Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

I made this recipe up one year when I was making Thanksgiving dinner and needed to get as many things out of the way the day before.  The beauty of this casserole is you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge then bake it the day you want it.

These potatoes are a cross between mashed potatoes and loaded baked potato.  I have already cooked my potatoes for this discussion.

Peel and dice several potatoes.  The number of potatoes you need depend on how many people you are feeding.  Add salt, pepper and I added some parsley to the pot when you boil the potatoes.  I usually cook them for about 15 minutes after they start boiling.  Little tip here, if you put a wooden spoon across your pot it will keep it from boiling over.

Drain the liquid off the potatoes.  I set the pot back on the stove for a minute and you can hear the water sizzle a little as it evaporates off.  Then add some salt and pepper before you get started and it will work it's way through the casserole.

I also put a little bit more parsley to the mix too.  You could add chives if you like too.

I cooked some bacon in the microwave to be crumbled in the potatoes.

I started with a half stick of butter.

I added about 3/4 cup milk.  It is easier to add more than have to take away if you put too much in.

I mixed with a mixer this time.  Usually I just use the potato masher but I wanted nice smooth potatoes for Thanksgiving.

Then I added about a heaping 1/3 cup of sour cream.

I tasted the potatoes and thought another 1/4 stick of butter needed to be added.

And another 1/3 c of milk.

The bacon is cooked.  Let it cool and it will chop better.

Add the chopped bacon.

This is eyeballed but about 1 cup of cheese.

Mix it well.

Put in a sprayed casserole dish. Cover and when cool put in the fridge,

This is as good as licking the bowl for a cake.

I put them in the oven to get warm on Thanksgiving covered.  I baked them at 350 for about 20-25 mintues.  Then I added the cheese on top and put back in under the broiler.

Leave long enough for the cheese to melt and get nice and golden brown.

Creamy Beef and Noodle Bake

Yesterday I had ground beef laid out for dinner and had one thing in mind to make for dinner, but after I made cookies I didn't feel like making my original recipe.  So I go to Pinterest and look at my folder for beef and found this quick and easy Kraft recipe.

Beef, noodles, cream of mushroom soup, veggies and cheese.  Can't go wrong with that.  Just this morning I had combined my odds and ends of frozen veggies into one bag so they are not entirely the mixed vegetables you might get in one bag.

Start out by cooking some onions in a little olive oil.

While they are cooking, mix one can of cream of mushroom soup...

One cup milk...

And one cup water.

Whisk it together.  The mixture will be a little runny.

Now add some ground beef to the onions and brown.  Drain the grease off when completely browned.

While the beef is browning, cook your noodles.  I didn't cook them all the way because they will finish cooking in the casserole.

Drain the noodles and then transfer to a 9x13 dish that has been sprayed with non stick spray.

Spread them out and cover the bottom.

Then add the drained ground beef on top of the noodles.

Sprinkle the veggies on top.

Then pour the soup mixture on top.

Now add cheese on top.

Cover and place in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes.

Remove the cover and continue cooking for another 10 or 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.

The finished casserole.

Dinner. Nothing else is needed.

Creamy Beef and Noodle Bake Recipe

1 lb lean ground beef (I used more)
1 onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves crushed
3 cups egg noodles before cooking
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c milk
1 c water
1 1/2 c shredded cheese

Part 2: Cookie Icing

I know I said I would post this tomorrow but decided to go ahead and do it today with the cookies.  Rule 1 of icing cookies is to make sure they are completely cool before you start.  Usually I will wait until the next day to ice them but I only had a few this time. There are hundreds of recipes out there for icing cookies.  I tried this one mainly because it only made a little bit of icing.

This one did not call for meringue powder or egg white.

Sift one cup of powdered sugar.  You want to make sure there are no lumps in the icing.

The sifted powdered sugar.

I decided I better get the piping bag before I finish the icing.  Insert the plastic do hicky.

Cut the plastic bag end off and add the metal tip.

Then add the plastic ring and tighten.

It's easier to fill if you put it in a glass.

Back to the icing.  1Tablespoon light corn syrup.

1 Tablespoon milk.  You can add a little more milk if it is too thick.

Add a drop or two of lemon juice.

Now mix it all together.

Completely mixed.

I decided to add some color.  I had some burgundy color.  Hard to get Crimson.

Red tends to have a little pinkish tent to it.

Pour it in the piping bag.  I added a little bit of milk to it and it ended up being thinner than I would like.  Shouldn't have added the milk.

These are the cookies to be iced.

I was going to write on the cookies but because it was thinner than I had hoped they got iced instead.  I found some white shiny sugar so we have the crystal championship footballs.

My Championship cookies.  These are for you Stanford for beating Oregon.  Baylor you would have gotten some had you coach not talked bad about the SEC.  Roll Tide.

Cookie Icing Recipe

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

1 drop lemon juice