Funeral Potato Casserole

Another traditional family recipe that needs to be passed on to my daughters. 

I first came across this yummy dish during holiday dinners with B's family as newlyweds. They didn't call it funeral potatoes. I believe it was called Cheese-y Potatoes. 

The name "funeral potatoes" just sort of happened because it was (is) a popular dish to serve at an LDS  funeral reception.

Easter ham, carrots & rolls is what I usually serve when I make funeral potatoes. I've made them for Nanny Family #1 a few times too. C loves them so much, she is making some for her & G's Christmas dinner this year. 

Funeral Potatoes (serves 6, generous portions)

What you need:

• 30-32 oz  diced style hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or 1/2 can of both)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup of onion (make the onion pcs very tiny! Grating the onion works for me)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt & Pepper, to taste (usually about 1/2 tsp each works)
• 1 stick of real butter, melted
• 1 generous cup of crushed corn flakes
• 3 T melted real butter

What you do:

• In a lg bowl, combine soup, sour cream, onion, cheese, melted butter, salt & pepper
• Add in the potatoes & gently stir mixture
• Pour into a 9x13 cake pan (use a foil pan for easy cleanup)
• In a small bowl, combine the corn flake crumbs with 3 T of melted butter
• Sprinkle this over the top of potatoes
• Bake in a preheated oven... 350 degrees, uncovered, for about 50 minutes

Yes, Gracie & Zee Still Live Here!

I happened to notice it has been some time since I blogged about Gracie & Zee! Yes, they are alive & make me happy whenever I'm feeling low. Gracie is 6.5 years old & Zee is a year younger. Gracie is a huge cat compared to Zee though according to the vet, Zee is as overweight as Gracie... 

3.5 lbs to be exact!

So, they both have a prescription food diet for the next 12 weeks. Each cat is allowed 5/8 cup of food per day! I split the dosage in half since they get fed twice a day. 

I've invested in 2 automatic feeding dishes. Each contraption contains 2 separate bowls, one for each cat. I put the measured food into the dishes, close the lids, set the timer & when the timer hits the selected time, the lids pop open allowing the cats to eat their food.

They've been on this diet for a week. They cry, mew, head-bump me & do everything they can think of to let me know they are hungry. 

It breaks my heart to hear them beg! 

Then finally! The lid pops open, they eat every morsel! 

I must be strong, too much weight on indoor, older cats is not a good thing!

They seem to have gotten over their terrible behavior from last year. I know more about displaced fear in cats & have been able to get them through their episodes quickly. Episodes which have all but disappeared THANK GOODNESS!

And that is the latest Gracie & Zee update.

Monkey Bread!

When T was in Kindergarden, her teacher, Mrs. G gave the class her Monkey Bread recipe. It was called Monkey Bread because the recipe is so simple, even a monkey could make this sweet treat! 

I was a young mother, looking for Christmas traditions for my family. B grew up with his mom making cinnamon sweet rolls but I knew anything involving yeast would not be something I could do! 

Imagine how happy I was when, after tasting the completed recipe, I knew this was something not only could I do, but also involve the girls while making it!

It has been our Christmas morning staple ever since 1993! 

This year, B & I will be in VA with Carlotta & her parents. We will have Monkey Bread there. 

C cannot make the trip so she will be making her own & introducing her fiance to the tradition of making it together & letting it bake while stockings are opened up.

Monkey Bread

What you need:

• Tube pan or bundt pan
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (10 ct) ... NO flaky layers! Lg recipe = 4 tubes  Sm recipe = 2 tubes
• 1 cup white granulated sugar (1/2 c for sm recipe)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (1/4 c for sm recipe)
• 1 T cinnamon (1 & 1/2 tsp for sm recipe)
• 1 stick of real, salted butter (1/2 stick for sm recipe)

What you do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Open & separate biscuits
• Cut each biscuit into 4 pcs
• In a lg Ziploc style bag, mix the sugars & cinnamon together
• Put a few biscuit pcs into the bag of sugar & shake to coat
• Keep adding in biscuit pcs until all pcs are coated w sugar mixture
• Spray bundt pan w nonstick cooking spray
• Drop in coated biscuit pcs, along w any remaining sugar mixture
• Melt the butter & drizzle over the top of everything in the bundt pan
• Bake for 40 minutes (only bake 30 minutes for sm recipe)
• Place a lg plate over the bundt pan & turn the whole thing upside down
• Allow a few minutes for the butter to drizzle downwards before removing the pan
• CAREFUL! It is hot!

Enjoy!

Freezer Meals

C is trying to save some $$. Food is cheaper when buying in bulk so she's going to try cooking a bigger meal then freezing half of it for another day. Whenever I could, I tried to do the very same thing at her age but more to save me time rather than $$. 

She's requested a few freezer friendly menu ideas so here goes...

These were some of the meals C grew up eating because they froze well:

• Ham & Broccoli Bake (B requested this one often, mostly on his special days)
• Shepherds Pie
• Stuffed Taco Pasta Shells
• Beef Stew
• Meatloaf Muffins
• Chicken Azteca (note to self: add the cream cheese AFTER reheating but BEFORE serving)
• Pizza Casserole (new pasta recipe we LOVE, should freeze well)

If C is reading this & needs a specific recipe, she knows how to reach me! I do have a few recipe magazines somewhere in the house that have "freezer friendly" recipes in them she may like as well.