Cheesy Potato Casserole

I never expected to be drawn to recipe in the Wal-Mart sales paper. But there it was. I know. They’re just trying to sell products. And they’re doing a good job, I might add. This recipe sounds like just something I would love and all the items in the recipe as items I generally have on hand. That’s always a plus. You just never know when you’re going to happen on to a wonderful recipe.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

1 bag Ore-Ida Hash Browns
1 can (10.75 oz.) cream of chicken soup
2 cups Daisy Sour Cream
1.2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1.3 cup green onions, sliced
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
2 cups corn flakes, crushed
¼ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 13 x 9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together soup, sour cream, salt and pepper. Stir in cheese, onion, and hash browns until well mixed. Spoon evenly into baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together cereal and butter. Sprinkle evenly on top of hash brown mixture.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional sliced green onion if desired.

Marshmallows

I’ve always wanted to make my own marshmallows. I’m not sure why. Maybe because there are so many possibilities. This recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Family Circle. I hope you have a lot of fun with it.

Marshmallows

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 envelopes (.25 oz. each) unflavored gelatin
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cherry or lime extract or flavoring (optional)
Food coloring (optional)

Sift confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch into a small bowl. Line a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan with foil. Coat with nonstick cooking spray. Sift 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar mixture into the pan, tilting to coat sides. Leave any excess in pan.

Place 2/3 cup water in a large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Soften for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt in medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Strain into bowl with gelatin.

Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 12 minutes, adding flavoring and food coloring if desired. Spread into prepared pan and smooth top. Dust with 2 tablespoons of the confectioners’ sugar mixture. Let stand 2 hours until set.

Lift marshmallows from pan with foil. With a wet knife, cut into 4 squares. Cut each square into 12 pieces. Spread remaining confectioners’ sugar mixture onto sheet pan. Toss marshmallows in sugar mixture; let stand 1 hour. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings (6 marshmallows each), at 207 calories per serving.

Pina Colada Icebox Pie

The folks at Southern Living can cook. They’ve been doing it a long, long time and they’re good at it. This recipe was in the March 2013 issue of Southern Living magazine. It sounds heavenly. As soon as it warms up again and actually feels like spring, I plan to give it a try.

Pina Colada Icebox Pie

2 cups pecan shortbread cookie crumbs (about 16 cookies)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
¼ cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple in juice
1 ½ cups cream of coconut, divided
2 large eggs
1 cup whipping cream

Garnishes: lightly toasted shaved coconut, pineapple wedges, fresh pineapple mint sprigs

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together cookie crumbs, flaked coconut and butter. Firmly press on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9-inch pie plat.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a small heavy saucepan. Stir in pineapple. While stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook (keep stirring!) 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, using whisk attachment, until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup cream of coconut, beating at low speed just until blended. (Chill remaining ½ cup cream of coconut until ready to use.) Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Spread cooled pineapple mixture over bottom of piecrust. Spoon cream cheese mixture over pineapple mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 38 to 42 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Cover and chill 4 hours.

Beat whipping cream at high speed until foamy. Gradually add remaining ½ cup cream of coconut, beating until soft peaks form. Spread over pie.

Makes 8 servings.

Creamy Spinach and Broccoli Lasagna

This recipe comes from the January 2013 issue of Woman’s Day magazine. I love that it only makes four servings. Most lasagna recipes make enough to feed an army (or at least a large gathering of folks). I wish it had fewer calories and I will definitely reduce the garlic. Otherwise, I think this will be wonderful!

Creamy Spinach and Broccoli Lasagna

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 10-oz. package frozen leaf spinach
1 10-oz. package frozen broccoli florets
1 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta
6 oz. part-skim mozzarella, grated (about 1 ½ cups)
½ cup grated Romano cheese
1 cup whole milk
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into pieces
Pinch freshly grated or ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, ¼ each salt and pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

While the onion is cooking, thaw the spinach and broccoli according to package directions. Squeeze the spinach of excess moisture and pat the broccoli dry. Roughly chop both and place in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Romano.

Add the milk to the onions and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer, then whisk in the cream cheese, nutmeg and remaining ¼ cup Romano. Gently simmer (do not boil), stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Spread ½ cup of the sauce on the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 ½ noodles (breaking as necessary to fit). Spread a third (about 1/3 cup) of the remaining sauce over the top. Dollop with a third (about 1 1/3 cups) of the ricotta mixture. Repeat twice.

Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella, cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the noodles are tender (a sharp knife should go through with no resistance) and the top is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings, at 662 calories per serving.

Ambrosia Cream Cheese Mold

My all-time favor cookbook is The Southern Living Cookbook. This recipe comes from that. It is the first cookbook I reach for when I need something right now. You probably know what I’m talking about.

In this case, I needed a congealed salad to take to church for the feeding of a family in mourning. I offered to bring a casserole or dessert. I was told they had plenty of those but really needed a congealed salad or a fruit salad. I quickly considered what I had on hand and volunteered to make a congealed salad. Have I mentioned that I generally don’t eat congealed salads so I rarely make them?

This one turned out wonderfully. Even I liked it. LOL It just tastes tropical. Of course, I did change things up a bit. I can’t seem to find a 15 ½-oz. can of pineapple chunks so I used an 18 oz. can. It worked just fine. I also didn’t have a fresh lemon so I used RealLemon juice. Oh, and instead of peeling an orange (which I did have) I used a small can of orange slices. And I left out the pecans because, while I love them, sometimes it’s not good to add nuts when you’re taking something off from home and you don’t know the folks who’ll be eating it all that well.

I also didn’t use a mold. I have several Tupperware molds. And if I’d had a day or two or a week or so I would have surely found one of them. But time was a factor so I opted to use a take-off-from-home container that I wouldn’t need to get back. It’s also easier to transport. When I take food for something like this, I always try not to take something that requires someone to wash and return a bowl to me. I figure the family or, in this case, the ladies organizing things have enough on their plate without added dish washing and delivery.

I did, however, put a little bit of the salad (before it had firmed up) in a small container and set it aside for me. I figured I probably needed to at least try the salad to make sure it was okay before I took it off from home. It was. Wonderful. Really. So good! I may have to make another one, even though I really don’t eat congealed salads. LOL

Ambrosia Cream Cheese Mold

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
1 (15 ½-oz) can pineapple chunks, undrained
1/3 cup sugar
Juice of one lemon
2 (3 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 orange, peeled, sectioned, and diced
½ cup flaked coconut
Lettuce leaves (optional)
Lemon slices (optional)

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute.

Drain pineapple, and reserve juice; add enough water to juice to make 1 cup. Place juice in a 2-quart saucepan; heat to boiling. Add gelatin mixture, and stir until gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, lemon juice and cream cheese, using a wire whisk to blend. Chill until consistency of unbeaten egg white. Fold in pineapple chunks, orange, pecans, and coconut.

Spoon mixture into a lightly oiled 1-quart mold. Cover and chill until firm. Unmold on lettuce. Garnish with lemon slices, is desired.

Makes 6 servings.

St. Patrick's Day Green-and-White Cookies

How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Some of us simply ignore the day. Others might wear green (to keep from getting pinched) but otherwise just go about a normal day. Others really, really celebrate with parades and drink and a big party.

One town celebrates by hosting the world’s smallest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Seriously. One person, dressed appropriately in green or other St. Paddy’s Day décor, walks down the street. Folks like the sidewalks and cheer. It’s great fun and a little ridiculous when you think about it. But, hey, it brings folks downtown and gives us all a reason to smile.

This recipe comes from the March 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine. It seems like the perfect hostess gift or festive snack for this awesome day.

St. Patrick’s Day Green-and-White Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar and granulated sugar for 2 minutes. Add buttermilk, egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually beat in dry ingredients until combined.

Chill batter for 15 minutes.

Drop batter in 2 tablespoon mounds onto ungreased baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 13 minutes, until just set. Remove from sheet onto a wire rack and cool.

Frosting

2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon mint extract
Green food coloring

Beat together confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth and a good consistency, adding an extra 1 to 2 teaspoons milk if needed.

Into half the icing, beat in mint extract and a few drops green food coloring.

Spread half of the flat side of each cooking with white frosting. Let dry. Spread other half with green icing and allow it to dry.

Makes 24 cookies

Mac and Cheese Veggie Chicken Casserole

It was the photo that got me. I turned the Woman’s Day magazine (March 2013) as I finished it and there, staring up at me, was a scrumptious looking casserole. I had to read the ingredients. I had to share the recipe.

Easy Mac and Cheese Veggie Chicken Casserole

4 tablespoons Country Crock Spread, melted, divided
1 cup 2% milk
8 oz. cooked rotini pasta
2 cups diced cooked chicken
4 cups frozen vegetables, thawed
2 ¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine 3 tablespoons Country Crock with the milk, pasta, chicken, veggies and cheddar cheese in an 8-inch baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan and remaining Country Crock in a small bowl; sprinkle on top.

Bake 30 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 6 servings.