Garlic Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 or 4 pounds Russet potatoes, scrubbed clean

1 to 1-1/2 sticks salted butter

1 cup half and half or cream

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic (more if you like it really garlicky!)

Salt and pepper to taste plus one tablespoon added to boiling water

Directions:

1.      Scrub potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place potatoes into a large pot, add water to cover. Add one tablespoon salt. Bring to a low boil and let potatoes cook until fork tender. Drain.

2.      While cooked potatoes drain, add butter and cream to pot and stir. Add drained potatoes back to pot with butter and cream and stir.

3.      Using a hand mixer, beat potatoes, butter and cream until smooth. Add a little butter and/or cream until desired consistency.

4.      Add garlic and cheese and stir by hand to incorporate. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Optional:

For spicy potatoes, stir in Sriracha to taste.

Serve hot with roast or chicken. Use leftover potatoes to top Shepherd’s Pie.

Uncle Markie's Favorite Huevos Rancheros

Uncle Markie’s Favorite Huevos Rancheros

(per serving – multiply as needed)

1 tostada shell

2 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

1/4 cup refried beans

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Shredded cabbage

Salsa, whatever is your favorite

Sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

1.       Warm homemade or canned refried beans in small pot.

2.       Heat comal or skillet. Add olive oil or butter.

3.       Crack eggs and cook sunny side up or over easy. Salt and pepper as desired.

4.       While eggs cook, spoon beans onto tostada shell. Sprinkle on half the cheese.

5.       When eggs are cooked, place eggs on top of beans and cheese on tostada shell.

6.       Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of eggs.

7.       Add a small handful of shredded cabbage on to of eggs.

8.       Add salsa and sour cream on top of cabbage.

Company Pasta

Company Pasta

1 lb pasta (spaghetti or penne)

1 can water-packed artichoke hearts

1 small can sliced olives

1 jar Ragu roasted garlic Alfredo sauce

1 roast chicken, cut up

1 small fresh eggplant, cubed*

1 package sliced portabella mushrooms

1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

*slice eggplant and place in a single layer in a colander. Salt generously. Place second layer of eggplant on top of first layer and salt again. Continue until all the eggplant is layered and salted. Place colander over a bowl or in the sink. Let the salt leach the moisture out of the eggplant for about an hour. Rinse the salt off the eggplant and drain on a kitchen towel. Once dry, cut into bite-sized cubes.

1.       Cook pasta in a large pot to al dente according to package directions. Drain.

2.       Briefly steam or boil broccoli until crisp tender.

3.       Pour olive oil into a large skillet and add mushrooms and eggplant. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts, olives, broccoli, chicken, garlic and basil and cook until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.

4.       Add the drained pasta back into pot. Pour cooked chicken and vegetables over pasta. Add Alfredo sauce over the top and stir well to combine. Adjust seasonings as needed.

5.       Serve with garlic bread and fresh green salad.

Glitch Biscuits

Glitch Biscuits

These are called glitch biscuits because when you drop a spoonful on the baking sheet you need your little brother to stand there and watch and say “glitch” for sound effects.  Ask your dad.  J

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick mix

2/3 cup milk

Directions:

Mix together. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Variations:

Add 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese to mix. When hot out of the oven, brush on mixture of 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.

Wicked Potatoes

Wicked Potatoes

Ingredients:

7 - 8 medium Russet or red potatoes

1 package cream cheese, cut into cubes

1 package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

2 – 3 tablespoons chipotle puree*

Salt to taste

*1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Blend in the blender or food processor until smooth. This keeps well in the freezer for several months. I like to blend 3 or 4 cans at once then spoon the sauce into ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop out of the ice cube trays and keep sealed in plastic freezer baggies and take one or two out as you need them.

Directions:

Wash potatoes to remove any surface dirt. Cut potatoes into large bite-sized pieces. Place in a large oven-proof pot and cover with water. Add a tablespoon of sea salt and bring to a slow boil on the stove top. Let simmer for 10 minutes or so until potatoes start to get tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Return potatoes to the pot and add remaining ingredients in on top of the potatoes and give the dish a stir. Bake in 350-degree F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, stir well, and return to oven for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cheese is bubbly. Add a little salt at the end if needed, stir well.

Goes very well with My Favorite Roast Chicken!