Twice Baked Potato Casserole

After I had this I decided that all funeral potatoes shoud be thrown out the window and we should all go with these. (I am starting to be of the opinion that cream of chicken soup should be banned.) I make this recipe different then the directions say though. I do the usual boil, peel, shred, to the potatoes. The baking and then scooping out of the peels sounded a little silly. I also just used whatever cheeses that I had in my fridge. I happened to have some Fontina when I made this and it was TASTY. But I think a combination of mild and sharp cheddars would be perfect. White cheddar is sometimes hard to find in good ol' Richfield, it's kinda expensive and tastes, for the most part, like sharp cheddar. Honestly the kind of cheese really doesn't matter. Cameron teases me all of the time because I have become a "sucker for a good cheese" so whenever I get off on a cheese tangent.... ignore me.



Ingredients
10 large russet baking potatoes (about 7 pounds total)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
1/2 pound sharp white Cheddar, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 pound mild Cheddar, grated (3 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Scrub the potatoes well and rinse under cool running water. Pat dry with paper towels and prick the potatoes in several places with a fork. Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and set aside on a wire rack until cool enough to handle.
When the potatoes have cooled, cut each potato in half and, using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop the flesh out of the skins, leaving as little flesh as possible. Place the potato flesh in a large bowl and add 1 stick of the butter, the sour cream, heavy cream, salt, and pepper and mash until chunky-smooth. Add the bacon, cubed white Cheddar, half of the grated Cheddar, the green onions, and eggs and mix thoroughly.
Butter a 9 by 13-inch casserole with the remaining tablespoon of butter and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Place the seasoned potato mixture in the prepared casserole and top with the remaining grated Cheddar. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges and heated through and the cheese on top is melted and lightly golden. Serve hot


I like to stick a ham in the oven and make it a meal. Actually on that note I really like this ham glaze. It's in the mormon calebrations cookbook.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam (I used some of my homemade peach)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

I spoon some over the ham to cook it in and then save some for individual servings.

Basil Cream Chicken Pasta

We have only eaten this dish on Valentine's Day, but I have been thinking about it lately, and thought I would post it. It's sooo good! We leave out the mushrooms for my sake, and we can never find white pepper, but it tastes great just the same.

1-1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1-1/3 C. finely chopped green onions
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 T. vegetable oil
1/2 C. butter or margarine
1/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 C. chicken broth
1 C. whipping cream
2 T. minced fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. white pepper
Hot cooked fettuccine

In a skillet, saute chicken, onions and mushrooms in oil until the chicken is no longer pink. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth and cream. Stir in basil and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken mixture. Serve over fetticcine. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Black Bean and Tortilla Bake

1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (16 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
12 soft corn tortillas
8 ounces low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded; reserve 2 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Add garlic, onions, tomato, green onion, cumin, and chili powder. Cook on medium heat until onion is tender. Add tomato sauce and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in beans, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Spray a 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Layer 4 tortillas, 1/3 cheese, and 1/3 of the bean mixture; repeat 2 more times. Top with reserved 2 tablespoons of cheese. Bake 20 minutes, covered, then 10 minutes uncovered or until bubbly.

Hey everyone! Here is the start to the new family cooking blog. We all have some great recipes and I want them!! So bring them on. The last few things that I have cooked have been from My Kitchen Cafe. I made the cookie dough truffles this morning. They are tasty. I also made the Chicken and wild rice soup. It was a HUGE hit. I left out the mushrooms for Cam's sake. It is now on the top of my favorite soups list. You all have really cute blogs so you will have to help me set up the page to do everything that we want it to do. But I think it will be fun!