Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

I will have to make this again soon and add a picture but today one of my friends was asking about what to feed 10 teenage boys and after a bit of discussion this popped into my mind and I figured I'd share the recipe here.

I got this recipe from one of the ladies I went to church with in Texas and now it's one of our go to casseroles when I need to take a breakfast dish to an event.  I love that you can prep it ahead of time and bake the morning of.

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

1 pkg tater tots or frozen hashbrowns.
8 eggs
1 (15 oz) can evaporated milk
1 small package sausage/ham/bacon
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper

Brown sausage (or any other meat you are using), drain and remove grease.  Butter or spray a 9x13 casserole dish.  Set aside.  Place tator tots in large skillet with about 1 Tablespoon of oil.  Heat the tots all the way through and break the apart with a spatula.  (You don't have to heat them up but I like the consistency better when I do).  Distribute the evenly on the bottom of your casserole dish.  Sprinkle meat with onions and peppers  over potatoes.  In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and whisk until blended.  Add the milk, salt, pepper and dry mustard; beat well.  Pour over potatoes.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until eggs are set.  Leave uncovered for last 10-15 minutes of baking.

*You can add whatever you want, mushrooms would add a nice taste.  Serve with salsa or ketchup.

Loaded Potato Casserole

This recipe was a Pinterest find.  I've been drooling over it for a couple months and finally decided I would just break down and make it.  It was a huge hit in our house.  You can find the original recipe here.  I made subtle changes to make it more to my liking.  I don't care for overly wet potato dishes so I adjusted some of the portions.  I'll note the changes.

Loaded Potato Casserole

2 (16oz) containers sour cream (I used one 24 oz container of sour cream)

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits

2 packages Ranch Dip mix (I left this out, I'm not a fan of ranch outside of potato chip dip and salads)

1 large (28 - 30oz) bag frozen hash brown potatoes - shredded kind

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.

Perfect French Fries by Pioneer Woman

So for this week's Pinterest Challenge over at Bohemian Transplant's blog, I have decided to do another recipe! Over Christmas, we ventured to Bass Pro Shop and somehow walked out with a french fry cutter (and another dutch oven). Our 10 year old has been asking almost daily for french fries so I decided to go ahead and make them for him. This recipe was a little time consuming and yes, a big fattening when you consider you're frying the potatoes in oil, but they were oh so good and oh so worth it!

I found the recipe over at Pioneer Women's blog...(I have yet to be disappointed in any of her recipes!).

Perfect French Fries

Ingredients

• 5 pounds Russet Potatoes
• Vegetable Or Peanut Oil For Frying
• Sea Salt

Preparation Instructions

IMPORTANT: Please be careful when frying with hot oil. Keep the pot on the backburner so little kiddos won't get hurt.

In a nutshell, here it is: Soak potatoes, dry potatoes, fry potatoes, drain potatoes, then fry again!

Peel and rinse the potatoes, then cut them into sticks by cutting the potato in four or five vertical pieces, then cutting each piece into sticks. Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water, then allow them to soak for two or three hours. (You can also stick them in the fridge and let them soak for several hours or overnight.)

When you're ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay them on two baking sheet lined with paper towels. Blot them with paper towels to dry them.

Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 degrees. In 3 or 4 batches, cook the potatoes for about 4 to 5 minutes per batch, or until the potatoes are soft. They should not be brown at all at this point! You just want to start the cooking process. Remove each batch and drain them on new/dry paper towels.

Once all the potatoes have been fried at 300, turn up the heat until the oil reaches 400 degrees. When the oil's hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again, cooking until the fries are golden and crisp. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle fries with sea salt and dive in!

Potato, Squash, and Goat Cheese Gratin

We continue to enjoy the fresh vegetables from our Farmer's Market. This week we got some beautiful yellow squash. This dish may seem a little fancier because of the goat cheese but it was super simple to make and very tasty!

Potato, Squash, and Goat Cheese Gratin

2 medium yellow squash

4 small to medium red potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese
salt and pepper
1/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Use a mandoline or chef's knife to slice the squash and potatoes into very, very thin slices, 1/8-inch or less.

Toss the sliced vegetables with the olive oil in a large bowl.

Pour a small drizzle of olive oil in a casserole dish (around 8 or 9 inches square) and spread it around the bottom and sides. Place 1/3 of the squash and potato slices in the bottom of the dish—no need to layer them squash-potato-squash-etc.—then season with salt and pepper.

Top with half of the goat cheese, scattered evenly in large chunks.

Repeat with another 1/3 of the vegetables, seasoning again with salt and pepper and topping with the other 1/2 of the goat cheese. Finish by layering on the final 1/3 of the vegetables and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Pour the milk over the entire dish. Top with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until the top browns.

Salad Olvia

A friend of mine shared this recipe with me when I was stationed in Korea. I had just had Neil and was on maternity leave when she called and asked if she could come visit me and bring me lunch. I said sure. She came over with this very yummy cold potato/chicken type salad. Shirin was originally from Iran and she told me that this was a dish they would make to bless new friendships. She served it on a fresh baguette with tomatoes. It was so good and over a decade later it is still one of our favorite dishes (I say that a lot...what can I say we love food in this house). My boys love this, I make a huge bowl (I mean HUGE) and it never sticks around for long. I try to carry on the tradition and make it when I meet someone new.

I already had the recipe on a recipe card, so just click the image to make it bigger and you can actually just print it if you want.

Tater Tot Casserole

ALL of the boys in my family really enjoy Tater Tot Casserole. I have to admit it's not my favorite but I'll eat it. We cook it at home and when we go camping in our dutch oven. Tater Tot casserole is pretty versatile and so you can adjust it to your likes. I'm sharing the standard, easy recipe but you can swap out the soups, cheeses and veggies. Most kids love it.

Tator Tot Casserole

1 lb. or more hamburger
1 can green beans, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups of Cheddar Cheese (reserving about a quarter cup)
1/3 of pkg. tater tots

Brown the hamburger. Put in casserole or pan in the order given. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 375 degrees for about 50-60 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese after pulling out of oven.

We know a fellow Scouting family who loves to make a Chicken Tatertot Casserole in the dutch oven when camping out. It is so good! Here is a recipe for the oven but you can surely adjust for the dutch oven.

2 lb. tater tots
4 c. chicken or turkey, cut up
1/2 lb. American cheese
6 tbsp. flour
3 c. milk
6 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c. minced onion
1 chicken bouillon cube

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Put a layer of tater tots on bottom. Add layer of chicken, then top with grated cheese. Make a sauce of remaining ingredients by cooking flour, butter and milk together. When thick, add soup, onion and bouillon. Pour over contents in casserole. Bake 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees.