{Grandma's} Funeral Potatoes

I have never had any funeral potatoes that taste like these. They are super delicious and I swear that they are from Heaven. Which is awkward since they're funeral potatoes…

Photo Credit to Jamie Cooks It Up

{Grandma's} Funeral Potatoes

10-12 large potatoes

1/3 grated onion

2 cups sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups grated cheese

1 cube of margarine

1 cup crushed cornflakes

Boil potatoes for 40 minutes then shred. In a large saucepan, put 1/2 the butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cheese & onion. Heat until cheese is melted. Pour that over the potatoes in a big bowl and mix. Put that mixture in a 9x13. Melt the other 1/2 of butter and mix with cornflakes. Put those on top of the potato mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Recipe Source: Grandma Schwartz

Sweet Potato Crunch

This lovely was sent to me by my mother-in-law, Sharrie. Its pretty easy and so delicious, especially for Thanksgiving.

Photo Credit to Pots & Pans, etc, etc.

Sweet Potato Crunch
3 large sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar

Topping:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Bake Sweet potatoes until tender at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Remove skins, mash, then add rest of ingredients and mix well. Spread in a baking dish.
Mix the topping ingredients well, the spread over the sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Recipe Source: Sharrie Webster

{Healthy} Mac & Cheese

Sweet sauce! I love cheese. So I love any excuse to use cheese in any dish I make. Sharrie sent me this recipe about a year ago and I'm so glad I finally tried it! It's a thick cheesy sauce with just a little pumpkin-ny flavor. Better than I expected! It is the best healthy alternative to mac & cheese I've ever made!

Photo Credit to blissfullydelicious.com

{Healthy} Mac & Cheese
8 ounces macaroni
15 ounce can of pumpkin
8 ounces {or more if you prefer} Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook macaroni. While it's draining, put pumpkin, cheese, and spices in the pot and heat over medium heat. When cheese is all melted, add macaroni and enjoy!

Recipe Source: Sharrie Webster

Note: Next time I will add some milk to make it a little thinner.

Heavenly Blueberry and Cream Angel Dessert

Laurel made this for her own birthday, and it was perfect. It was light with a little cream cheesiness. And blueberries are heavenly, so this was hard to stop eating, and I loved every minute of it.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Heavenly Blueberry and Cream Angel Dessert

12 ounces frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 tablespoon)
Baked, cooled and cubed angel food cake {A full cake from the store, or less of a boxed mix}
16 ounces light cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup half-and-half or evaporated milk (can use skim evaporated milk)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

For the blueberry filling, in a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until thickened, 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
For the cake and cream layer, in a blender or with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer), whip together the cream cheese, half-and-half or evaporated milk and sugar until smooth and creamy. Transfer the mixture to a bowl if you used a blender. Fold in the angel food cake cubes. Keep in mind (from the note above) that you may not use all the cake cubes, especially if using an angel food cake mix. Add cake cubes until they are all thickly coated with a layer of cream. If making this in advance, it can dry out if there is too much angel food cake added.
For the whipped cream, beat together the heavy cream and powdered sugar until peaks form.
To assemble, in a trifle dish or in a large glass bowl, spread half of the angel food cake mixture. Top with half of the blueberries, spreading evenly across, and then spread half of the sweetened whipped cream. Repeat the layers.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve chilled.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce

So one of the only things my mother-in-law can grow in Birdseye is rhubarb, thanks to the short growing season. So we usually get quite a bit from her. This cake will make me fatter, but will use up all that rhubarb in the most delicious way possible.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Rhubarb Streusel Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Vanilla Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking dish and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for the cake. Beat in the egg. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter/sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating just until moistened. Fold in the chopped rhubarb. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the batter to the edges.
In a medium bowl, combine the streusel topping ingredients, mixing them together until the mixture is coarse and combined. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
For the sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened (it will thicken more as it cools slightly). Remove from the heat; stir in the vanilla. Serve warm with the cake.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Garlic Herb Butter

This stuff is so amazing. I loved making paninis with it, putting it on Rustic Crusty Bread…and anything else you could possibly think of.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Garlic Herb Butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, whip the cream cheese and butter with a handheld mixer (or electric stand mixer) until light and fluffy and smooth. Add in the spices and herbs and mix until well combined. Serve at cool room temperature with slices of artisan bread.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Rustic Crusty Bread

I love no-knead bread. This is the first no-knead recipe I've ever tried and I know that I love no-knead bread. It's like I can't stop saying no-knead because the concept is so amazing. I love this bread. Especially when you put garlic herb butter on it. Oh my heaven.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Rusty Crusty Bread
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast {I used active dry and let it sit for about 10 minutes}
1 tablespoon salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting dough

3 cups water

In a large bowl mix yeast and salt into lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel but don't seal the bowl airtight. Let the dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered in an airtight container, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife (I have only ever made two loaves out of the batch of dough so I just divide the dough in half to form my first loaf). Turn the dough in your hands to lightly stretch the surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put the dough on a piece of parchment paper set on a pizza peel or a rimmed baking sheet turned upside down. Let the dough rest for 40 minutes for room temperature dough; if you have used the dough out of the refrigerator, let it rest for 1 1/2 hours. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
Place a broiler pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Place a baking stone on the middle rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat the stone at that temperature for 20 minutes before baking.
After the dough has rested and is ready to bake, dust the dough lightly with flour, slash the top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide the dough (with the parchment paper) onto the baking stone. Pour one cup of hot water into the broiler pan and shut the oven quickly to trap the steam. Bake the bread until well browned, about 24-28 minutes. Cool completely.
If you don't have a baking stone, try turning a rimmed baking sheet upside down and heating it in the 450 degree oven for 10 minutes prior to baking. When ready to bake, slide the parchment paper with the dough on it directly onto the overturned baking sheet and bake according to the recipe. You can also stretch the rounded dough into an oval and place in a greased loaf pan. Let it rise for 40 minutes if fresh (add an extra hour if the dough has been refrigerated). Bake in the loaf pan in the 450 degree oven, watching the time carefully - check after 20-22 minutes.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Note: If you follow the link, Mel has some awesome photos and a simple How-to.