Tag: potato

Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups

Apple Cheddar Bacon Soup with Cheesy Croutons

Sarah

Cheesy soup gets dressed up with sweet apples, salty bacon, and ooey gooey cheesy croutons!

Cheesy soup gets dressed up with sweet apples, salty bacon, and ooey gooey cheesy croutons!

At first glance, this is an unlikely soup. Apples, cheddar, and bacon? “Pass!” you might be thinking. But hold up just a minute… cheddar and bacon is a classic combo, right? And you’ve heard of the whole cheddar cheese with apple pie thing, right? And applewood smoked bacon is totally a thing. So let’s put it all together–apples, cheddar, bacon. Not so unlikely after all! (And pssttt… I made a fabulous Maple Apple Pie Crisp with Cheddar Crust and Bacon Crumb Topping a couple years back!) And if you need further convincing, just think of it this way: this soup has the sweet and salty thing down pat.

Cheesy soup gets dressed up with sweet apples, salty bacon, and ooey gooey cheesy croutons!

And it’s utterly delicious. Next time you’re in the mood for an interesting new soup recipe, check out this one! I’m sure you’ll love it. 🙂

one year ago: Spicy Ranch Chicken Rice Skillet
two years ago: Chocolate Coffee Bundt Cake
three years ago: Strawberry Yogurt
four years ago: Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad
five years ago: Extraordinary Grilled Cheese
six years ago: Best Egg Salad

Apple Cheddar Bacon Soup with Cheesy Croutons

  • Servings: 4
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from What Megan’s Making

Ingredients:

  • 3 slices bacon
  • 1 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 cups apples, peeled and chopped (about 2 medium)
  • 1 large potato, peeled and diced
  • 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups no-sugar-added apple juice
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 slices sourdough or rye bread, toasted
  • 1 teaspoon whole grain dijon mustard

Directions:

Cook bacon in a large stockpot set over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towel to drain. Meanwhile, remove most of grease from pot, leaving about 2 tablespoons.

When bacon is cool, chop into small pieces and set aside.

Combine the onion, apples, and potato in the stockpot and saute over medium high heat until onion and apples are soft, about 8-10 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and apple juice, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potato is soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and season with pepper, then stir in almost all the cheese, reserving 3 tablespoons. When cheese is melted, use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Spread the toasted bread with dijon and evenly divide reserved cheese between slices. Broil–watching carefully!–until cheese is bubbly and melted. Remove from oven, cool for a couple minutes, then slice into bite-sized squares. Serve soup with bacon, cheese croutons, and lots of black pepper. Enjoy!

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Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads

Awesome Kale Salad

Sarah

This kale salad is truly awesome. I mean, adding fried eggs and fried potatoes to kale makes it awesome, even if it sounds a little weird at first. You need to try this!

This kale salad is truly awesome. I mean, adding fried eggs and fried potatoes to kale makes it awesome, even if it sounds a little weird at first. You need to try this!

I’ve been making this kale salad pretty much non-stop since last July. Well, non-stop if you count the break from September to March. See, I found out in September that I was pregnant with Baby Volde and so I decided to nix fried eggs until the baby was born. I didn’t obsess over dietary stuff during pregnancy but uncooked eggs [not in cookie dough, mind you] kinda freak me out. But they’re delicious so I push through it for the joy, haha. And when springtime started coming and mama needed a good salad, I decided to live on the wild side and hope fried eggs didn’t make me sick. They didn’t, whew! But I’m not a doctor so if you’re pregnant or otherwise immunocompromised, proceed at your own risk. #disclosureover

Anyway, I love this salad for three reasons: 1) kale; 2) eggs; 3) potatoes. And also for two more: healthy and fried. Total opposites, I know… but kale is healthy… so are eggs and potatoes too. But they’re a little more unhealthy if you fry them… but the kale part takes away the guilt! That, and the potatoes are just pan-fried so that is mucho better than deep frying, right? Soooo, this salad is the BEST combination of healthy and fried, guilt free and delicious. Does that make sense to you? It makes sense in my head so I hope so!

This kale salad is truly awesome. I mean, adding fried eggs and fried potatoes to kale makes it awesome, even if it sounds a little weird at first. You need to try this!

You have to experience this salad to understand its greatness. At first Ben was skeptical. I mean, fried eggs on a salad? Bizarre. And, the runny egg part of the fried egg serves as the salad dressing. Another notch on the weird scale, but it works. Plus, the egg gives a little more staying power to the salad. Usually I have to have meat on a salad to make it filling, but not here. Though you could add bacon for some extra deliciousness. 🙂 Anyway you make it, you’re sure to love it!

Oh and before I go, I have to mention my silverware. Isn’t it so cool? I received a fork and spoon handstamped from Tattooed Silver, a great small business located in Ohio. Tattooed Silver is the business of a fellow Wittenberg University alum, and I’m excited that we started a lil partnership. You can find them on Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy. Her products are all so unique and fun, and would make great gifts too. 🙂

Enjoy!

one year ago: Cheesy Veggie Pasta
two years ago: Chocolate Cream Filled Cupcakes
three years ago: Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
four years ago: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
five years ago: Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken
six years ago: Potato Soup

Awesome Kale Salad

  • Servings: 4
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Inspired by the best parts of these salads from Jenna’s Everything Blog and We Are Not Martha, with my own additions too 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch kale
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon honey, if desired
  • 1 teaspoon whole grain dijon mustard, if desired
  • 4 medium potatoes – 1 per person
  • chili powder
  • dried oregano
  • garlic powder
  • 8 eggs – 2 per person
  • optional additions: diced avocado, crumbled feta, chopped bacon, etc.

Directions:

Wash and dry kale, then cut into thin strips taking care to remove the middle stems. Place in a large bowl and massage with several glugs of olive oil and the lemon juice until kale softens, then season with salt and pepper. If desired, drizzle honey and dijon mustard on top and toss/massage that in as well.

Meanwhile, dice potatoes into bite size pieces [1 per person]. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add some olive oil to the pan. When hot, reduce heat to medium and add potatoes. Season with a little salt, a lot of pepper, and some chili powder, garlic powder, and oregano. Saute, stirring frequently, for about 10-12 minutes until potatoes are crispy and cooked through.

When potatoes are finished, remove to another dish and cover with foil to retain heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and fry eggs as desired [2 per person].

Serve kale in a big bowl or plate. Top with potatoes and fried eggs, along with other desired additions. Enjoy!

Breakfast, Egg Dishes, Recipes

Bacon, Potato, and Egg Casserole

Sarah

This hearty egg breakfast casserole is full of bacon, hashbrown potatoes, red bell peppers [my fave!], and cheese. It’s sure to please!

Bacon, Potato, and Egg Casserole - a delicious, hearty breakfast that is sure to please!

Weekends call for a delicious breakfast, do they not? While I’m a pancake-girl through and through, sometimes I don’t want to stand at the stove flipping pancakes for 30 minutes. Okay, it’s not always 30 minutes but sometimes it sure feels like it, especially when your family or friends are eating pancake after pancake while all you’ve had are the scraps. Haha, you laugh, but it’s true! 🙂 So what do you do to avoid that situation? Make a casserole, of course!

Bacon, Potato, and Egg Casserole - a delicious, hearty breakfast that is sure to please!

This breakfast casserole was part of my recent foray into eating up the food in my kitchen freezer so that I could move things out of the garage freezer in preparation for my freezer-cooking-before-baby extravaganza. Thank you, leftover half-pound of bacon! Thank YOU, half-bag of shredded hashbrowns! I know the bacon was recent, but those hashbrowns? Who knows! The freezer can be a sc-sc-sc-scaryyyy place. But the good news is, this casserole isn’t anything scary at all! It has all your favorite breakfast components packaged into one tasty treat. Since Ben and I can’t eat an entire pan of this goodness in one go, we parceled it out for breakfast all week long, making mornings a little easier. 🙂 I know this will become part of our regular rotation because it was mighty delicious and has endless substitution possibilities. Enjoy, and happy weekend!

one year ago: Curried Chicken Salad
two years ago: Coconut Curry Popcorn
three years ago: Dark Chocolate Crumb Bars
four years ago: Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing
five years ago: Chicken Pot Pie

Bacon, Potato, and Egg Casserole

  • Servings: 12
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from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound bacon
  • 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 12 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill [or 1/2 teaspoon dried]
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil [or 1 teaspoon dried]
  • 16 ounces frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook bacon on a skillet until crisp, then set aside on paper towels to cool. When cooled, chop into bite size pieces. Drain off most of the grease from the skillet, reserving about 2 tablespoons.

Add bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and cook until just beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk, pepper, dill, and basil. Add cooled bacon and peppers, stirring gently to combine. Fold in hash browns and cheese.

Pour into prepared pan, then bake for about 40-45 minutes or until set in the middle. Enjoy!

Casserole reheats well throughout the week, and individual servings freeze well too.

 

Potatoes, Recipes, Sides

Mashed Potato Casserole

Sarah

A cheesy, creamy, baked mashed potato casserole that’s perfect for ANY holiday or just a special meal with family and friends. 🙂

A cheesy, creamy baked mashed potato casserole... perfect for every special meal!

Sometimes it’s the simplest recipes that are the best, aren’t they? My family has long tried to find the best cheesy potato recipe because everyone loves them. My sister is pretty much the biggest cheesy potato fan I know, and my husband is pretty much the biggest mashed potato fan I know, so this is a dish to please them both!

A cheesy, creamy baked mashed potato casserole... perfect for every special meal!

Regular ‘ole mashed potatoes aren’t my favorite Thanksgiving side dish of all time, but add in a bunch of cheddar and parmesan, and you make this girl veryyy happy! All that cheese + some sour cream or greek yogurt jazz up plain mashed potatoes, but it’s the baking of them that take this dish over the edge! I don’t know what it is about baking dishes but that just adds an extra layer of deliciousness to the final product… especially when there’s cheese involved. Think about stovetop mac & cheese vs. baked mac & cheese. I’m right, aren’t I? There’s just no competition! Baked wins every single day. 🙂

A cheesy, creamy baked mashed potato casserole... perfect for every special meal!

I’ll admit that some may take issues with this dish because it’s not traditional enough… and there isn’t even any butter in it [gasp!]. But all the cheese and sour cream sure makes up for it. One of the best parts about this creamy ‘n cheesy side dish is that you can make it ahead AND it reheats beautifully in the microwave. Regular mashed potatoes can get kinda weird after the microwave but these absolutely do not! Have I convinced you to make them yet?!? I sure hope so, because they’re pretty much the tastiest version of mashed potatoes I’ve ever enjoyed and I bet you will too!

one year ago: Pumpkin Pie Peanut Butter Cups
two years ago: Chipotle-Cilantro Mashed Potatoes
three years ago: Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese
four years ago: Crockpot Saucy Italian Chicken
five years ago: Layered Taco Dip

Mashed Potato Casserole

  • Servings: 8
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from The Kitchn

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 8 ounces sour cream or plain yogurt [regular or greek]
  • 1/2 cup half and half or milk
  • 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 large shallots, minced – about 1/2 cup
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place potatoes in a large stock pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, when a fork easily pierces through. Drain and return potatoes to pot.

Off heat, add sour cream and half and half to potatoes, then stir to combine. Use a potato masher to smash until desired texture is achieved. Stir in cheddar, shallots, and pepper. [If desired, shallots could be sauteed in butter or olive oil for a few minutes to soften.]

Transfer potatoes to a medium baking dish – a 10 inch round, 8×8 square, or the like, at least 2.5 quarts. Bake for 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with Parmesan and extra freshly ground black pepper, and broil for about 2 minutes until golden brown.

Notes:

Dish can be prepared up until the baking step up to 24 hours in advance. Let dish come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking.

If desired, shallots could be sauteed in butter or olive oil for a few minutes to soften before adding to the potatoes. The flavor was fine when raw, but even though they were minced small, we found them a little crunchy, especially the ones that were left on the top of the dish.

 

Potato Rosemary Knots | thepajamachef.com #TripleSBites
Breads, Recipes

#TripleSBites: Potato Rosemary Knots

Sarah

These soft and doughy Potato Rosemary Knots have a fancy shape and are full of lots of fresh herb flavor! They’re a great compliment to any dinner.

Potato Rosemary Knots | thepajamachef.com #TripleSBites

Making fresh bread and rolls is something that I absolutely love to do. I love the process of kneading the dough and seeing it come together from a mess of flour and liquid and salt and yeast into something wonderful. Though I use my stand mixer to knead the dough more often than not, I still like seeing the magic happen. Of course, another perk of the bread making process is the eating process. 🙂 Can’t deny that! Having fresh bread to serve with dinner elevates the meal to the next level. Whenever I walk through the bakery at the grocery store, I’m always tempted to pick up a loaf of bakery bread or a package of rolls. They just look SO good, you know? And it’d be so easy. But then I remember that roll recipes like this one can be made in a matter of minutes as I’m making other components of dinner, and enjoyed for pennies on the dollar instead of dollars on the dollar like at the bakery. Baguettes and croissants are my exception to this rule though, but I’d love to try to make them both!

Potato Rosemary Knots | thepajamachef.com #TripleSBites

Before making these Potato Rosemary Knots on a recent lazy, home-from-work-early Friday afternoon, I had never baked with potato flakes, flour, or mashed potatoes. I’ve seen so many potato bread recipes, and have enjoyed many a slice before, but never had made it myself. In fact, when I was shopping for these potato flakes I ended up asking one of the Publix employees where the instant potatoes were in the store because I just could not find them! I don’t think I’ve ever bought them before. But I loved seeing how the potato flakes folded easily into the dough, giving it a hearty, nutty appearance and baking into something soft and wonderful. 🙂 For this recipe, I used the requisite dried rosemary but had it been summer, would have used fresh rosemary. I amped up the flavor with a bit of Gourmet Garden’s Italian herbs though! Gourmet Gardens is one of our sponsors for #TripleSBites so it was only appropriate, and it tasted SO good with the rosemary and the extra herbs. Mmm!

Potato Rosemary Knots | thepajamachef.com #TripleSBites

one year ago: Lindsay’s Chicken Noodle Soup
two years ago: 60 Minute Sandwich Buns
three years ago: Loaded Sweet Potato Fries
four years ago: Tomato Tortellini Soup

Potato Rosemary Knots

  • Servings: 12
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from Mazola Oil

Ingredients:

  • 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon yeast [or 1 package rapid rise yeast]
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs from Gourmet Garden, optional
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup instant potato flakes or buds
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • poppy seeds or rosemary, for topping

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, onion powder, salt, rosemary, Italian Herbs, olive oil, and potato flakes. Heat milk and water until approximately 120-130 degrees F. Stir into dry ingredients. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. This can be done in a stand mixer or on a floured surface. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment or a silpat. Divide into 12 portions. Shape each piece into a long rope [10-12 inches], then tie into a loose knot. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet, then cover and rise until doubled, about 20-30 minutes.

Brush each roll with olive oil, then top with poppy seeds or rosemary. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

#TripleSBites | thepajamachef.com

Be sure to check out other yummy recipes from #TripleSBites at the link below!

Disclosure: I received herbs and spices from Gourmet Garden as part of my participation in #TripleSBites. I was not compensated in any way–for my time, to create a recipe, or to publish positive comments. I was not required to use these products as part of my recipe. My opinions are my own.