Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe belongs to Eric's mom. I think I first had her cheesy potatoes the first time I had dinner at Eric's parents' house. I fell in love with them with first bite. So when she asked if she could bring anything to Thanksgiving dinner, I immediately thought of these potatoes. They were a nice change up from mashed potatoes, too.

Ingredients:
2 cups (10-3/4-ounce each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 package (32-ounce) frozen hash brown potatoes (also very good with southwestern has
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, and garlic salt. Add potatoes and cheddar cheese. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Dish Ideas:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes 
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake 
Sauteed Kale with Bacon 
Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese
Very Simple Roasted Potatoes 

Cheddar Ranch Chicken

Another easy, tasty chicken recipe. It's hard to go wrong with chicken, cheddar cheese, and ranch.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ranch dressing seasoning (the powdered kind)
1/3 cup cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup panko

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange chicken breasts in the pan in a single layer.

In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, ranch, and cheese. Spread the mixture on top of the chicken. Sprinkle panko on top of the chicken and lightly spray the top with cooking spray. 

Bake for 25 to 30 mins or until chicken is cooked through and the panko is lightly browned.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Melt-in-your-mouth Chicken 
Lemon Pepper Chicken with Garlic Potatoes
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
Chicken Nugget Casserole 
Orange Chicken with Fried Rice
Parmesan-Seared Chicken

Fries with Garlic Cheese Sauce

I'm normally a ketchup girl when it comes to my French fries. No ranch dressing, mayo, or mustard for me. But when I made this garlic cheese sauce, I was willing to change my ways. I usually make my own French fries, but I don't quite have the skill or tools to make my own curly fries so when I saw curly fries on sale at the grocery store, I indulged. And what's better, the hubby was out of town when I made this so, I got all the sauce and fries to myself.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 ounces cream cheese
2 to 4 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
Melt cream cheese in a small sauce pan on the stove over medium high heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons milk and garlic powder. Add cheddar and stir until smooth. If you want a thinner sauce, add more milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Drizzle over your fries or serve on the side as a dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Recipes
Pepper Jack Cheez-its 
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Roasted Peas 
Bacon Barbecue Green Bean Casserole 
Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Pull-Apart Spinach and Cheese Bread
Ranch, Cheddar, and Bacon Potatoes

Crockpot: Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese

My mom bought Arya a reindeer outfit.

This past Christmas was not only the first Christmas dinner I hosted, but also our first Christmas as a married couple, our first Christmas with Arya, and our first Christmas in our new place. So it was a pretty exciting holiday for us. But I don't want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about how freaking amazing this mac and cheese is. It's the best I've ever had; it tops any restuarant, store bought, or homemade version I've ever tried. It's that good. Even Eric and his dad, neither big on mac and cheese, both loved it. My mom and mother-in-law asked for the recipe. And the fact that it's made in the crockpot, all the much better! On Christmas day it was a life saver when everything else had to go in the oven.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 8-ounce bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
1 10.75-ounce can of condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Optional Bread Topping:
2 tablespoon butter, melted
3 pieces of sandwich bread, torn into bite size pieces
1/2 tablespoon McCormick Crusting Blend Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary (or you can use garlic powder, basil, thyme, rosemary, whatever your favorite herbs are)

Directions:

Boil macaroni in water for 7 minutes. Drain.

Place all of the ingredients except the pasta, thyme, and optional bread topping in your crockpot and stir. Add pasta and stir again.* 

Cook for 2 hours on low. Stir in thyme.

Optional: After mac and cheese has cooked, transfer to a casserole dish. In a bowl toss together melted butter, bread, and spices. Top the mac and cheese with the bread and place under the broiler until the bread browns, about 5 to 10 minutes. 

*Since I was making this for Christmas dinner (and for the first time!) and didn't want to screw it up, I did not add the pasta to the crockpot. I made the sauce in the crockpot and add the pasta afterwards. However, I read many, many reviews on this recipe and none of them talked about the pasta becoming mushy. Next time I make this, I'll add the pasta right in.

Now, because I was so busy cooking and entertaining on Christmas day, I kinda sorta forgot to take a picture. But I did take a couple of pictures of some reheated leftovers (oh, it reheats very well) sans bread topping.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Crockpot Recipes:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Sugar and Garlic Chicken
Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Orange Chicken
Pumpkin Butter 
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs

Years ago I made these bacon and cheese deviled eggs for Eric and he loved them. (I'm not a big deviled egg person, ironic since I love egg salad). Well, we were over at his parents for dinner and his dad meantioned something about craving deviled eggs. Eric immediately perked up and said something along the lines of, "You should try Krissy's deviled eggs." And his mom's face lit up and she suggested I make them as appetitizer for Christmas dinner.

So along with chocolate covered cranberries and spinach balls, I made these deviled eggs for Christmas and they were a hit!

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
12 hard boiled eggs, peeled
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat)
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, shredded
Parsley for ganish, optional

Directions:
Cut each egg in half lengthwise. Spoon out the yolks and place them in a bowl. Set the whites aside.

With a fork, mash the yolks together. Stir in mayonnaise, honey mustard, salt, and pepper. Add bacon and cheese and stir.

Divide the yolk mixture evenly between the 24 egg white halves. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

These worked great for Christmas because I could easily make them ahead of time and just store them in the fridge.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
Parmesan Garlic Wonton Crackers 
Cheesy Twisty Straws
Homemade Pita Chips
Sweet and Salty Chickpeas
Toasted Ravioli

Pesto Tuna Wrap

Canned tuna is one of my lunch staples. When I don't know what I want to eat, it's my go to and it's always good. However, tuna salad can get old. I change it up a bit, but it's still tuna salad. Well, I had some pesto left over from my chicken stuffed with ricotta, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes, so I added it to the tuna. Wow. It's like a whole new, refreshing dish.

Ingredients:
1 8-inch wheat tortilla
5-ounce can tuna, drained
1 tablespoon mayo (I tend to go really light on the mayo, so you may want to double it)
3 tablespoons pesto (I use Knorr)
sun-dried tomatoes or diced tomato (to taste)
onion, diced (to taste)
cheddar cheese, shredded (to taste, I tend to add a lot)

Directions:
Mix the tuna, mayo, pesto, tomatoes, and onion together in a bowl. Spread the mixture down the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese then fold the sides over the tuna mixture. Now, I like my tortilla warmed in the microwave, just 30 seconds, but I know a lot of people blanch at warmed canned tuna, so you don't have to warm it.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

BBQ Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Caramelized Onions

Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, one of the best combo ever created in my opinion. We dress up your basic canned tomato soup with basil (fresh is best but dried will work) then add some shredded cheddar cheese to our bowls. Eric also throws in a few pepperonis.

The key to our grilled cheese sandwiches is using shredded cheese instead of sliced cheese. It just melts so much better and you can heap on as much or as little as you'd like! Sharp cheddar, a Mexican blend, pepper jack . . . the options are endless. If you have a Meijer near you, their store brand taco shredded cheese makes an absolutely fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches--and is pretty damn good in the tomato soup too!

While Eric likes his grilled cheese sandwiches straight forward, I like to experiment with them. Add sun-dried tomatoes. Apples and red onion mayo. Maybe some pesto. Or barbecue sauce and caramelized onions . . .

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
8 slices of bread (I highly recommend sourdough)*
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Butter
2 to 4 tablespoons of your favorite barbecue sauce (ours is Sweet Baby Ray)
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the onions turn a golden brown and taste sweet, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Spread butter on into one side of each slice of bread. Spread the barbecue sauce on 4 slices of bread, opposite side of the butter. Use as much or as little sauce as you'd like (I used a couple of teaspoons).

Heat the skillet over medium-low heat and place a slice of bread butter side down in the pan. Working quickly, add roughly 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and 1/4 of the caramelized onions then another slice of bread, butter side up. Cook until one side is golden brown and the cheese begins to melt then flip over and cook that side until it's golden brown. Repeat with the other two sandwiches.

Enjoy!

~Krissy