Freezer Cooking with Slow Cooker Recipes

I ran across the blog Mama and Baby Love where a post about Freezer Cooking with Slow Cooker Recipes was shared. Awesome! I have my shopping list ready to give this a try! =)

I recommend her blog! Check it out! =)

Favorite Thanksgiving Traditions & Recipes

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, I thought it would be fun if we shared our Traditions & Recipes for the day.

I'll start =)

We are blessed to live nearby my inlaws and they host Thanksgiving giving us the opportunity to spend time with the members of our BIG family. My husband has 4 sisters, so between all of us and the many daughters, nieces... we have a great meal. Of course we always have the traditional foods of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, bread/rolls, pies, but many other delicious foods show up as well to round out the meal.

I usually volunteer to make a number of things and one of them is often homemade bread or rolls. Here is my go-to recipe for Homemade Bread from a previous blog post http://inkelleyskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/bread-baking-binge.html

What is your favorite Thanksgiving Recipe?

Party Potatoes / Hashbrown Casserole (Recipe)

With the Holidays coming up, I thought I would pull out this tried and true recipe to share again.

Cooking for a Crowd-Potatoes for a Party
(This is my version of Party Potatoes/Hashbrown Casserole. I make it often when entertaining or cooking for a crowd. My family "has to have it" at Holiday Dinners! Enjoy!)

Party Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 - 32 oz. bags frozen hash browns (cubes)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
16 oz. sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celerycream of chicken)
Salt & pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried parsley
Topping:
2 c. frosted flakes
4 T. butter, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, onions, sour cream, soup, salt, pepper, basil & parsley. Stir in shredded cheese and then mix with potatoes. Pour into 1/2 size aluminum deep foil pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle frosted flakes evenly over potatoes flakes and drizzled melted butter over top. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes.

For my daughter's wedding reception, I made batches of these ahead a few at a time (a total of 8 pans) as time permitted, covered well with heavy duty foil, and froze them (uncooked) until the day before the party. I thawed them in our spare refrigerator and then baked them on party day. 2 of these half pans fit in my roaster side by side for serving - I kept extra pans warm in the oven to refill serving area as needed. This recipe may also be made in 2 - 9 x 11 pans for use where you're not using a roaster or warming pan.

Back from hiatus!

After my hiatus from my blog, I am so excited to get back at it.

The early snowstorm on the east coast made me start thinking:
The power's out? How will you come up with meals for your family?
How have you prepared for events such as bad weather, power outages, etc?

Do you keep things in your pantry to cook and bake if you can't get out due to the weather?

Here's a recipe to make for your family and/or guests. It's made with things I try to keep on hand.

Fruit Crunch
Combine 3 cups frozen blueberries or raspberries and 1/4 cup water in a square baking pan.
Combine the following and sprinkle over the berries:
3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)
1/3 c. melted butter
Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Your Ideas/Suggestions for Customer Appreciation Day!

It's that time of year again when I am planning my menu for our Customer Appreciation Day. I would love for you to share your suggestions and/or tried and true recipes for a crowd. I am always looking for some new inspiration when I am planning to cook for 150-200 people! Thanks in advance for your ideas and suggestions to add to my repertoire! =)

Dinner Tonight

Dinner tonight will be Minestrone Soup with Pasta Beans & Vegetables by Robin Miller, which I found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/minestrone-soup-with-pasta-beans-and-vegetables-recipe/index.html. I had most all the ingredients at home already and just ran out over my lunch hour and picked up a few things for it along with some ingredients for recipes for the rest of the week. I'll be serving the soup with loaf of homemade bread I made yesterday.

Meal Planning

I love to cook & I admit that I am a Food Network Junkie! In addition to that, I collect cookbooks and am always on the look-out for new recipes! So, you might be wondering..so?...what's wrong with that? Well, I am a good cook (or so I am told), but I am lacking in the "Meal Planning" department and when I don't plan well, I end up spending and wasting more. Anyone in this situation too? With the new year, I am going to try to combine my interest in trying new recipes & love of cooking with some real meal planning. I am going to select recipes each week to build my meal plan and shopping list around. Now, I don't plan on cooking 7 dinners a week since it's just my hubby and I at home most evenings now. We usually have leftovers from whatever I make and thank goodness he likes them. I'm going to start by planning 3-4 meals a week, allowing for a couple of evenings out and making planned use of leftovers and/or freezing meals. Flexibility is the key here. On the weekends, we may have our family or friends in or we may take food to a friend's house for an evening of euchre. After I prepare a new recipe, I'll try to post our "review" of it!