Loaded Baked Potato Soup

 This is one of my family's favorite soup recipes.  We absolutely love it!  It is easy to make and it's perfect to eat with some freshly baked rolls. 

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb bacon, chopped and cooked
1 onion, diced
3-4 carrots, peeled and diced
5 stalks of celery, finely diced (about a cup)
8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 c flour
2-3 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth
salt
pepper
4 c heavy cream or half & half

In a large soup pot, sautee onion, carrots and celery in about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil (you can also use the drippings from the cooked bacon).  When onions are translucent, add potatoes and cook for about 4 minutes.

Add flour and mix well to try and coat your veggies.  Add chicken broth and water if needed.  Add half (or all) the bacon, and salt and pepper.

On medium heat bring soup to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft.  At this point you can mash some of the potatoes for a creamier texture.  Add the heavy whipping cream (or half & half) and simmer for another 5 minutes.  You can add more salt or pepper if it's needed.

Serve and garnish your soup with green onions, cheddar cheese, and bacon.  Enjoy!

Garlic Herb Potato Wedges with Copy Cat Chick Fil A sauce

I found this recipe a couple of years ago on Pinterest and gave it a try.  Since that very first day, it has become one of our favorite ways to bake potatoes.  Recipe courtesy of "About Food."  

Don't forget to pair it with this amazing copy cat chick fil a sauce (one of our favorite places to eat when on the road).  The recipe is easy, fast and delicious!

INGREDIENTS FOR POTATOES:

• 4-6 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed fine
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cut each potato into 4 equally sized long wedges.  Place in a bowl and incorporate the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well to make sure all potato wedges are covered.

Place potatoes (skin side down) on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Bake for 35 minutes at  425 degrees farenheit.  Enjoy!

Copy Cat Chick Fil A Sauce

2 tbsp bbq sauce
4 tbsp honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
4 tsp mustard, prepared

Whisk all ingredients together and enjoy!

Calabazita con Elote (Zucchini & Corn)

This is a very light meal, but very tasty!

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INGREDIENTS:

5 zucchinis, cut into small bite size pieces

1 small onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

3 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped

1 can whole kernel corn, you can use fresh corn if you have some

salt

Shredded Mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese, optional

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Place first six ingredients in a skillet and cook without a lid. This dish should be ready in 15-20 minutes just until the zucchini is nice and tender. Top with cheese if you want and cover for a few minutes to help cheese melt fast. Serve and enjoy!!!

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe usually makes three 9 inch round pies. The nice thing about this is that if you are not having a big group to eat you can freeze them and just cook them whenever.

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 Chicken breast, cut into small bite-size pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 large can of cream of chicken soup (this last time I used 3 small ones)
1/2 stick of butter
Garlic Salt

Vegetables cut into small-medium chunks (carrots, potatoes, broccoli, etc)
1 can of peas (I used frozen peas this last time)
3-4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

Sautee onions in the butter, add chicken and garlic salt. When chicken is cooked add remaining ingredients and pour into store bought pie crust (or make your own).

Cover with a thin layer of pie crust. Use a knife to cut a few slits at the top and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until crust is baked (Could take up to an hour).

If you freeze the pies, make sure you thaw them out before baking. Enjoy!

Twice Baked Potatoes

A favorite family side dish!

INGREDIENTS:

Large russet potatoes

bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sausage, cooked

Green onions, sliced/chopped

Mild cheddar cheese

Milk

Butter

Sour cream

Salt

Pepper

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Note: I didn't specify amounts because it really depends on your taste. You decide how much you want of each ingredient (if it was up to my husband they would have a TON of sausage and bacon).

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Wash potatoes, cover them with aluminum foil and bake. When potatoes are ready, remove the foil and cut an opening on each potato. You then take a spoon and scoop out as much baked potato as possible, place the potato filling in a bowl. Make sure you leave some close to the skin or the skin will collapse. You want the potatos to keep their shape, like in the picture below.

You can also just cut the potatoes in half (easier) and remove the filling, again, leave some along the skin. Once you have scooped all the potato filling and it's ready in a bowl, proceed to add butter, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix well, you want the potatoes to be creamy. When the potatoes are ready, add the sausage, bacon and green onions and mix well.

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Stuff the potato shells with the filling you just made. Be generous, because you will have a lot of filling. Top with cheese and return back to the oven. Bake at 350 degrees farenheit for about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Also, if you'd rather just put the potatoes on a baking dish, you can do that as well, that's what I did with all the extra.

Sweet Potato (Yam) Casserole

Filling:
4 Beauregard Sweet Potatoes
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt.
2 eggs

Topping:
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour


Cooking instructions:

Peal sweet potatoes, steam or bake until soft. Mash potatoes and mix in remaining filling ingredients. Place in casserole dish.

Meaure topping ingredients in Ziploc bag (butter must be melted). Shake well to combine.
Add to casserole top and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

4-5 lbs broccoli
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
6 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely sliced fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Optional: 3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

1 Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks.
2 Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets.
3 Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.
4 Toss the garlic over the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
5 Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
6 Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 11/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

Roasted Summer Veggies

Ingredients:

2 medium-large potatoes
yellow squash
zuchinni
2 c peppers (you can use a variety or just green if you don't have red and yellow peppers),
1 c tomatoes, cut in long thin pieces like the peppers
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter, cut into tiny pieces
Ground black pepper to taste

Prick the potatoes (unpeeled) and cook them in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. Cut them into thin slices when done. Cut the yellow squash and zuchinni into thin slices as well.

Grease your baking dish and layer your veggies beginning with the potatoes. Then add slices of yellow squash, zuchini, peppers, and tomatoes. add some of the oregano, salt, black pepper and cheese. Repeat the layers and top with the small pieces of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes (until veggies are tender). Bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered to brown them a bit.

This is what your dish will look like before baking.

Roasted Potatoes

This is my simple way of roasting potatoes and they turn out pretty tasty.

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Ingredients:

red potatoes

ranch salad dressing

olive oil

salt

pepper

dry parsley flakes

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Cut potatoes in large chunks (I cut mine in 4-6 pieces depending on the size of the potato) and place in baking dish. Add ranch dressing, very little olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley flakes and coat potatoes well. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 385 for about 20 minutes or until they are starting to get tender. Bake an additional 10 minutes without the foil to brown.

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