Creamy Corn

One of my friends made this a few years ago and I tried it out yesterday for Thanksgiving meal... Yummy and easy! (But terribly unhealthy, I'm sure..)

Ingredients:

2 cans corn
1 large sweet onion (chopped)
1 T olive oil
4 oz. cream cheese
Red pepper (to taste: I used about 1/2 T)
Seasoning salt (to taste: I used about 2 t)

Directions:

First,   saute the onion in the olive oil - use medium or medium-low heat, so the onion won't brown but become translucent. This might take 10-15 minutes, but is worth it.
Meanwhile, drain the corn and mix with the cream cheese in a medium pot.  When the cream cheese has melted, and the onions are ready, mix in the onions and seasonings.  Enjoy!

Tator Tot Casserole

This is the traditional Tator Tot casserole that I grew up with. Some variations of this recipe calls for odd items, such as green beans. While you are certainly welcome to experiment, this is the way that I have enjoyed it for years!

Serving Size: Large Family

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- Garlic Salt
- Dried Onion pieces
- Medium or sharp Cheddar Cheese (grated)
- 2 lbs frozen Tater Tots
- 3 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

Directions:
- Thaw out the hamburger the night before, or nuke it in the microwave if on a tight schedule
- Brown 1 pound of hamburger (crumbled)
- Spread the hamburger along the bottom of a 9" x 12" pan (large cake pan size).
- Sprinkle (not too much) garlic salt and dried onion on top of the meat.
- Spread layer of grated cheese on top of meat mixture.
- Top with 2 pounds of frozen tater tots and spread cream of mushroom soup evenly across tater tots.
- Sprinkle more grated cheese (to taste) and cover with tin foil (shiny side down).
- Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Note: If you wish to make this casserole more healthy, use only 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup. The original recipe calls for only 2 cans, but I have found that it leaves it a bit dry. 3 cans is perfect, albeit not as nutritious. ;-)

Lanny's Yummy Brown Gravy

I do my recipes in narrative form, so I hope that doesn't bother anyone. But I like making this easy gravy which is very versatile and can be used alone or with rice, potatoes or with other veggies.

Take an onion, a clove of garlic (garlic optional) and if you have sprouted onions they work well with the greens chopped up for this, or add some green onions. You can add some green peppers if you like. Take a frying pan with some olive oil (or I prefer butter) and brown the onions, garlic and green pepper. Then add about a pound of thawed hamburger. The hamburger doesn't have to be thawed, but it's easier that way. (Otherwise, especially if it's lean, it takes some patience heating it, turning it, scraping thawed burger off until it's all browned equally without burning it.)

Then add a can of mushrooms with the water in the can, and a bit more to make about a cup of water. Add a packet of brown gravy mix and stir it over medium or high heat until it becomes thick. Salt and pepper to taste.

I like this over rice or potatoes, but it's good by itself as well. My cat (Wizard) is jealous and trying to help me type so if there are any mistakes, it's HIS fault.

Lanny's Yummy Rice

I use a large flatish broiler pan with the drip tray.

First, chop up an onion and and some garlic and you can either put it in the broiler pan, or brown it in butter first (tastes better this latter way) and mix it with a couple of cups of brown or white rice in the pan itself. If you have the green onions, or if your onions have decided to group and sprouted a little, it adds some color to chop up the sprout part and add that. You can also add thinly sliced carrots if you like. Mix in a large can of cream of chicken soup. Add a small can of mushrooms or several chopped up fresh ones if you prefer. Add a couple of cups of water, salt and pepper to taste. (You can add a packet of instant chicken gravy if you like).

Place a cut-up chicken (or should I say "sliced up" so you don't get a creepy image of a hyperactive chicken spouting one-liners?) on the drip tray, and cover with foil. Bake for about an hour at 350 degrees, but depending on altitude and my poor memory, it could be a little more than that.

Remove the foil and put the chicken on a serving tray. If you're a heathen, you can serve the rice right out of the broiler pan like I prefer to do, or if you're more civilized you can put it in a serving bowl. Either way, you should stir it up to mix any settled ingredients evenly.

Shepherd's Pie

I'll post this since we made it for dinner a few weeks ago at Mom & Dad's. Such a good comfort food!

Pre-heat: 350º

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
2 packets brown gravy
12 oz. mixed vegetables (corn, peas and green beans are good)
2 lbs potatoes

Half fill a large pot with water and set to boil.

On a low to medium heat setting, cook the onions until the onion pieces are soft and translucent. Then brown the ground beef in the same pan at the same heat setting.

While the onions &/or meat are cooking, cut the potatoes into smaller pieces (small enough that they will cook quickly but shouldn't spend a lot of time on this) and dump them in the water.

Make the brown gravy - boil a cup of water and stir in the gravy until it thickens. The ground beef should be done. Pour in the gravy, and add the vegetables. Stir until it's all mixed and the veggies are warm.

Distribute the mixture evenly at the bottom of a casserole dish. Make the mashed potatoes -- drain the potatoes, and mash (with butter and milk, as desired). Layer the potatoes on top of the meat mixture.

Pop uncovered in the oven for about half an hour.

Chicken Enchiladas (Mary)

With Mary's dictation and permission, I'll post her famous recipe...Mom mentions that Mary often makes these for our Park City condo vacation in the summer and we all love it!

Start by cooking 2 cups of diced chicken. To keep it extra moist, Mary suggests steaming it a bit by throwing a bit of water on and the pan with a lid.

Mix 1 cup sour cream and 1 can cream of chicken soup.

While the chicken is cooking, melt 1 T butter in a large pan. Add 1 c. fresh chopped onions and 1 t. chili powder. (You can optionally add a 4 oz. can of green chiles. Mary says she will if she doubles the recipe, but otherwise it's over-powering.) Caramelize the onions in the butter and chili powder mix.

Add the cooked chicken to the onions and throw in about 1/3 to 1/2 of the sour cream/soup mixture. Turn the heat to Low and stir all together until it begins to bubble. Now trace lines on the mixture to divide it into 8ths. (Each eighth will be about 3 spoonfuls)

Spray a casserole dish and spoon a very thin layer of soup/sour cream mixture on the bottom. (This keeps the enchiladas from being hard on the bottom.) Spoon 1/8 of the mixture onto each of 8 flour tortilla shells. Roll up without folding in the ends. Cover all 8 with the remainder of the soup/sour cream mix.

Cover with foil and bake at 375º for 15 minutes.

(Optionally, you can also spread mild red enchilada sauce before the cheese.) Sprinkle 1 c. of grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese on top.

Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes.

Enjoy!