Easiest Busy-day Soup

I almost felt like a bad mom when I started making this soup because it was so easy that I thought I was doing something wrong. :) I basically made it up as fast as I could from stuff I had around the house that I was trying to use. I thought I would have to add some sort of seasoning, but after having it simmer for 20 minutes, it was delicious! I thought I'd share with you just because it's SO EASY. Everyone in the family loved eating it with some hearty wheat bread and butter. Simple and yummy!

Busy-day Vegetable Onion Soup

1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
4 cups water
1 can vegetable broth
1 small bunch celery, chopped (I like a lot, but you can do as much as you'd like)
3 large handfuls baby carrots, halved (again, as much as desired)
5-6 red potatoes, quartered (keep the skins on)

Put ingredients in a pot in order listed, and simmer until flavors meld. It really tastes simple and good for as easy as it is. Serve with wheat bread and butter.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

This recipe comes from the "Fix-it and Forget-it" Cookbook.

6 cups raw potatoes, cut into small cubes.

1 medium onion, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 lb. cooked ham, cubed

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp flour

1 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

1. Layer potatoes, onion, 1 tsp. salt, and ham into slow cooker.

2. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour and 1 tsp. salt. Cook until bubbly. Gradually add milk. Cook until smooth and thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour over potato-ham mixture, stirring lightly.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 6-7 hours, of High 3-4 hours.

Note: the edges and bottom of your crockpot will burn, but the innards are still very tasty. I just have to plan on soaking the crockpot overnight afterwards to clean it up. I'd welcome any ideas on getting it not to burn...

Pork Chops & Potatoes

I got this link from a good friend's recipe blog. We had it for dinner tonight and Nate (who has NEVER liked ANY kind of pork chops I've EVER made (yes, all those capitals are absolutely necessary)) actually had seconds!! That's one major success! You can get the recipe here. Happy cooking!

funeral potatoes...

i know there a lot of recipes out there for this, but this is the one i get asked for all the time. i don't know exactly WHY these are called funeral potatoes. possibly from the fact that if you eat them often enough, you either have been to too many funerals, or you might be trying to up your cholesterol.

funeral potatoes

sometimes called party perfect potatoes. a mormon household staple. a relief society president's best friend.

what you need:
frozen hash browns. i use the walmart brand ( i know, major shock) and i think it's a little over a pound. lets face it, it's so much easier to use the frozen kind, rather than making your own. but if you must, 6-7 boiled potatoes will do the trick. just skin 'em and shred them.

butter. a stick will do. more if you like it greasy. less if you're on a diet. it's not a deal breaker, use what you are comfy with. i like to use real butter, but you can use margarine. in fact the actual recipe card i have calls for margarine. but with the all the butter/margarine hoopla, i just started using real butter, and i really can't go back.

cheese. usually chedder, but whatever floats your boat. i buy the big bags from sam's club. i don't use the whole thing. a couple of cups do the trick. some for the inside and some for the topping later.

can o' cream o' chicken. i know. i know. but really, it is the easiest way. and i'm all about easy. one can does the trick.

a cup of sour cream. (my one kid calls it whip cream, so that is what we call it here. but really, it's not) you can use plain yogurt if you wanna be healthy. although, you do know that these are not ever going to be healthy. i find the yogurt makes them a little tangy, and really soupy. so if you do use yogurt, use about 3/4 cup, instead of a full cup.

there is some optional stuff, like corn flakes for the top, or minced onion, or diced ham. really, you can do a lot with this.

so what you do:
i take the still frozen hash browns and dump them in a 9"x13" pan. and then i add a hand full or two, depending on how you like it, of cheese and mix around. nice and even. this is where you can add some diced ham, if you are feeling up to it. or the minced onion. or whatever you have lying around.

over on the stove, i combine the butter, the soup, and the sour cream. i like to melt the butter and mix all the creamy stuff up. i also try not to burn it, so i keep the temperature pretty low. i just cook it until it is melted and mixed together.

pour the soupy stuff over the frozen taters and mix. i usually top it with some cheese. if you want to use the corn flakes, now would be the time.

i cover mine with foil for the first 20 or so minutes at 350, just so i know it's heated through. and then uncover it and let it go for another 15-20 minutes, depending on how it's looking, at 400. they should be nice and bubbly and tan and ready for consumption.

easy-peasy lemon-squeezy

funny enough, i had the hardest time trying to figure out if potato had an "e" in it. i didn't want everyone to think i was the next dan quayle for spelling a silly word wrong. so yes, it does have an "e" but only if you are using a lot of potatoes. otherwise keep your "e" to yourself.