PICNIC POTATOES (Taste of Home)

Made this one for the family Labor Day celebration.  It was a HIT!  Very yummy!  Definitely going to use this one again.  Note: I just used a few fresh basil leaves for decoration.

 

INGREDIENTS:
8 to 10 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in four wedges
1-1/2 cups prepared ranch salad dressing
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
Minced chives

DIRECTIONS:
Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10/15 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Transfer to a large bowl; mash (do not add milk, butter or seasoning). Stir in salad dressing. Add the cheese, salt, pepper and half of the bacon.
Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with chives and remaining bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Editor's Note: If a decorative edge is desired, spread all but 2 cups of the prepared potato mixture into baking dish. Using a pastry bag and large tip, pipe the reserved mixture around the edge of the dish.

STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD (AllRecipes.com)

My mom makes this salad, but instead of using sesame seeds, she uses chinese crunchy noodles . . . it is a light, refreshing, yet filling salad. I can never eat just one serving!!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon minced onion

10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces

1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced

1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

CHEESIEST POTATO SOUP RECIPE (AllRecipes.com)

I LOVE soup . . . and I know a lot of folks don't like soup during warm weather, but I love it ANYTIME!!! And this one sounds SOOO good.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup diced onion

2 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 3/4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in potatoes and broth, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
2. Puree potato mixture in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender; return to pot over medium heat. Stir in cream, cheese, dill, pepper, salt and cayenne. Bring to a low boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, 5 minutes.

SLOW COOKER PIZZA (AllRecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 (8 ounce) package rigatoni pasta

1 (16 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of tomato soup

2 (14 ounce) jars pizza sauce

1 (8 ounce) package sliced pepperoni sausage

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and set aside. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain off grease.
2. In slow cooker, alternate layers of ground beef, noodles, cheese, soup, sauce and pepperoni.
3. Cook on Low setting for 4 hours.

AWESOME SLOW COOKER POT ROAST (AllRecipes.com)

Throw it in when you wake up and it should be ready when you get home from work and school!

INGREDIENTS:

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

1 1/4 cups water

5 1/2 pounds pot roast

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

SLOW COOKER BEEF STROGANOFF (Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 envelope (1-1/2 ounces) beef stroganoff seasoning for the slow cooker
• 1 pound sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup port wine or beef broth
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream
• Hot cooked egg noodles
• Minced fresh parsley, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• In a large skillet, brown meat in oil. Add water and seasoning mix, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Transfer meat and drippings to a 3-qt. slow cooker.
• In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Combine the wine, mustard and sugar; stir into the mushroom mixture. Add to slow cooker; stir to combine.
• Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Stir in sour cream. Serve with noodles. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Yield: 7 servings.

APPLE SLICES (COOKIES) (Pillsbury.com)

These are the perfect "apples" for the teacher!!! Start the year out on the right note!! We always give my son's teacher some yummies for the first day . . . hopefully it wiill keep her from killing him. LOL!

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons red decorator sugar

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies

2 tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Black string licorice, cut into 1-inch pieces

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Cut 17x12-inch piece of plastic wrap; place on work surface. Sprinkle red sugar evenly over plastic wrap. Roll cookie dough in sugar to coat. Wrap in plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.

2. Remove half of dough from wrapper; freeze remaining dough until needed. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart. Place 3 chocolate chips in center of each slice to resemble seeds. To form slice shape, make 2 indentations on 2 opposite sides with fingers. Repeat with remaining half of dough.

3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until unsugared edges are light golden brown. Insert 1 licorice piece on top of each cookie to resemble stem. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.