Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Serves: 8

6 larges potatoes, peeled and cut

1/2 cup diced leeks

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

2 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1 quart half and half

1/3 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pepper

Fried and crisp bacon, diced

In a large pot, combine potatoes, leeks, garlic, salt and water. Bring to a boil; lower to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender. Do Not drain. In another pan, melt butter; then add flour. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes; slowly add the half & half. Continue cooking and stir constantly until thickened. Add sour cream and pepper. Pour white sauce into the pot with the cooked potatoes and water.

*My two daughter's who gave me the Making Memories-Dairy Keen Cookbook for Christmas bought it for this recipe. So with all my daughter's home this weekend I made this recipe for them. I thought it was delicious. One said it wasn't as good as Chili's and another said it wasn't as good as Bennigan's. So if you want really terrific potato soup, you know where to get it. If you want to make some at home I would highly recommend this recipe. Candleman and I loved it.

Cream Potatoes and Peas

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

Serves: 8

2 pounds small, red potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups half and half

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup frozen peas

Peel and cube the potatoes. Cook potatoes in small amount of water until tender. Drain. In another saucepan, melt butter; add flour. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes. Stirring constantly, slowly add milk and cream. Cook until thickened. Add seasoning, potatoes and peas.

*Note - I didn't peel the potatoes because I like the flavor of the peels. My mother used to make these every summer with new potatoes freshly dug out of the ground and fresh peas, so this recipe is not new to me. I saw it in my Making Memories Dairy Keen cookbook and decided to fix them for dinner. They were delicious but not quite as good as Mom's. This recipe was from a friend of the Dairy Keen owner's.

Dairy Keen's Fried Chicken

Dairy Keen's* Fried Chicken

Serves: 6

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 pint buttermilk

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon tabasco sauce

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and trim chicken. In a large zip-lock bag, add buttermilk, salt and tabasco sauce. Add Chicken. "Mush" bag so that all the chicken has some buttermilk on it. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 6 hours. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper paprika, seasoning salt, garlic powder and baking powder. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, one piece at a time; place in flour mixture. Coat both sides of chicken. In a large, very heavy pan, bring oil to 350 degrees. Drop chicken gently into oil. Do not crowd chicken in pan. Fry until browned; then bake 15 minutes longer in oven.

*Dairy Keen is a local "burger joint" that has a model train that travels overhead through hand painted murals of the beautiful Heber Valley. Kids love it! A few years ago they rebuilt the whole structure to look like a train depot. It's very charming, plus the food is good. I especially love their fresh raspberry shakes - they are to die for.

*My personal note about the chicken. This is the recipe served at Dairy Keen. I didn't get a picture because the original recipe said to put the chicken in a bag with the flour. I did that and it mushed together and didn't stick very well to the chicken. The chicken was so delicious that I am going try again, but this time I'm going to put the flour in a pan and dip each piece individually. The chicken was very moist and had a nice flavor.

Gingered Squash Saute

Gingered Squash Saute
from Taste of Home's Light and Tasty Annual Recipes 2003

Serves: 9

1 pound yellow summer squash, sliced

1/2 pound small zucchini, sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 medium green pepper, julienned

4 teaspoons butter

3 mediums tomatoes, quartered

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

In a skillet saute squash, zucchini, onion and green pepper in butter for 1 min. Cover and cook over medium heat for until tender. Add tomatoes, salt and ginger. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes.

*Note - My family loves squash. This was a particularly delicious way to satisfy our squash craving. I was hesitant about the onion and the tomatoes, but shouldn't have been. The onion added wonderful flavor and the store-bought tomatoes tasted fresh. Did that few minutes of cooking make them zing like a home-grown wonder? I did leave out the green pepper, only because the part of one I had in the fridge was no longer useable.