#2,817: Loaded Tater Tot Bites

We enjoyed these so much I think I've probably made them four times.  We've eaten them as a side dish at dinner, as an after school snack, and for breakfast.  They freeze well too so you can make a whole bunch ahead of time and just reheat in the microwave! 

32 oz Tater Tots frozen

1 1/2 c. Cheddar Cheese shredded

This is a mini tart shaper

1 lb Bacon cooked and diced
about 1/2 package of fresh chives, finely chopped

Note: You can use any ingredients you like on your loaded baked potato. These are just suggestions!

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Grease a mini muffin pan and place five tater tots in each cup. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Remove the muffin pan from the oven and use a mini tart shaper (or a small glass or even a spoon) to press the tater tots down into each cup. This will create a tater tot cup.

Fill the tater tots with the cheese,bacon, and chives (or your desired loaded potato ingredients).

Place the tater tots back in the oven and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes until the tater tots become golden brown.  If they don't want to come out of the muffin cup pretty easily (you might need to use a butter knife to loosen the edges), then it's probably not done yet. 

Remove from the oven and let the tots cool for at least 5 minutes.

Let cool completely if you want to freeze them to eat later.  To reheat, place frozen tater tot cups on a microwave safe plate and reheat for 30-60 seconds. 

#2,804: Parmesan Hash Brown Cups

I had some leftover hash browns in my freezer and wanted to find a quick way to use them up, so I gave these baked cheesy hash brown cups a try and they were a big hit with my crew!  The kids didn't even mind the specks of "grass" they saw on top (ignore them, they get that from their dad...it was just chives!).  These are so simple and as long as you bake them long enough, they pretty much pop out of the muffin tins.  If they won't come out, you either didn't grease the cup well enough or it's just not ready (it's probably not ready!).  I used Parmesan and a little mozzarella, but you could use whatever cheese you have on hand.  The original recipe also says to grate a potato, but the thawed shredded hash browns was so much easier!

These also reheat well from frozen (just microwave for about a minute). 

1½ pounds potatoes (I used a bag of defrosted hash brown potatoes)

1 small yellow onion

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons chives, minced

2 tablespoons garlic herb seasoning (I didn't have this so I used a little bit of brown sugar, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and parsley)

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease or parchment line the wells of a 6-well jumbo muffin pan (I used regular muffin tins).

Cut ends off onion, remove outer later, and grate.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir well to combine, then add to the prepared wells in the muffin pan.  Bake in preheated oven 30-40 minutes until the tops are golden brown. 

#2,802: Mashed Potato Puffs

So one of my kids is a self-proclaimed mashed potato hater.  Actually he hates all forms of potatoes if it's not a hash brown, a french fry, or a potato chips.  So when I told him we were having these mashed potato puffs for dinner he was not happy.  We told him he had to take one bite, and boy was I shocked when he said he liked these and asked for seconds (he had to dip it in catsup though).  These are a great recipe to use with leftover mashed potatoes.  Or, if you get the steam and mash frozen kind (that you microwave) from Ore Ida, you can whip these up super fast!  You know when these are done when they start to pull away from the sides.  If you can't get them out of your muffin tins, they probably aren't done.  As you can see from the photo, I used my square muffin tin, but any muffin tin would work! 

2 eggs

⅓ cup sour cream, plus more for serving

1 heaping cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped chives

salt and black pepper, to taste

3 cups mashed potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 8 - 9 of the wells of a cupcake pan - preferably nonstick.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs then whisk in the sour cream. Mix in both cheeses and the chives.  Season with salt and pepper. Add them to the bowl and mix well.

Spoon them into the pan filling the cups just to the top or a little below.

Bake 25 - 35 minutes until they pull away from the sides of the cup and are golden brown all over.

Remove from oven and let them cool 5 minutes in pan. Turn them out onto a platter. Serve with sour cream.

#2,659: Instant Pot Chicken and Potatoes

So the original intent was to throw the chicken on the grill.  But I was not in the mood to go out there so I changed plans last minute and decided to try this recipe instead.  It was SUPER easy to make, but my only complaint was that the original recipe said to brown the chicken and the potatoes in the Instant Pot on sautee setting but mine never would brown.  I don't know what the deal was!  So I threw mine under the broiler for a few minutes but I'm still not sure it really made any difference.  Taste-wise though, we really enjoyed this.  The chicken and potatoes were done in the same amount of time as the roasted broccoli so it was perfect! 

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 1 lb)

2-3lbs. small golden potatoes (I used about 4 russet potatoes cut into cubes)

2 tbsp. butter (I used 1 tbsp)

Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. oregano (I just eye-balled a decent amount)

1/2 tsp. basil (I just eye-balled a decent amount)

1.4 tsp. rosemary (I just eye-balled a decent amount)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 c. chicken stock or broth (I used a little less than a cup)

Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and toss in a bowl with oregano, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Halve the small potatoes and place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss until coated.

Turn your Instant Pot on and set to the saute setting. Saute garlic in 2 tbsp. of butter for a minute or two. Add in the chicken and saute to get some color on the chicken.  A few minutes later, add in the potatoes and saute a few more minutes to get some color on the potatoes as well. Pour in the chicken stock or broth.

Close the lid on your pressure cooker and set it to pressure cook manually for 10 minutes. When finished, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

#2,712: Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

This "recipe" took me three tries to get right!  I was about to give up on trying to make baked potatoes in the Instant Pot, but figured I'd give it one more try!  I don't know if it's the fact that I added more water, or that I didn't stack any on top of one another, or I just got lucky, but this time it finally worked!  The first two times the potatoes were under cooked and I had to finish them in the microwave or sauteed on the stove.  Tonight though they were fluffy and cooked all the way through (thank goodness!) 

6 medium potatoes scrubbed clean, and pierced with a fork several times

1 1/2 cups cold water

Pour the cold water into the bottom of the Instant Pot.  Place a trivet inside the pot and arrange the potatoes on top of the trivet (I suggest NOT stacking them).  Place lid on instant pot and seal the valve.

Set to high pressure for 15 minutes for medium potatoes. After the 15 minutes are up, do a natural release for another 15 minutes, then let out any remaining pressure.  
Carefully remove from the Instant Pot, being careful to take them out because the skin will sometimes start to tear off if you aren't careful.  Serve with whatever toppings you desire.  

#2,682: Crispy Garlic-Sage Potatoes

I had some fresh sage in my fridge and some baby yellow potatoes on my counter needing to be used up, so I found this recipe to use them with!  The original recipe used sliced Yukon gold potatoes, but I just used my baby gold potatoes instead and was able to skip the step of slicing them up.  I'm not sure why this recipe says to bake these on the bottom rack.  My gut was telling me this was a bad idea so I kept them on the top rack until the last 10 minutes.  As you can see from the very dark specks in this photo, the sage and garlic pretty much burned.  Keep this on the top rack!  It was still good though and yes I'd make this again.  

4 lbs Yukon gold potatoes cut into wedges
1/2 c olive oil
6 chopped sage leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 garlic cloves, smashed

Original directions: Put a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack and preheat to 375 degrees F. Peel 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes and cut into wedges. Toss with 1/2 cup olive oil, 6 chopped sage leaves, 2 sprigs sage, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread on the hot baking sheet and roast 30 minutes. Stir, then add 8 smashed garlic cloves; continue roasting until golden, about 30 minutes. Increase the temperature to 400 degrees F and cook until crisp, 15 more minutes. Season with salt.

What I did: I cooked mine at 400 degrees on the TOP rack for 20 minutes.  Then I added a few more chopped sprigs of sage and about 1 tbsp minced garlic and moved it to the BOTTOM rack for 10 minutes until they were done cooking.  Next time I'll keep them on the top rack and only add the garlic at the very end.  Although I loved the crispy sage, my family thought it was a bit too overdone.  

#2,045: Slow Cook Zuppa Toscana

It is cold here.  Like barely above zero temps, and staying below zero a lot of the time.  This time of year I definitely start craving the comfort and coziness of soups, and when I saw this soup on Pinterest it was calling my name.  It was really good!  I don't know how it compares to Olive Garden (pretty sure this is a knock-off recipe), but it was still really good.  I tried to make it a tiny bit healthier by adding in fat-free evaporated milk instead of the heavy cream, but I'm sure it would have been even better with the heavy cream.  Also, like a previous post, I think the kale should have gone in a bit sooner so that it cooked down more, but that's a personal preference with cooked kale. 

1 lb ground Hot Italian sausage (I used bulk pork sausage)

1 bag Simply Potatoes diced potatoes and onions 

2 cloves large garlic minced

32 oz chicken stock

1/2 bunch kale (a couple of handfuls) de-stemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 cup heavy cream (I used fat-free evaporated milk)

2 Tbsp flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes optional

Heat large saute pan over medium-high heat and brown sausage.  Add minced garlic and stir to combine.  Drain off the grease and then add sausage and garlic to the bottom of slow cooker.

Add a bag of diced potatoes and onion, cover with chicken stock and water (if necessary) to completely cover potatoes and sausage.

Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 (potatoes should be soft)

BEFORE SERVING:

Whisk together heavy cream and flour until well mixed. Pour into slow cooker, add kale and stir to combine.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes until soup has thickened slightly.

Taste, season according to your tastes, and serve.

#2,010: BBQ Chicken Supper Pie

I found this THREE INGREDIENT main dish in a recent issues of Taste of Home edition of Name Brand Hacks.  What?!  A super fast dinner I could get in the oven in less than 5 minutes and ready to eat in about 30?  YES please!  This was supposed to be made with sweet potato waffle fries, but I used regular waffle fries instead.  My family had mixed reviews over this recipe but overall liked it.  3 of us liked it a lot, 1 liked it enough to eat it again, and one complained the whole time (the 5 year old!).  If I make this again I'd actually make 2 changes: 1 double the bbq chicken.  2.  Add a whole lot more waffle fries.  I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use the whole package of the waffle fries so I just did 2 layers of fries in the pan.  The layer touching the bbq chicken got soft and mushy (one of us didn't like that part of it...the rest of us didn't care), but the top layer was much crisper.  The recipe says this serves 8, but this does NOT make a huge pan, so I would say it would serve a family of 3 best.  That's why I think if I added more bbq chicken, it would be a more filling meal.  I also couldn't add a whole bag of corn....I already had to listen to griping from the little bit I added.  

16-oz. tub of Lloyd’s Seasoned Shredded Chicken in Original BBQ Sauce
1 package fo Green Giant Roasted Corn (I used about 1 cup)
1 package of Alexia Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Seasoned Fries (I used regular waffle fries)

In an 8-in. square baking pan, combine the Seasoned Shredded Chicken with a package of Green Giant Roasted Corn. Top with Alexia Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Seasoned Fries; bake at 425° for 25 minutes. Makes eight servings.

#1,992: Balsamic Green Beans

I made this recipe for our family over the 4th of July.  Personally I really enjoyed it and as you can see (sort of) from the photo, I added in some roasted red potatoes (cut into pieces) to make this more of a heartier side dish.  This was good leftover the next day, but after that it was absorbing the dressing too much and getting a bit soft for my liking.  There definitely needs to be more feta in this, but my sister is a feta hater so I tried not to add too much.  

1 lb. green beans

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/2 small red onion (ugh I totally forgot to add the red onion!)

Optional: Soy feta

{For the dressing}

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt/pepper

Make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.

Trim ends off green beans and rinse. Steam (or boil) for about 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. In a colander, rinse well with cold water to stop cooking, then pat dry. Cut green beans into 1 to 2 inch pieces.

Dice red onion and halve cherry tomatoes.

Place onion and green beans in a bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and toss to coat.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to marinate.

When ready to serve, add in tomatoes and soy feta and lightly toss.

#1,816: Roasted Herbed Red Potatoes

I made these roasted potatoes for dinner one night over the 4th of July weekend for my family.  I totally intended to use red potatoes, but they were out at our grocery store and they substituted russet potatoes instead (yes I get my groceries delivered!).  Instead of getting more potatoes, I figured I'd just go with it!  These turned our really well and there weren't even any leftover after dinner....a big hit with our family, and I'd highly recommend these super easy potatoes!!

3 pounds red potatoes, washed and halved (quartered if potatoes are on the medium/large side)

3 Tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease a large baking sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together all of the ingredients except the parsley until potatoes are evenly coated. Pour coated potatoes onto prepared baking sheet, spreading them out as evenly as possible. Bake for 45-55 minutes, turning every 15 minutes with a spatula, until browned and crisp. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving. Potatoes are best served immediately, but will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. 

Reheat in the microwave as needed, or reheat on baking sheet or large casserole dish, covered, in a 300ºF oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

#1,771: Bacon-Potato Corn Chowder

This is a terrible photo, but I really enjoyed this soup!  It was really simple to throw together and I loved the flavors of this.  Although I haven't had a corn and potato soup in a really long time.  This would be even better served in a hollowed out bread bowl.... :) 

1/2 pound bacon strips, chopped

1/4 cup chopped onion

1-1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled and cubed

1 can (14-3/4 ounces) cream-style corn

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk (I used skim milk)
I also added some diced green onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Discard drippings, reserving 1-1/2 teaspoons in pan. Add onion to drippings; cook and stir over medium-high heat until tender.

Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup potato water.

Add corn, milk, salt, pepper and reserved potato water to saucepan; heat through. Stir in bacon and onion. Yield: 6 servings.

#1,769: St. Louis Slinger

This actually tastes better than it looks...although I made quite a few shortcuts, and I think it definitely changed the overall flavor of the dish.  It wasn't a bad meal, but not something we all went ga-ga over.  Would eat this again, yes.  Would I make this again, probably not.

Chili Recipe:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 28-ounce can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

1 cup water

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Crushed red pepper to taste

5 cups diced russet potatoes (1/2-inch; about 1 1/2 pounds) (I used frozen potato cubes)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

4 slices bacon (I used real bacon bits only because I had a lot on hand)

4 large eggs (I omitted)

To prepare chili: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook, stirring often and breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Stir in onion and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about 2 minutes more. Add tomatoes and their juice, water, chili powder, cocoa, cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Keep warm over low heat while assembling the slingers.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F.  Rinse potatoes in cold water and thoroughly pat dry with a clean towel. Toss on a large baking sheet with oil, salt and pepper, then spread into a single layer. Roast until well-browned on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Stir and turn the potatoes; roast until brown and crispy, 10 to 15 minutes more.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crispy; drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Wipe out the pan.

When the potatoes are done, coat the skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Crack eggs into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 to 7 minutes for a soft-set yolk. Divide the potatoes among 4 plates; top each portion with bacon, a fried egg and 1/2 cup of the chili.

#1,727: Sausage and Hash Brown Balls

Here is another really easy breakfast recipe that was a HUGE hit with our families.  My sister and I also made these hash brown balls to go with our Baked French Toast muffins for our families on Christmas morning and there were none left after breakfast!  I knew the adults would like these but the kids couldn't get enough of them.  Definitely, definitely making these again!!

We also made them the night before and just reheated them in the morning.  So good!!! 

1 lb hot sausage, uncooked (I used mild bulk pork sausage)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups Bisquick

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 (30oz) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (about 4 cups) (I used a package of fresh (not frozen!!) hashbrowns and they still turned out great!!)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix all ingredients until well combined.  Roll into 1 1/2-inch balls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brown.

#1,720: Lemon-Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

I know for sure, that I've made this recipe before, but when I found it still on one of my Pinterest boards I realized I never blogged about it.  So I decided to make it again so I could post it and get it off my main dish board!  My family likes this recipe.  They don't go ga-ga over it, but they all eat it.  I like it as soon as it comes out of the oven, but am not a fan of this leftover/reheated.  It was definitely good as our dinner that night though!  It's so simple too,  I love that you can mix it all together in a pan and then bake it on the same pan.  It makes clean up easy too.  

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lemons--1 zested and juiced and 1 thinly sliced (I omitted the second sliced lemon)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into pieces)

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees . In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon zest and juice, mustard and garlic; season the dressing with salt and pepper.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, chicken, rosemary and sliced lemon with the dressing; season. Arrange the potato mixture and chicken, skin side up, in a single layer.

Roast, turning the potatoes once, until the potatoes are golden-brown and tender and the chicken is cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.

#1,701: Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder

This soup was really easy to make and I am enjoying the flavors of this...although it needs more seasoning...basil maybe?!  Or thyme??  I would have totally loved this with some fresh corn in summer, but I used frozen corn instead this time.  I used bacon instead of Canadian bacon and I think it gives it better flavor and crunch.  I love all of the colors in this .  

1 medium uncooked Yukon gold potato  
4 pieces yellow corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife (I used 2 c frozen corn)
1 small sweet orange or red pepper, diced  
1/2 cup uncooked celery, chopped  (I used carrots)
1/4 cup uncooked onion, chopped  
4 oz uncooked Canadian bacon, diced (I used cooked, crumbled bacon) 
2 cups fat free skim milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1/2 tsp table salt  
1/4 tsp black pepper  
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste  
2 medium uncooked scallions, thickly sliced  

Pierce potato in several places with a fork; microwave on high power until tender, turning over once, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool; peel and mash.

Meanwhile, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray. Add corn, red pepper, celery and onion; sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

Stir bacon and milk into saucepan; stir in mashed potato and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; stir to combine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes (do not allow to boil); serve garnished with scallions. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

#1,681: Crispy Potato Wedges

I made steak sandwiches for dinner tonight and wanted something fresh to go with it, so I decided to make this simple roasted potatoes.  My family devoured these super simple potatoes.  I gave it a little more flavor by adding some garlic powder, but this could be adapted to any flavors you like (rosemary would be wonderful, or even just some seasoned salt!). 

4 russet potatoes (I used yukon gold)

2 tsp olive oil

½ - 1 tsp salt

½ - 1 tsp pepper

½ - 1 tsp Italian seasoning
I also added some garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400F.  Scrub potatoes and thoroughly dry.

Cut the potatoes lengthwise, the skinny way. Placing half of the potato cut down down on the cutting board, cut it in half, and then each half in half. Repeat with the other portion of potato. Each potato should yield 8 wedges.

Combine cut potatoes and olive oil in a large bowl and toss well to ensure all the potatoes are thoroughly covered in oil, yet not drenched.

Place them on a cooked sheet, skin side down, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, until the tops and sides begin to brown nicely.

#1,639: Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

I know this isn't the best picture of this recipe, but I made this to take to a church pot luck so I couldn't pull out a scoop of it first to get a better/closer picture.  Sorry folks, this is the best I could get.  However, this recipe has been unnecessarily sitting on a pinterst board for THREE years.  I have no idea why I waited so long to make this.  It was a hit at the potluck, and my family really enjoyed it as well.  I was lazy, so I used real bacon pieces (not bits) in this recipe, but obviously real bacon would have been better.  I also cut way back on the sour cream, and still thought it turned out great!

1-1/2 pounds red potatoes (about 6 medium), baked (I used 3 lb of baby gold potatoes)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used 1 container of real bacon pieces)

3 cups (24 ounces) sour cream (I used 16 oz)

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese (I used about 4 oz)

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (I used about 4 oz)

2 green onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut baked potatoes into 1-in. cubes.

I’m way too lazy to layer this recipe in the next step, so I dumped it all into a bowl and mixed to combine.  Then I topped with a little more bacon (that I had reserved) and some extra cheese.  Way easier!

Place half in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper and bacon. Top with half of the sour cream and cheeses. Repeat layers.

Bake, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Sprinkle with onions. Yield: 6-8 servings.

#1,570: Homefried Kielbasa and Potatoes

We just got back from a road trip to Ohio and I had to get something for dinner on the table pretty quickly.  This recipe was perfect for that, and I probably had dinner ready/done in about 20 minutes.  I microwaved my potatoes first until they were almost all the way cooked through and then added them to finish cooking in the pan.  Some of our potato pieces were still not fully cooked so next time I will completely cook them in the microwave first and then just brown them up in a hot (lightly oiled) pan.  My family enjoyed this recipe and it was easy and quick.  My kind of meal.  

14-16 oz. kielbasa
4-5 potatoes
1 Vidalia onion (I omitted b/c my family would have picked it out anyways)
½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp minced garlic
⅓ tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. oregano

Preheat skillet on med-high heat. Cut sausage into slices, and drop in the heated pan. Stir while frying.

As kielbasa is browning, chop the onion and potatoes.

Once the sausage has browned up a bit, and released most of the grease, scoop it out and put aside. Be careful to leave grease in pan.

Drop potatoes into the kielbasa grease to fry. Once they start to brown cut down heat to med-low, and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well.

Once the potatoes have softened, add the kielbasa back into the pan mix in and all to reheat before serving.

#1,541: Bacon Potato Salad

I’ll admit, I don’t really love potato salad that has a mayo base.  I generally go for more of a vinegar based potato salad, so I was nervous to make this recipe.  I however, absolutely loved it (so did my brother Mike!) and would definitely make this again.  I did not use the full amount of mayo/buttermilk/seasoning though and added just enough for it to be fully coated, but not enough that it was drenched and overpowering.  This was VERY good!!

2 1/4 pounds small red potatoes, larger ones halved
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 slices bacon
2 ribs celery, diced
3 scallions, trimmed and sliced
1/4 cup cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup cup low-fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons country Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil; add 1 tsp of the salt. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, until just tender. Drain; rinse with cool water. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes, turning. Remove to a paper towel.

Transfer potatoes to a serving bowl; add celery and scallions. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, buttermilk, 2 tbsp water, the mustard, sugar, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper. Crumble bacon over potatoes; toss with dressing. Refrigerate until serving. 

#1,438: Hamburger Potato Casserole

Well this recipe got mixed reviews from my crew.  From an cooking standpoint, it was very easy to make and throw together.  (That's always a huge plus!).  Allison loved this and asked if she could take leftovers in her lunch!  Brian however, was not as big of a fan and said he probably wouldn't eat it again.  (The other two are such picky eaters, they are hard to please and don't love most things!).  I personally enjoyed the potatoes of this, but the ground beef lacked flavor/seasoning.  Probably not a recipe I will make again for our crew, yet, not a terrible recipe.  To each his own! 

1 lb. lean ground beef

3 cups thinly sliced potatoes 

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 11 x 7 (2 quart) glass baking dish. In medium skillet, cook the onions and ground beef until done. Drain the grease. In a medium bowl, mix together the milk, soup, salt and pepper. Layer half of the potatoes, soup, cheese and then the hamburger meat. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes, soup, hamburger meat and then the cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the potatoes are tender.