Au Gratin Potatoes

I realize that there are a million versions of this recipe and, if you grew up with them like I did, I am sure you believe that the version you are familiar with is the best. Well, I'm going to tell you that this is the TRUE best. I absolutely love these potatoes. So much so that I will eat them cold, right out of the pan, the next day. I have never made them by myself before and so this was a great adventure for me. They turned out wonderfully and I am excited to make them again. The picture is courtesy of Kraft Foods.

AU GRATIN POTATOES


5 - 6 good sized potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Chives and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes, washed and cut in half. Cook just until potatoes are getting soft. Using a cheese grater, grate the potatoes like you are shredding a block of cheese. (This is easily accomplished if you are wearing an oven mitt on your grating hand. The potatoes should be soft enough that the potato peel will pull away during grating and can be discarded.)

Place shredded potatoes in a bowl. Mix together all ingredients other ingredients with the potatoes and place in a greased 13x9 pan. Top with extra cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes.

Slow Cooker Golden Chicken and Noodles

Tuesdays are our long days around here. Jake and I both work and then I have mutual until 8:30 pm (sometimes later) and Jake has school until 8:15 pm. When we get home we definitely don't want to be worrying about making dinner. This month I have been making things in the crockpot so that we can just dish up and enjoy when we walk in the door. This great recipe from Campbell's Kitchen didn't disappoint. I was pretty wary about the ingredient list because 1/4 cup of lemon juice seemed like WAY too much to me but we loved the flavor. There are quite a bit of carrots in this recipe so if you aren't a big carrot fan I would cut back the number - but they are delicious and a great compliment to the chicken. The picture and recipe are courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen and can be found here.

SLOW COOKER GOLDEN CHICKEN WITH NOODLES

From Campbell’s Kitchen

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
8 large carrots, thickly sliced (about 6 cups)
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
4 cups egg noodles, cooked and drained
Chopped fresh parsley

1. Stir the soup, water, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder and carrots in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with the noodles. Sprinkle with the parsley.

Time-Saving: This recipe may also be cooked on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

I love coming across recipes that are quick and easy to put together and very tasty. I love Chicken Enchilada Soup and this one didn't disappoint. I think the entire soup came together in about 15-20 minutes and doesn't call for any ingredients that I didn't already have on hand except for the enchilada sauce. I will definitely be making this one again. The recipe below is my altered recipe. The picture and original recipe are courtesy of Bettycrocker.com and can be found here.

CHEESY CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
From Bettycrocker.com

2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup with 30% less sodium
1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso® enchilada sauce
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
2 cups chicken, cooked and cut into small pieces
Taco seasoning
2 cups frozen corn
Crushed tortilla chips

1. In 3-quart saucepan, mix chicken soup, enchilada sauce, milk, and cheese.
2. In a skillet cook chicken pieces and season as desired with taco seasoning. (We also used a little bit of chipotle seasoning.)
3. Add cooked chicken and frozen corn to soup mixture.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted. Top individual servings with tortilla chips.

Fresh Berry Gratin

This is a recipe that I found over at Mindika Moments. It looked so simple to put together and delicious that I had to try it. My dad's birthday was a few days ago and since I am always asked to bring the desserts I thought this was a perfect opportunity to try it out! It was fabulous! Definitely one of my favorite desserts and I usually don't like chunks of fruit in things. This was the perfect combination of flavors with the sour cream and the cream cheese and the tartness of the berries. I used all four of the berries and although I bought the strawberries fresh because they looked so beautiful, I bought the other three (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) frozen. To avoid the mushy taste that normally comes from frozen fruits, I put them in a strainer in the sink and let them thaw out naturally for several hours. NO rinsing. They turned out just perfect and saved me a pretty penny. The photo is courtesy of Mindika Moments and can be found here at her wonderful site!

FRESH BERRY GRATIN
(Recipe from Emily Nuttall, friend of Mindika)

48 oz. mixed fresh (or frozen) berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries or blueberries)
16 oz. cream cheese
2 C. sour cream (you MUST measure this out - a 16 oz. container is only about 1 1/2 cups)
½ C. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. brown sugar

1. Wash berries. Slice or cut to desired size.
2. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, or divide into individual ramekins.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until well combined.
4. Top the berries with the cream cheese mixture.
5. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the cream cheese mixture.
6. Place under a broiler for 4-6 minutes or until the brown sugar starts to caramelize. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.
7. Serve immediately.