Twice-baked Potato...casserole! mmm

Wow, another post? Two in one day? I bet you're wondering what's wrong with me! It's fat Tuesday- you gotta get these meals in NOW! haha.

Our next food adventure was the following- Twice-baked potato casserole.  Again, healthy? not really.  Good? yes.  The meal was based on this- we purposely had this set to make and then tried to figure out the main meal.  Again, what's wrong with me? You know in my case it's usually the meal planned around DESSERT, right?

I kinda failed at the step-by-step pictures at this one...and let me say the picture I did get doesn't do it justice.  The smell while making it...and baking it...mmmmmm.

Twice baked Potato Casserole
(adapted from Taste of Homes)

Ingredients:
-Baked potatoes
          ----I used 5 large red potatoes (and by large, they were about the size of a regular/Russet potato), so  you can probably almost use the brown potatoes or a few more red ones.  I washed them & then wrapped in tin foil & baked at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.  I didn't peel the potatoes- and when I started chopping them the skins came off anyways

-salt & pepper to season
-6 slices of bacon, cooked & crumbled (I used 5 slices of thick cut, lower sodium)
-2-3 c (16-24 oz) sour cream (I used the light variety- amount varies as to how creamy you would like the dish)
-2-3 cups of shredded cheese- I used cheddar/Monterrey jack
-green onions

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Chop up baked potatoes into cubes (about an inch in size)
-Cook & crumble bacon, chop up the green onions (I probably had 1/4 cup worth), and mix sour cream with 1 cup of shred cheese
-grease/spray a 13x9 pan
-place 1/2 chopped potatoes in pan, sprinkle with salt & pepper to season
-top with 1/2 of the sour cream mixture, and 1/2 of the bacon & onions, and 1/2 of the remaining cheese
-repeat layers- potatoes, season, sour cream & cheese mix, bacon, onions, and finally the last of the cheese
-bake uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the cheeses are melted

I didn't do a good job of spreading the ingredients around- so some bites were a lot more creamy, some were more cheesy, etc.  But overall....so yummy.  This would be great to take to a potluck or picnic too!  I saw a comment on Taste of Homes that someone made it with a crock pot too- they poured all the ingredients in and cooked on low for 2 hours- which I may try at some point too!  Worth the calories, I promise!

Easy & cheesy phillies

The last couple days of my staycation I have been SO lucky- Curt has been a cooking machine! Which naturally I"m ok with, but he was getting annoyed I kept asking "what do you want me to do?"  "how can I help".....hard for me to leave the kitchen alone & relax.

Neither of us are gourmet cooks, for sure...and we like easy. Like our easy cheesy Philly cheesesteak sandwiches Curt whipped up last night- 4 ingredients!! mmm.  I'm in no way claiming these are a copycat of the famous sandwich or anywhere near as juicy & perfect as those in Philly, but for a quick dinner at home- good stuff.

Easy Cheesy Philly

Ingredients-
-Steakums (those beef slices in the frozen food section)
-Bird's eye pepper stir fry (frozen veggie mix of red, yellow, & green peppers & onions)
-Borden singles sensation 3 cheese Italiano cheese slices
-Rotella's Italian hoagies

Directions-
-cook up the steakums- Curt did in a frying pan on the stove- about 1 minute each side
-cook up the pepper/onions- we did stove top, you could easily thaw & cook in the microwave
-toast the hoagie bun
-layer on the steakums, peppers & onions, and place cheese on top
-place back in toaster oven/oven/broiler until cheese melts

--ENJOY!!!

easy to make & work with...and tastes pretty darn good too! the picture doesn't do it justice!

also- the fries...yummmm.  Trader Joe's handsome cut potato fries- baked them & sprinkled with salt & pepper.

TGIF people!!!

Hey! don't lick that!

Today I attempted a new recipe that I conjured up based on a few other recipes that sounded good....one loosely based from pinterest (yes, I'm addicted)...luckily for me it was edible and pretty darn good!

Bacon & beer cheese macaroni

(it's hard to match that Kraft mac 'n cheese goodness, so this is different enough to be accepted as "good")

Ingredients:
1 box macaroni noodles
-6-8 strips of bacon
-2 tbsp butter
-2 tbsp flour (all-purpose)
-1 cup milk
-1 cup beer (lite would be best- I kept it classy and used Keystone lite)
-about 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
-about 1 cup shredded cojack cheese
-seasonings- pepper, salt, garlic powder, red chili flakes, etc (whatever you like)
-Frenches cheddar fried onions

Directions:

-cook the macaroni noodles (obviously, right?) & drain
-cook the bacon- I do it in the microwave so it gets nice and crispy (although Curt finds it weird?)
-preheat the oven to 350 degrees

-in a large pan, melt the butter, and stir in the flour, milk, and beer on medium heat
            -gradually add the cheese- one handful at a time-and stir until smooth-until all cheese is incorporated
-add in seasoning- I added pepper & onion salt because it is all I had ready!

pour the cheese mixture into the noodles & crumble the bacon into the pot

mix it all up good & pour into a greased 13x9 pan
Bake the macaroni for about 15-20 minutes
----crumble the cheddar onions on top of the macaroni and bake for a couple more minutes

enjoy!

I naturally ate it with some nice garlic toast....love my carbs!  This isn't the healthiest meal, but for an occasional splurge, it's a nice meal!
(ps the "lick that" in the title was not in regards to me licking my fingers while cooking or plate clean after eating....it was just the puppy being nosy!)