Funeral Potatoes

24-oz frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened
6-8 green onions, chopped
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

Place potatoes in a big mixing bowl and let partially thaw. In a smaller bowl mix together soup, sour cream, cream cheese and green onions. When potatoes are thawed add cheese, soup mixture and salt and pepper. Stir; pour into a 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle with more cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min.

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.

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.

Apple-Onion Pot Roast and Garlic Potato Wedges

Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2003 Cookbook
This cookbook has several pages featuring 27 different meal plans. I used one of those for the dinner pictured below. I thought these potatoes were the perfect coupling for the roast. Another thing I like about this cookbook is that most of the recipes have pictures to go with.
Apple and Onion Beef Pot Roast

Serves: 8

1 boneless beef sirloin tip steak (2 - 3 pounds)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 large, tart apple

1 large onion

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

1/8 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning and Seasoning Sauce

In a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, brown roast on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt slow cooker. Add water to the skillet, stirring to loosen any browned bits; pour over roast. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Top with apple and onion. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until meat is tender.

Remove roast and onion; let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. Transfer liquid from slow cooker into a saucepan, discarding apple. Bring liquid to a boil; cook until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in browning sauce. Stir into cooking liquid. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over beef and onion.

*Note - Candleman said this was the best pot roast he has ever tasted. Served it to my mother and brother and sister-in-law and they all raved about it, too. Since this recipe doesn't make enough gravy for potatoes, the Garlic Potato Wedges were a perfect side dish.

Garlic Potato Wedges

Serves: 8

4 pounds small red potatoes, cut into wedges

1/3 cup olive oil

16 peeled garlic clove

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

or 2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

4 teaspoons dijon style mustard

3 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup chopped green onions

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of the oil, garlic, rosemary and salt. Pour into 15-in x 10-in x1-in baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 25-30* min or until potatoes are tender, stirring every 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, sugar, pepper and remaining oil until smooth. Pour over the potatoes and toss to coat. Sprinkle with onions.

*Note - I cooked the potatoes for 35 - 40 min. These potatoes are a nice change from boiled, baked or mashed. I will be making these again; along with the roast.