Easy Outback Potato Soup

Easy Outback Potato Soup
Ingredients:
1 30 oz. Bag of Frozen Hashbrowns
5 cups Chicken Broth
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 8oz. Brick of Cream Cheese

Put first 5 ingredients in crock pot and stir.  Cook on low for 5-7 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.  Add softened cream cheese cut into chunks in the last 30 minutes.

Garnish with grated cheese, bacon bits, green onions, and sour cream.

Basic Crepes

CREPES:

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup water
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Cheese Potato and Smoked Sausage Casserole

CHEESE POTATO AND SMOKED SAUSAGE CASSEROLE
From: http://www.food.com/recipe/joleans-cheese-potato-smoked-sausage-casserole-126623

3 cups idaho potatoes, peeled, boiled and cut into cubes when cool, approx. 1 lb
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, diced
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 lb skinless smoked sausage ( Eckrich is my favorite brand)
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Cut skinless smoked sausage in half, lengthwise, and then chop into 1/2 inch "half moon" cuts. Cook in a frying pan for about 15 minutes, turning frequently to SLIGHTLY brown.

Meanwhile, put cooked & diced potatoes in 2 quart casserole. Add cooked meat and give it a gentle toss.

Mix all remaining ingredients (except for shredded cheddar cheese & the paprika) in a saucepan over medium heat until warm, melted and smooth. (Use a whisk and stir constantly.).

Pour white/cheese sauce over potatoes and meat. Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top, and then sprinkle paprika evenly over the top.

Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 35-45 minutes (watch, until golden brown on top).

NOTE: You can substitute: 1/2 lb. hot dogs, sliced into 1/2-inch slices OR 1/2 lb. ham diced into 1/2-inch dices OR 12 oz. can of Spam diced into 1/2-inch dices, instead of the smoked sausage

Creamy Ham and Macaroni

This Recipe is a keeper and I am sick of having to search for it online, so I am posting it here.  It comes from: http://www.parents.com/blogs/thrifty-frugal-mom/2013/05/21/recipes/tasty-tuesday-creamy-ham-n-macaroni-2/

Creamy Ham N Macaroni
2 c. uncooked macaroni (or other pasta)
3 tbsp. butter
¼ c. flour
2 c. milk
4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
¼ tsp. pepper
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 ½ c. cubed fully cooked ham
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk, bouillon and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, ham, Parmesan cheese and macaroni. Transfer to a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
* If you don’t care for ham, try it without- maybe just up the macaroni by 1/4 cup.  I think it would still be really good!
Yield: 6 servings

Witchy Fingers

This year I decided to make my kids a week worth of spooky dinner as a countdown to Halloween.  One of our spookiest dinners this week was these Witchy Fingers.  I used Tyson Chicken's Anytiser Chicken Fingers, baked them according to package directsions and added slices of tomatoes for fingernails.  However, red or green pepper slices would have also made for some wicked fingernails!  The kids loved them!

Pumpkin Krispie Treats

I get to be in charge of taking treats into Sweetheart's class for Halloween and we saw this cute idea on the Rice Krispies website.  To get the orange color of the pumpkins, we added red and yellow food coloring to the marshmallow and butter when we melted them in the sauce pan.  Z thought that the green leaves made them look like apples too much, so next time I may just go with a green stem and no leaves.  And the Rice Krispies site says you can hide a treasure (mini candybar) in the middle of each pumpkin for an extra surprise.  To see the recipe, you can go HERE.

Jell-O Brains

This year Kraft Foods came out with a Halloween masterpiece, Jell-O Brain Mold... even better, it was free, I just paid the $3 in shipping.  $3 well spent.  This will be a Halloween tradition for years to come.  Just look at the beautiful brain.  Who knew peach Jell-O mixed with evaporated milk would make such a perfect brain color.  If you have a chance you really need to get your hands on one of these babies!