great potatoe recipe, serves alot

5 lb potatoes
3oz cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
8oz sour cream
1 t garlic salt

1 t fresh chives
1/4 t paprika

cook potatoes, mash, add other ingredients, bake at 350, 35 - 40 minutes
sprinkle with chives and paprika

Both sound YUM! I'll have to go dig some recipes out....

jessicad52178 wrote:

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Texas Potatoes

1 pkg of frozen Ore Ida potatoes (the ones with onions and peppers are best but if you have little ones you may want the regular)

1 container of scour cream (not the huge one)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

2 pkgs of shredded cheddar cheese (or one big one)

Butter (optional)

Corn Flakes


Mix the potatoes, sour cream, and mushroom soup, add the first pkg of cheese (or half of the big bag). Spread out in a larger sized casserole dish, cover with the rest of the cheese (My aunt doesn't use all of the cheese but we sure do lol), crunch up the corn flakes and sprinkle on top. then if you wish, put some butter on top to make the corn flakes extra crispy. Put it in the oven (which should be preheated to 425 depending on the oven) bake for about 45 minutes or until it's nice and golden.

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My MIL makes a dish just like this, never knew it was Texan

I love Buffalo Chicken dip. Though we use Franks red hot and we put blue cheese in ours instead of cheddar. Love cheddar though. I think it would be good with pita chips too

Can't do without the sweet potato casserole with rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, lots of butter, and brown sugar. Add marshmallows on top the last few minutes of cooking if desired...

My sister's pineapple casserole is also a must. Pineapple, of course, is the symbol of hospitality, which one sees carved on bedposts, over doorways, etc. This recipe uses crushed pineapple (or pineapple tidbits), sugar, melted butter, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Goes very nicely with both turkey and ham.

We even have to have the detested "melted broccoli" which is what my son has called the broccoli casserole since he was a little boy. The rest of us love it, so it stays on the menu, and my son even admits now that it's not so bad!

OH YEAH!!! We always have colonial peanut soup!!! I use the recipe from the Williamsburg Inn in colonial Williamsburg, VA. My kids, and my nephews would protest if we didn't have that as a starter, about an hour before the main meal...




-- Edited by Moore ideas at 19:15, 2007-11-19

Jojo, you're asking for measurements from someone who doesn't usually measure stuff (unless I'm baking), but I'll try to talk you through my sweet potato dish. Unfortunately, my first answer is that this is mostly a matter of personal taste.

I usually begin with MANY more sweet potatoes than you do because I'm normally feeding about six people, and sweet potatoes cook down a lot. I also like to have lots of leftovers at Thanksgiving, so I figure that if I'm going to the trouble of making them, I may as well make a lot!

I cut the potatoes into chunks, and leave them in that form because I'm not mashing them like mashed potatoes; this dish is a little more "rustic". I figure that the mashed potates already serve as the "smooth" veggie, and recepticle for the gravy! I also don't use eggs, baking power, or any cream product, but I DO use A LOT of melted butter. (Your sweet potatoes sound like they're more souffled. YUM!)

Anyway, I generally cut my sweet potatoes up into chunks, and put them into a large casserole, initially with a splash of rum, a cup or so of melted butter, about a cup of sugar (brown, white, or a combination of both), probably a tablespoon of cinnamon to start, and one of nutmeg. I cover the casserole with foil, and let it begin to cook at about 375.

After about 30-ish minutes, I check the potatoes. Depending upon how many potatoes you've used, it becomes a balancing act between sweetness, and rum. You don't want the potatoes to become overpowered by the rum, but you also don't want them to become too sweet. If I taste too much rum, I add a bit of sugar, and a little more butter. For the number of potatoes I cook, I'm SURE that I use AT LEAST a cup of rum, but I'm adding it bit by bit.

So, at this stage, I stir the potatoes (if they break a bit, I don't care), taste them, and add rum, sugar, butter, and more spices -- depending. I would say that I use more cinnamon than I do nutmeg because nutmeg can become a little bit overpowering. Then, the potatoes get covered again, and go back into the oven for more cooking. I normally lower the heat down to 350 at this point.

Keep checking, and keep tasting; they will probably need another 45 minutes or so of cooking. Once you're satisfied that the potatoes are thoroughly cooked, and you like the balance of rum, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, top them with marshmallows, and just for a minute or so until the marshmallows are beginning to melt.
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As far as adding rum, etc., to your own normal recipe, using only three sweet potatoes, I would say that you ought to begin with NO more than 1/4 cup of rum, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. If you want to add more, once the flavors have had a chance to blend a bit, and you've tasted it, you can always shake a little more in... It sounds from your recipe that you're going for a lighter, more delicate dish than I am, so you might want to begin with smaller amounts because, as I said, you can always add. Yours sounds delicious, by the way, and I would love to have YOUR recipe!

I apologize for the vagueness of my "recipe", but I never make it the same twice! This is because it depends on the size of the potatoes I'm using, and what kind of rum I have on hand (light versus dark), etc. I made this up to begin with, so it was never written down.

If it's any consolation, I can give you much more specific measurements for the Pineapple Casserole! I'll dig it out, and post it a little bit later...

Yum, jojo!!! I'll try your recipe too. It sounds delicious. I don't enjoy cutting sweet potatoes either, but they're still not as bad as acorn or butternut squash...

Okay, here's the Pineapple Casserole recipe, and it's another one that I do differently each time, depending upon whether I want more butter or more pineapple juice. (It's a guilt thing!) Anyway, it's not rocket science, so you don't have to be obsessive about the measurements. This casserole takes about thirty minutes to cook, but may take somewhat longer in a different oven since temperatures do vary. It's somewhat custard-like, warm, and sweet with a bite of pineapple flavor. It's great with ham!

The casserole should be cooked through, but the center might still appear to be a bit soft, even though the casserole is golden brown on top. Don't worry; it will continue to thicken as it cools.

PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt 1-1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)

Drain two 20-oz cans of crushed pineapple or tidbits. Either is fine, and I've used both. Most recently, I've been using the crushed pineapple, but it just depends on how much pineapple texture you want.

(Don't be obsessive about draining it either. If there a little juice left, it adds to the pineapple flavor.)

Combine the drained pineapple with the melted butter, 3 beaten eggs (large or extra large), 1-1/2 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and 4 cups of fresh breadcrumbs. (I have never used purchased breadcrumbs with this because I always whirl my own slices of regular white bread in a processor, but IF you use purchased breadcrumbs, make certain that they are NOT seasoned! If you make your own breadcrumbs, you'll need approximately six slices of plain white bread.)

Mix everything together, and dump it into a medium casserole. (I sometimes use a souffle dish, but I have a favorite casserole that's a little heavier than a souffle dish, but is shaped the same way. In other words, I think that this recipe bakes well in a round, medium-tall casserole rather than in a long, flat one.), and bake it UNCOVERED for about thirty minutes. It may need a little longer than that, but it should appear to be mostly cooked through, and golden brown on the top. As I said above, the center may appear to be soft, but that's okay. It shouldn't be runny/liquidy, but if the rest of the casserole is cooked, and the center is still just a little soft, that's okay... I usually shake my casserole a bit just before I take it out of the oven to see what's happening in the center. Also, if the casserole appears to be thoroughly cooked, but you notice some melted butter on top, that too will be absorbed back into the casserole as it cools.

This all sounds more complicated than it is, but I don't want you to think that there's something wrong if you notice floating butter, or end up overcooking the casserole because the center looks a little more tender than the rest at the very end. If it seems to be totally out of whack, for some reason, then go ahead and cover the top loosely with a little foil, and let it finish cooking that way for a few minutes. That ought to do the trick.

Remember that pineapple is the symbol of hospitality! Enjoy...

-- Edited by Moore ideas at 10:22, 2007-11-26