I know it's summer and it's hot. But these are so tasty. If you make a big batch ahead of time, you can keep them in the fridge and just microwave them as needed. They'll keep for up to a week. They make a great side dish for summer cookouts, too. You can heat them on the grill to go with steak or burgers or even hot dogs and chicken. Try them sometime. They even work for a main dish.
Twice-Baked Potatoes
12 potatoes, medium to large work best, scrubbed well. DO NOT PEEL
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. onion powder
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)
Heat oven to 400°. Place potatoes on foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about an hour, until potatoes are done. Let cool for at least 1 hour.
Slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the center, leaving a shell with the peel. Set the shells back on the baking sheet. Put the potato insides into a mixing bowl. Repeat with all potatoes. You should have 24 shells and a mound of baked potato middles when you finish.
Now the fun begins. Add the sour cream, onions, spices, cheese, and bacon to the potato middles. Mash together until it's a creamy mess. (BTW, these make really delicious mashed potatoes if you want to give up and just eat the shells as potato skins, but if you keep going, you won't regret it.) If it's too stiff, stir in a couple tablespoons of milk. You want a thick mashed potato consistency.
Scoop the mashed potato mix into each shell, mounding it slightly. It should fill all the shells nicely. You can stop and refrigerate them at this point. They'll keep for about a week. Just make sure they are tightly covered. Microwave a few at a time as needed for meals, or stick them on the grill until they're hot, or:
Heat oven to 400°. Bake the filled potatoes for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.
Variations:
Use anything you'd use on loaded mashed potatoes:
diced sweet onion (about 1/2 c. will do)
any variety of cheese, don't stop with cheddar, try parmesan with pepperoni
1 t. of paprika with more sprinkled over the top
1 c. cooked, crumbled sausage or hamburger
1 c. cubed ham
1 c. chopped broccoli
OR fill the shells with thick chili and save the mashed potato insides for another day
Dairy free option: Substitute mayonnaise for the sour cream. Or use 1/2 c. canned coconut milk. Use goat cheese or skip the cheese entirely.
Showing posts with label make ahead recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label make ahead recipe. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thursday Recipe - Enchilada Casserole
This is an old standby. Easy, fast, cheap, and the varieties are endless. Make it a casserole in the oven, do it in the crockpot. Spice it up or keep it mild. Load it with cheese or keep it light. Either way, it's tasty, nutritious, and filling.
Enchilada Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c. diced onion
2 12 oz. cans red enchilada sauce
1 16 oz. can sweet corn
1 16 oz. can kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
4 c. grated cheese, cheddar or cheddar jack or whatever you want to use
12 - 15 corn tortillas
Brown beef and onion in a frying pan until beef is cooked and onion is soft. Set aside.
Spray a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour 1/2 c. enchilada sauce in the bottom and spread it around. If you skimp here, the tortillas will stick to the pan. Layer 3 - 4 tortillas in the bottom, ripping them into pieces as needed to make them fit. Sprinkle 1/2 of the beef mixture over the tortillas. Spread half the can of corn and half the beans on top. Add green chilies if you want. Sprinkle with 1 c. of cheese. Pour the rest of the first can of enchilada sauce over the top. Layer another 3 - 4 tortillas over, enough to cover the filling. Repeat layering with the rest of the beef, corn, beans, green chilies, and 1 c. cheese. Pour half of the second can of enchilada sauce over the filling. Cover with the remaining tortillas. Spread the rest of the cheese over the tortillas on top. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes, until bubbly gooey yumminess is achieved.
Makes one 9x13 pan or two 8" pans of enchilada casserole and serves 6-8 people.
Serve with sliced green onions, more cheese, sour cream, guacamole, olives, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and salsa, if desired. Or make those into a green salad to serve on the side for a complete meal.
Variations:
Low-fat, non-dairy - leave out the cheese and use lean ground beef or ground turkey.
Spicy - Use a spicier enchilada sauce or add some chopped jalapenos to the mix. Or substitute 2 c. of hot salsa for one can of enchilada sauce.
Vegetarian - Instead of ground beef, use a mixture of beans, corn, diced zucchini, cooked diced carrots, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, or whatever other vegetables you think will taste good.
Slow-cooker - layer everything in a crockpot, you'll end up with five or six layers instead of two or three. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Add cheese on top at the very end.
Skillet - Use a really big skillet or dutch oven. Cook hamburger and onion in the skillet. Tear tortillas in bite-size pieces. Stir sauce into meat. Add everything else except cheese, stir to mix. Cover and cook over med-low heat until everything is hot through. Sprinkle cheese on top just before serving.
Salad style - Cook beef and onions as directed, add sauce, corns, beans, and chilies. Stir and cook until hot through. Fry or warm tortillas in separate pan. Serve by placing a tortilla on a plate, add one scoop of meat mixture, sprinkle with cheese, add shredded lettuce, green onions, sliced olives, sour cream, guacamole, etc as desired.
This is a great make-ahead and freeze-until-needed recipe. Just assemble the casseroles in heavy foil pans, cover tightly with heavy-duty foil, and freeze for up to three months. To cook, pull out of the freezer, pop in a 350° oven for 60-75 minutes until hot through, remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes to crisp the top.
Enchilada Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c. diced onion
2 12 oz. cans red enchilada sauce
1 16 oz. can sweet corn
1 16 oz. can kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
4 c. grated cheese, cheddar or cheddar jack or whatever you want to use
12 - 15 corn tortillas
Brown beef and onion in a frying pan until beef is cooked and onion is soft. Set aside.
Spray a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour 1/2 c. enchilada sauce in the bottom and spread it around. If you skimp here, the tortillas will stick to the pan. Layer 3 - 4 tortillas in the bottom, ripping them into pieces as needed to make them fit. Sprinkle 1/2 of the beef mixture over the tortillas. Spread half the can of corn and half the beans on top. Add green chilies if you want. Sprinkle with 1 c. of cheese. Pour the rest of the first can of enchilada sauce over the top. Layer another 3 - 4 tortillas over, enough to cover the filling. Repeat layering with the rest of the beef, corn, beans, green chilies, and 1 c. cheese. Pour half of the second can of enchilada sauce over the filling. Cover with the remaining tortillas. Spread the rest of the cheese over the tortillas on top. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes, until bubbly gooey yumminess is achieved.
Makes one 9x13 pan or two 8" pans of enchilada casserole and serves 6-8 people.
Serve with sliced green onions, more cheese, sour cream, guacamole, olives, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and salsa, if desired. Or make those into a green salad to serve on the side for a complete meal.
Variations:
Low-fat, non-dairy - leave out the cheese and use lean ground beef or ground turkey.
Spicy - Use a spicier enchilada sauce or add some chopped jalapenos to the mix. Or substitute 2 c. of hot salsa for one can of enchilada sauce.
Vegetarian - Instead of ground beef, use a mixture of beans, corn, diced zucchini, cooked diced carrots, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, or whatever other vegetables you think will taste good.
Slow-cooker - layer everything in a crockpot, you'll end up with five or six layers instead of two or three. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Add cheese on top at the very end.
Skillet - Use a really big skillet or dutch oven. Cook hamburger and onion in the skillet. Tear tortillas in bite-size pieces. Stir sauce into meat. Add everything else except cheese, stir to mix. Cover and cook over med-low heat until everything is hot through. Sprinkle cheese on top just before serving.
Salad style - Cook beef and onions as directed, add sauce, corns, beans, and chilies. Stir and cook until hot through. Fry or warm tortillas in separate pan. Serve by placing a tortilla on a plate, add one scoop of meat mixture, sprinkle with cheese, add shredded lettuce, green onions, sliced olives, sour cream, guacamole, etc as desired.
This is a great make-ahead and freeze-until-needed recipe. Just assemble the casseroles in heavy foil pans, cover tightly with heavy-duty foil, and freeze for up to three months. To cook, pull out of the freezer, pop in a 350° oven for 60-75 minutes until hot through, remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes to crisp the top.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thursday Recipe - Freezer Cookies
No, these aren't a weird variant of no-bake cookies. These are cookies that used to be really popular but you just don't see them anymore, except in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Pillsbury sort of filled the niche. The homemade version of icebox cookies is so much better.
Mix up a huge batch on a day when you've got lots of energy or help, wrap the logs of dough, and freeze. Then on those lazy days when you just don't want to move, pull a roll out, slice, and bake. Tasty homemade cookies in no time. Here's the basic vanilla recipe, which turns out a lot like sugar cookies, and lots of variations. If I can get moving, I'll make a batch and post some pictures. Except mine tend to look like mutant alien heads. But they still taste nummy.
Freezer Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. salt
3 c. flour
1 t. vanilla
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and salt. Beat until very light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Add flour. Stir just until mixed. Divide dough in half. Color as desired. Shape one half into a roll 2 inches in diameter and about 7 inches long. Wrap tightly in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Freeze at least 4 hours, or up to one month.
Heat oven to 400°. Cut roll into 1/8 inch slices. Bake on lightly sprayed cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes. Cool one minute. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. One roll makes 2-3 dozen cookies.
Variations:
Instead of vanilla, use:
Lemon: stir in 1 t. lemon flavoring. Sprinkle cookies with dry lemon jello just before baking.
Orange or lime: same as above except use orange or lime flavoring. Color dough as desired.
Eggnog: add 1 t. rum flavoring and 1 t. nutmeg to dough. Dip cooled cookies into vanilla glaze.
Almond: add 1 t. almond extract. Sprinkle with chopped almonds if desired.
Peanut butter: use 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. peanut butter. Use 1 c. brown sugar instead of white.
Graham: use whole wheat flour and brown sugar instead of white.
Coconut: add 1/4 c. shredded coconut and 1 t. coconut flavoring. Substitute 1/2 c. brown sugar for the white.
Peppermint: add 1 t. peppermint flavoring, add coloring as desired.
Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate, add sprinkles, coconut, chopped nuts, etc.
Make into sandwich cookies - spread jam or frosting on the bottom side of one cookie. Top with another cookie.
Mix up a huge batch on a day when you've got lots of energy or help, wrap the logs of dough, and freeze. Then on those lazy days when you just don't want to move, pull a roll out, slice, and bake. Tasty homemade cookies in no time. Here's the basic vanilla recipe, which turns out a lot like sugar cookies, and lots of variations. If I can get moving, I'll make a batch and post some pictures. Except mine tend to look like mutant alien heads. But they still taste nummy.
Freezer Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. salt
3 c. flour
1 t. vanilla
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and salt. Beat until very light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Add flour. Stir just until mixed. Divide dough in half. Color as desired. Shape one half into a roll 2 inches in diameter and about 7 inches long. Wrap tightly in waxed paper or plastic wrap. Freeze at least 4 hours, or up to one month.
Heat oven to 400°. Cut roll into 1/8 inch slices. Bake on lightly sprayed cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes. Cool one minute. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. One roll makes 2-3 dozen cookies.
Variations:
Instead of vanilla, use:
Lemon: stir in 1 t. lemon flavoring. Sprinkle cookies with dry lemon jello just before baking.
Orange or lime: same as above except use orange or lime flavoring. Color dough as desired.
Eggnog: add 1 t. rum flavoring and 1 t. nutmeg to dough. Dip cooled cookies into vanilla glaze.
Almond: add 1 t. almond extract. Sprinkle with chopped almonds if desired.
Peanut butter: use 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. peanut butter. Use 1 c. brown sugar instead of white.
Graham: use whole wheat flour and brown sugar instead of white.
Coconut: add 1/4 c. shredded coconut and 1 t. coconut flavoring. Substitute 1/2 c. brown sugar for the white.
Peppermint: add 1 t. peppermint flavoring, add coloring as desired.
Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate, add sprinkles, coconut, chopped nuts, etc.
Make into sandwich cookies - spread jam or frosting on the bottom side of one cookie. Top with another cookie.
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