Baked Potato Skins

My son is taking a cooking/sewing class in junior high.  He missed class one day, so he got to make these for our family at home.  He made these for us with very little help or instruction from me :)  They are easy and we loved them!!

Baked Potato Skin

Ingredient:

4 baked potatoes

3 T oil

1 T grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t paprika

1/8 t pepper

4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 c sour cream

1 sliced green onion

Directions:  Cut potatoes in half lengthwise;  scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (save pulp for another use).  Place potatoes skins on a greased baking sheet.  Combine oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper;  **brush over both sides of skins.  Bake at 475 degrees for 7 minutes;  turn.  Bake until crisps, about 7 more minutes.  Sprinkle bacon and cheddar cheese inside skins.  Bake 2 minutes loner or until the cheese is melted.  Top with sour cream and onions.  Serve immediately.

**We found it easier to dip the potatoes into the oil mixture, rather than brushing it on the potato.

Roasted (Ranch) Potatoes

 

These potatoes are simple and delicious!  Seriously, I rarely cook anything that is not simple! :)

Roasted (Ranch) Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes, washed, peeled and diced

1/4 cup canola oil

1 - 1 oz packet ranch dressing mix (approx. 3 Tablespoons)

 

Directions:  Place potatoes in a gallon zip-lock bag.  Add oil and toss to coat.  Add dressing mix and toss again until coated.  Bake on an ungreased baking pan for 25-35 minutes.  I baked mine for 15 minutes, stirred them around and baked another 15 minutes.

Zuppa Toscana

I have been seeing recipes for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana everywhere lately.  I have never tried this soup before, so I don't have any idea how close it is to Olive Garden's...but I do know that it is DELICIOUS!!  I adapted my recipe from this one.  I used spinach instead of Kale, but feel free to use whichever you prefer.  I used spinach so that I could get my kids to eat it.....they just DON'T like Kale in soup....fruit shakes yes, soup...NO.  I didn't even chop my spinach, just used baby spinach and it cooked up nicely.

Zuppa Toscana

 Ingredients:

1 pound ground hot sausage

4-5 russet potatoes, chopped (I left skins on)

1 onion, chopped

2 T. minced garlic

32 oz. chicken broth

fresh baby spinach...I added 3 large handfuls...it seems like a lot, but cooks down fast, I wish I had added more.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 T. flour

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

Real bacon bits and Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:  Brown sausage in a medium size pot.  Drain sausage.  Add cooked sausage and onions to pan.  Cook until onions start to brown.  Add garlic, cook an additional 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth and potatoes.  If vegetables aren't covered by the chicken broth, add just enough water to cover them.  Cook until potatoes are tender.  Whisk heavy whipping cream together with flour until there are no lumps.  Stir into soup.  Add spinach, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Cook until the soup starts to thicken, stirring frequently...20-30 minutes.   Serve topped with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese.

Loaded Potato Casserole

I was asked to bring a potato casserole to a scouting function a couple of weeks ago.  When I found this recipe, I knew what I would be bringing.  I doubled the recipe so that I could take one large pan to the meeting and keep one pan home for the family.  We all really loved these potatoes!!

Loaded Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

3 1/2 - 4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 slices bacon, cooked, chopped, divided
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced

Directions:  Place potatoes in saucepan, and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Cook until tender, then drain well.

Preheat oven to 375° degrees F.

Transfer potatoes back to the saucepan. Masher with a potato masher until almost smooth. Add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, milk, salt and pepper. Continue mashing until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and half the bacon. Spoon mixture evenly into a lightly oiled 3-quart casserole dish. Use a spatula or fork to make an irregular surface (see photo).

Bake for 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese, bacon and green onions. Bake for 5 more minutes to melt cheese. Serve immediately.

Ranch-Style Steak Kabobs

Wow!! It has been a fun and busy summer so far. We just got home from a fun 2 week trip to Utah. My boys and I LOVE to go 'home' to visit family and friends:)

Now that we are home and vacation is over at least for a couple of weeks, I'm getting back to cooking and blogging. This is another recipe that I got from Kraft Foods. My family REALLY enjoyed this one.

Ranch-Style Steak Kabobs

Ingredients:

• 4 new potatoes, cut in half **
• 1/4 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing, divided
• 1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 8 cherry tomatoes

Directions: HEAT grill to medium-high heat. Cook potatoes in saucepan of boiling water 12 to 14 min. or until tender; drain. Cool slightly. RESERVE half of dressing. Thread meat, accordion style onto 4 skewers, alternating potatoes and tomatoes between folds of meat; brush with remaining dressing. GRILL 10 to 12 min. or until meat is done, brushing with reserved dressing the last 2 min.

**I used red potatoes that were a little large, so my son cut them into smaller pieces. Then, we had more potatoes than would fit our skewers....so we just tossed the extra potatoes on the grill, brushed them with some extra ranch dressing and they were DELICIOUS!!

Fluffy New Potatoes

These potatoes are DELISH!! This recipe came from The Pioneer Woman, along with the chicken recipe from yesterday.

These were yummy, easy and SO good. MMM....I wish I had some right now for lunch!!

New Fluffy Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 9-10 medium to large new potatoes (I used some small russet potatoes that I had)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1 T chopped chives (I didn't use)
• 1 garlic clove pressed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and dry the potatoes, then place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and massage to coat. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Place sour cream, cream cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise. With a spoon or melon baller, scoop out insides of potatoes, leaving a very thin rim of potato inside the skin. Add the potato pulp to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Using a potato masher or fork, gently mash the ingredients together until fluffy and smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning - be sure to salt it adequately. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells.

Bake the potatoes in a 375 degree oven until warmed through.

Tomorrow: Buckeye Bars....peanut butter and chocolate....what could be better:)

Shepherd's Potatoes

This is a dish I remember my grandma making when I was a kid. I think she called them Shepherd's potatoes. These make a wonderful side dish. I added a little bacon to mine and served with some veggies and buttered homemade bread. These are simple and need only a few ingredients.

Shepherd's Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 4-5 baking potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 3-4 T Olive oil, or bacon grease
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add potatoes, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until potatoes are fork tender(stirring occasionally). When potatoes are fork tender add milk and cook uncovered until milk begins to be absorbed by the potatoes and is beginning to thicken. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

I chopped up some bacon, cooked it and took it out of the pan. I cooked my potatoes in the pan with the bacon grease and then added the bacon back on top when the potatoes were finished. I also sprinkled some cayenne pepper on top of ours.

Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup

My Mom sent me this recipe a few years ago. I love this soup because it uses things that I almost always have on hand! This is Top Secret Recipes version of Tony Roma's Baked Potato Soup, by Todd Wilbur. I have not tried Tony Roma's soup, but this is SO good!!

Tony Roma's Bake Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups chopped)
• 3 T butter
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 2 T flour
• 4 c chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes
• 1 t salt
• 3/4 t pepper
• 1/2 t basil
• 1/8 t thyme
• 1 cup half and half (I always use 1% milk)

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 1 hour or until done. When potatoes have cooked, remove them from the oven to cool.

As potatoes cool prepare soup by melting butter in a large saucepan, and saute onion until light brown. Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux.

Add the stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, and spices to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon. Discard skin. Chop baked potato with a large knife to make chunks that are about 1/2-inch in size.

Add chopped baked potato and half-and-half to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for another 15 minutes or until it is thick.

Spoon about 1 1/2 cups of soup into a bowl and top with about a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese, a half tablespoon of crumbled bacon and a teaspoon or so of chopped green onion.