Homemade Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Gosh, it's already 3 p.m. and I'm just getting around to posting. Our homeschooling is in full gear now so that takes a big portion of my day. We get up around 6 a.m. and my oldest heads off to catch the bus to the high school around 7:15 and then we (the younger two kids & I) start our schooling shortly there after.
Once we finish school then it's time for me to get started on dinner while the kids are off to play. I try to keep up on the laundry and housecleaning in between lessons while the kids do their own *homework*. 
My days seem full but structured which allows me to make the most of my time and accomplish all that  needs to get done. However, there are some days that *things* happen and set our schedule upside down. When that happens we make the best of what we are given and if we don't complete everything then we catch up the next day. No big deal!
This is our third year of homeschooling and I have found that I don't doubt or second guess myself as much as in the past. You always wonder if you are doing a good job as a teacher and constantly compare work with those of the children in public schools. Now I just go with it. I guess I feel more comfortable with my choice to homeschool.
Anytime I doubt myself, something always seems to happen within our public school system that reminds me of why I chose to homeschool in the first place.
So sorry!
Homeschooling was not what I intended to post about today (according to my title) but it seems to be what is rolling off my tongue at the moment.
So without any further ado here is the recipe for scalloped potatoes. It's not a hard dish to make though it takes a little more time than just opening a box of instant but trust me these are way better than a box.

Homemade Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

8 lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

1/2 of a large block of Velveeta, cubed

8 oz. bag of shredded cheddar

1 1/4 cups milk

flour

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. of butter

Grease a large casserole dish with cooking spray.
Peel and slice potatoes. *I slice them and soak them in COLD water until ready to use so that they don't turn brown. When needed, just drain water off of them.

Layer about 1/3 of the potato slices in bottom of pan.
Season with a little salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with flour. I don't have a measurement for this as I never measure. Just get a small handful of flour and sprinkle away.
Place small slivers of butter here and there on top of the flour.
Next place 1/3 of the cheese cubes over the flour and then sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded cheddar.
Repeat this layer two more times.
Pour milk over top and cover with a piece of tin foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking to it.
Seal edges and then cut a few slits in the top of the foil.
Bake at 350° for 3 hours.
Enjoy!

*I use Kroger's version of Velveeta. It is called Nice N Cheesy Queso Blanco. It's a white cheese with jalapenos so in the middle photo that is what the black speck in the cheese is. A jalapeno piece.*

Ranch Fries

Several years back (more like 10 years ago) we used to order take-out from a local restaurant that served these fries.
They came in a little foil pie pan and were so yummy.
We would order several of them so that all could enjoy but they were a bit pricey for my taste so we soon began making them ourselves.
They are just as good and a whole lot cheaper.

                                       
                                      Ranch Fries

bag of frozen french fries

ranch dressing ( I prefer Kroger Buttermilk dressing)

8 oz. bag of shredded cheddar

Bake or deep fry fries as directed on package.

Next place fries in a greased baking dish or cookie sheet.

Pour dressing over top. (use as much or a little as you like.)

Sprinkle cheese on top of dressing.

Place in a 450° oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

ENJOY!

Ranch Mac and Cheese

I've been busy preparing for our yardsale this weekend so I've haven't spent much time in the kitchen cooking or on my blog (or anyone else's blog for that matter).
When things slow down a bit I'm going to have lots of catching up to do.

I did manage to squeeze in a little cooking today. I'm not a big pasta lover but I'd have to say that this wasn't too bad. It was a nice change from the usual mac n cheese.

Ranch Macaroni & Cheese

16 oz. elbow or shell macaroni

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 envelope Ranch dressing mix

8 oz. bag of shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 cup crushed saltines

salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on box.

While pasta is cooking start making the cheese sauce.

In large saucepan, combine milk, butter and dressing packet over medium heat.

Stir often so that it doesn't burn.

Add cheese and stir until melted.

Add sour cream and blend well.

Add drained pasta, saltines, salt & pepper and mix all together.

Enjoy!

Bean Salad

Not to be confused with a 3 Bean Salad.....because I can't stand the taste of the wax beans that they use in them.
I just left those out and then added a little red wine vinegar to give a little extra zing to this dish.

Bean Salad

38 oz. can green beans

15 oz. kidney beans

2 tbsp. finely chopped onion

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. parsley

Place beans in a large bowl.

In smaller bowl, mix all other ingredients and then pour over beans.

Mix well and refrigerate.

Mother's Day this year was spent indoors as the temperatures here are a little on the chilly side.

I spent the day sitting in front of my sewing machine and watching some great *sappy* movies on the Hallmark Channel followed by a dinner with the family at my Mom & Dad's.

Today, or better yet this whole week will be another busy one finishing up with our schooling. I'll probably be very sporadic with my posting until we get it finished. There is just not enough time in the day and I would like to truly focus on school so that we can get it done.

Then we can enjoy the summer.

Catch you all later!

Picnic Food ~ Potato Salad

Well another weekend has come and gone and it's back to the ol' grind again.
I cooked  a bit over the weekend but nothing too hard or fancy. Just some good old summertime picnic food.
Some I'll be sharing with you this week.
It's a gloomy, rainy day here in WV. It will be a nice day for catching up on indoor activities as well as making a big pot of soup for supper ~ Cheeseburger soup I believe.
*Did you hear that Mom?*  --  I'll be sure to save you some.

No big happenings over the weekend.
Just a little shopping, cooking and relaxing.
We did manage to get a bike ride in yesterday which was nice. The weather was perfect!
Oh, and my MIL's dog has come again to stay with us for a few months. When my MIL passed away last year she asked my BIL to take care of the dog. However, we kind of have a joint custody thing going on. They keep her but every so often they bring her up to stay with us for a few months. She seems happy in both places so it just works.
That's about all that is new or exciting (woo-hoo) here in my world. I'll leave you with the recipe for my potato salad and hope you have a cheerful MONDAY!

Potato Salad

8 lbs. potatoes, diced & boiled

4-5 hard boiled eggs

1/4 -1/2 cup finely diced onions

2 cups Miracle Whip

1 cup pickle relish

1 tbsp. prepared mustard

1/2 tsp. celery seed

2-3 tbsp. sugar

milk

In a small bowl, mix Miracle Whip, onion, relish, mustard & celery seed.

Gradually add sugar 1 tbsp. at a time, tasting between each addition. Use as much or as little as you prefer.

One you have all sauce ingredients combined then you can begin to thin it down a little. I pour a little milk in and then whisk it all together. Keep adding a little milk each time until you have the right consistency.

Pour sauce over diced potato and eggs and mix well.

You can add salt and pepper to taste too!

Refrigerate & enjoy!

Crispy Crunchy Onion Rings

Here are the onion rings that I mentioned last week. They were so good the last time that I made them that my husband asked me to make them again this past weekend.
I aim to please so I finished off the last of the bag of onions and now he will have to wait a while before I make them again.
My waistline says wait a long while. These are so good but definitely not the healthiest. I have tried to make baked onion rings before and they were good but nothing compares to good old deep fried onion rings.
I did not measure any of my ingredients so I'm going to tell you what I used and you will have to judge on the amount yourself. You really can't mess them up.

                           Crispy Crunchy Onion Rings

                                      sweet onions
                                        buttermilk
                                     self-rising flour
                                      seasoned salt
                                       black pepper
                                   ground red pepper
                                          paprika
                                       oil to fry in

I start by cleaning and slicing all the onions into rings.
Next place buttermilk in a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix flour and all spices together.
Heat oil.
When oil is hot dip the onion rings in the buttermilk.
Next coat them in the flour mixture.
Dip them back into the buttermilk and once more in the flour.
Place in hot oil and fry till golden brown. I turn mine over half ways through the cooking time so that both sides brown nicely.
When done remove to a paper towel lined dish to soak up any of the extra grease.
That's it! It's super easy and so so tasty.
I think that the trick to tasty rings are in the self-rising flour (as opposed to regular flour) and the double dipping.
That all for today. I'm off to teach the kids and then if there is enough time I need to head to the store for a few things for Easter dinner this weekend.
Enjoy your day!
 

Creamy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

During football season I'm always in search of sides to go with my main course, but also something that can be easily cooked in minutes or prepared ahead of time and tossed in a second crock pot.

When my guys come home from practice & work they want dinner and they want it NOW! (Spoiled aren't they?)

So today I made my Crock Pot Chops & Gravy and made these potatoes to go with it.

They were definitely creamy plus had that bit of twang from the sour cream and cream cheese. I thought they were good for a change---something different.

My husband, who says, " don't mess with a good thing" (regular mashed potatoes) just said they were alright.

The picture I have shown is in the early stages before I placed the butter in them. Once the butter was melted they were even creamier.

This is not the low-fat version, though I did use Fat-free sour cream.

However, I don't see why you couldn't use low fat or fat free ingredients to cut the fat and calorie content.

Creamy Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. potatoes, cut in chunks

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter

salt & pepper

Place potatoes in a pan and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and cook till tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain.

Mash potatoes with the sour cream & cream cheese.

Place mashed potatoes in a greased crock pot and cook on low for 2-3 hours.

Just before serving, stir in butter, salt & pepper.

Enjoy!

Homemade Rice Mixes

I have been experimenting lately with rice, one of my not so favorite childhood side dishes. Growing up I don't remember my Mom ever making a box of Rice-a-Roni and I'm thinking that might be why I have never liked rice. It is blah, plain and boring unless you are going to jazz it up a bit with spices and flavor.

To start this out, my oldest son kept coming home from my Sister-in-Laws house and telling me that he just loved this rice that she made. Well I finally figured out what he was talking about. She made Rice-a-Roni and he loved it. So I began buying it and serving it at dinnertime and all but one really liked it.

However, the box stuff is full of salt and other "garbage" so I decided I would try to make my own with out all the salt but still have lots of flavor.

Here is my first attempt. My family really liked it but I still think it needs some more pizazz so I will continue tweaking this as time goes on.

Homemade Beefy Rice

32 oz. beef broth

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Table Blend

2 cups Jasmine rice

Place broth, pepper, salt and Mrs. Dash in a large pan.

Bring to a boil.

Add rice.

Cover with lid and bring to a boil.

Turn heat down to a medium heat, heat and let simmer till done.