Thanksgiving Goodness

I have two easy recipes that are perfect for Thanksgiving dinner to share with you today. They are always a favorite at our family get-togethers. I wanted to share them with y'all and I hope that you might give them a shot. Here goes!

I love mashed potatoes. I think it's just about the best comfort food in the world. It's a carb. It's a starch. It's full of cheese. It's heaven on a fork! Here is my recipe for delicious mashed potatoes.

Amy's Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs of potatoes (I like Yukon gold because of their buttery texture)
Milk
Kraft fat free mayonnaise
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Butter
Salt to taste

Peel, dice and boil your potatoes in salted water. After the potatoes are tender, drain really well. Add them back to the pot.

Now this is the part where you just have to play a little: Add a big splash of milk (I use fat-free), a big handful of cheddar cheese, a big pat of butter or margarine, and the secret ingredient: a big spoonful of fat-free mayonnaise. I use Kraft fat-free with the red lid. If the potatoes are dry, add more milk. Now get busy mashing the potatoes with a potato masher until you get them to your desired consistency.

So simple and easy, but they are Heaven on Earth! And don’t be afraid of the mayonnaise. You can’t taste it at all! My Aunt Frances (may she rest in peace) refused to eat mayo and yet she always ate our mashed potatoes. She never ever knew! The mayo just makes the potatoes really creamy. And in case you are counting calories, just remember that these have cheese and milk and butter in them which are dairy, and that means that they are totally good for you!

And get this, if you are trying to get ready for a big meal, perhaps Thanksgiving, just make the potatoes early in the day, and prepare them a tad bit soupier than normal and put them on low in the crock pot. They will stay hot and it's one less thing you have to worry about, and the potatoes will absorb some of the extra moisture. It couldn't be simpler!

And my second recipe is my Mom's Broccoli Cornbread recipe. It sounds unusual, but I've never found someone that tried this and didn't like it. It's tasty like cornbread, but the broccoli and cheese add an unusual and delicious touch. Here it is:

Broccoli Cornbread
1 box of Jiffy cornmeal mix
1 box of frozen, chopped broccoli (thawed and drained)
1 stick of butter (melted)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients well in a bowl and then add to a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Cook at 300 degrees for an hour. The cornbread should be golden brown when it is ready. Let cool slightly and cut into squares. Delicious!

I hope you enjoy these recipes. Give them a try and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Crock Pot Mexican Fiesta Soup

It's like a Crock Pot extravaganza! So last Sunday afternoon, I went out to Bryan's grandfather's house for lunch. His family does this once a month, but until last Sunday I had been unable (and unwilling) to try to drag both kids out there with me by myself. And I warned my mother-in-law that it probably won't happen again!

But I picked the right Sunday because we had Mexican Fiesta Soup or what I like to call Mexican Chili!

Anyway, it's bubbling away in my crock pot now for dinner tonight and I HAVE to share the super easy recipe:

Crock Pot Mexican Fiesta Soup
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped onion
28 oz. original Rotel

You don't drain any of the canned veggies....and the flavor and heat comes straight from the Rotel. It had just enough heat to be really flavorful and good without being too spicy for Gracie to eat it. She had two bowls! It was so easy I put it together last night and my whole house smells yummy! If you try it, I hope you enjoy it!

Make sure you have some tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and sour cream on hand for the extra goodness!

Crock Pot or Not Chili

As the weather starts getting colder, there is nothing that I like better than a big bowl of chili. It's one of life's perfect comfort foods. It has meat, beans, tomatoes...seriously, what's not to love? I wanted to share my recipe for chili with you today. What I love about this recipe, passed down from my Mom, is that it is perfect for a crock pot, but if you are lacking on time, you can easily just cook it up in a big sauce pan on the stove for 20 minutes or so until it gets heated up. Here goes!

Amy's Crock Pot or Not Chili

2 cans of petite cut diced tomatoes

2 cans of chili beans (slightly drained)

2 cans of kidney beans (drained)

1lb of browned ground beef (with onion if you like)

1 cup (or so) of water

3 heaping tablespoons of chili powder

Garlic salt to taste

Add everything into the crock pot and heat on low for 6-8 hours. If you make it on the stove, the longer you cook it, the better it will taste. As always, soups like chili ALWAYS taste better the second day.

And here's a secret for you: I learned many years ago from a dear family friend, Chae Tartt, to serve chili over white rice. Although it sounds unusual, it really makes the chili stretch farther, and it gives it so much more substance. Chae is no longer with us, but I always think about her whenever I cook chili with rice. Anyone can serve chili with cornbread, Frito's or a grilled cheese sandwich, but you can totally surprise your family with rice. Give it a try. I promise you will love it!

Another secret: Just about everyone knows how delicious shredded cheddar cheese is in chili, but have you ever tried a dollop of low fat sour cream? It's amazing!

Another secret: I know this will sound so strange, but I also love chili with a spoonful of blue cheese dressing. I know that blue cheese is an acquired taste, and heaven knows that I don't understand why everyone doesn't enjoy it, but my oh my, it is delicious in chili!

Now that I'm all secreted out, you need to go make a big pot of chili with rice and cheese and sour cream and blue cheese dressing. You can thank me later! Have a great day!

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Okay so I know Amy has her own taco soup recipe and she might be willing to share it with you, but the night I wanted taco soup I did not have the time or energy to try to locate Amy (i.e., call her on the phone) and find out what it was.

So I had my sister google a recipe instead, and read me the ingredients list as I walked the aisles of the grocery store.

Once I got home with my purchase, I realized that the idea of refried beans in my taco soup just sounded...well, disgusting. So I tossed the idea of taco soup out for dinner that night, and went back to the store the next day to swap out for different ingredients. Here is the recipe I found (and loved!):

Crock pot Chicken Taco Soup
1 onion, chopped
16 oz can of chili beans, undrained
15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
8 oz can tomato sauce (mine was italian seasoned-what I had on hand!)
1 cup chicken broth
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
14.5 oz can Rotel (I used mild)
1 packet of taco seasoning
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used two 6 oz. packs of the already cooked Fajita seasoned Tyson strips!)

I also added in a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix.
And don't forget the shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips!

The recipe said to put all ingredients in the crock pot and then place the chicken on top, cooking for 7-8 hours on low. Then you take the chicken out and dice it, adding it back to the soup. Since I had already cooked chicken strips, I just diced them up with my Pampered Chef chopper and added them at the very beginning.

I still think I cooked my soup for about 6-7 hours, and it was WONDERFUL! Plus the weather the night we had it was rather chilly, so it was just perfect for dinner!

It's Like Lasagna, But All Rolled Up!

I love lasagna and came across this recipe in my Kraft Food and Family magazine. I decided I just had to give it a try. It turned out really good. I'll share the recipe and then share my thoughts on what I would do differently. The recipe and instructions are from the Kraft website.

Cheese-Lover's Pasta Roll-Ups
1 egg, beaten
1 container (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese
2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Italian Three Cheese Blend
4 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce, divided
16 lasagna noodles, cooked
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat oven to 375ºF. Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 Tbsp. cheese mixture; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, in dish. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan; cover. Bake 40 to 50 min. or until heated through, uncovering the last 10 min

Make Ahead
Assemble recipe as directed; cover with heavy-duty foil. Refrigerate up to 24 hours, then bake, covered, 1 hour 5 min. or until heated through, uncovering the last 10 min. Or, freeze up to 1 month. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, 1 hour 5 min. or until heated through, uncovering the last 10 min.

One Effort, Two Meals! Assemble roll-ups as directed; place half in each of 2 (9-inch) square baking dishes. Bake one as directed and keep the other for later. Cover with heavy-duty foil. Freeze up to 1 month. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, 1 hour 5 min. or until heated through, uncovering the last 10 min.

Amy's Thoughts:

• When boiling lasagna noodles, do your best to not stick your hand into a pot of boiling water, not once, but twice.
  
  
• On second thought, just drain most of the water out of the pot when the noodles are finished cooking so you don't stick your hand into a pot of boiling water.
  

• Although this is a delicious meatless meal, I imagine it would also be very good if you wanted to add some ground beef into the cheese mixture.
  
  
• I substituted the lower fat skim version of ricotta cheese and it tasted just fine.

• I used the chunky garden variety of spaghetti sauce and liked that it gave some extra veggies and a lot of extra taste!
  
  
• My roll-ups weren't quite as pretty as those pictured above, mostly because of the second degree burns on my hands that I was trying to deal with, but they were just as tasty!
  
  

I served the pasta roll-ups with some English peas and we have enough left over for tonight. I'll definitely be making this again soon! Try it out and let me know what you think. Have a great day!

**Updated** These reheated really well, and Jeremy and I both think they tasted better the second time around. Just FYI!