Mashed potatoes are a classic. They’re very easy to make. These are a basic, nothing fancy version. It’s really more of a method than a recipe. [Read more…] about Mashed Potatoes
Vegetable
Parmesan Zucchini and Summer Squash in the Microwave
Summer squash and zucchini are abundant in gardens right now. They can be turned into a quick side dish for dinner by using the microwave. It only takes 10 to 15 minutes, start to finish.
[Read more…] about Parmesan Zucchini and Summer Squash in the Microwave
Roasted Potatoes
A simple side dish to add to dinner. This is more of a method than a recipe. Clean and chop the potatoes. Toss with olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake them at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or so, depending on how big you cut the potatoes.
You can use red potatoes, yukon golds or any other kind. Peel them or leave the peels on. Chop them bite size or cut them in wedges or sticks. Toss them with ground red pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley, rosemary, tarrogon, garlic…anything that catches your imagination and will complement the rest of the meal.
Hashbrown Casserole with a Crockpot Trick
Ham or smoked sausage is perfect with cheesy hash brown casserole. The problem is that if you place the ham in the slow cooker with the casserole, the flavor will overpower everything else.
This little trick of using a foil packet for the meat, and placing it on top of the potatoes works great! One pot dinner, that keeps the flavors separate.
This hashbrown casserole can be baked in an oven or done in the crockpot. It can even be frozen and baked another day.
Gather up your ingredients:
Hashbrown Casserole with a Crockpot Trick
Ingredients
- 1 bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- onion chopped fine (about 1/2 a small onion)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or a bit more if you like
- 1-2 lbs. ham or smoked sausage wrapped in foil
Instructions
- Stir all the ingredients together.
- Place ham or sausage in foil on top of potatoes, if you are making meat.
- Bake in an oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Or cook in the slow cooker 5-6 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.
I know that looks pretty messy. I just mixed the ingredients right in the crockpot. I wanted to have this with ham, but didn’t want the smoky taste to go through the potatoes too much so I used a trick I learned on Crockpot 365. I made a foil packet with the ham in it and placed it on top of the potatoes. Both foods cooked perfectly and the flavors didn’t mingle during the cooking.