (more if desired)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:
Combine rice, sour cream, salt, pepper, and 1/2 the cheese. Spoon into a buttered, shallow 1-quart baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350degrees F for 20 minutes.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
3.Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4.When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
5.Bake for another 15 minutes.

Modifications:  We made a half batch, turned out great. Also make sure you coat the outside of the potatoes with kosher salt (use a little water to make it stick).  This would be delicious!

Crockpot Baked Beans

We had a cookout last night for Calvin's baptism, and one of the sides that I made was baked beans. I adapted it from Pat's Baked Beans on Allrecipes.com. They turned out very good!

INGREDIENTS
8 slices cooked, chopped bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
Minced Garlic or Garlic Powder
2 (16 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (16 ounce) can great Northern beans, drained
2 (28 ounce) can baked beans
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients in large crockpot. Cook on high until boiling (took approximately 2 hours), then switch to low until ready to serve.

Serves 20.