Kelly's Famous Mashed Potatoes

I will admit, I will eat instant potatoes….with  A LOT of additional seasonings! However, there’s nothing like eating homemade mashed potatoes. This recipe is so easy and it is absolutely delicious! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

-About 5-7 Russet Potatoes (enough to fill the bottom of your large pot or dutch oven, as whole potatoes)

-1 Tablespoon Salt

-1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)

-2 Tablespoons Milk

-Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Seasoning

-2 Green Onions, chopped

Directions:

-Peel the potatoes and cut them into about 1-inch cubes. Place them in your pot or dutch oven and cover with water. Throw in 1 Tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. You will know they are ready when you can easily poke a fork through them.

-Drain Potatoes. While the potatoes are draining, add the stick of butter to the original pot. No need to keep the heat on the stove, but I normally place my pot on the same burner, so that it keeps the pot warm. Place the stick of butter in the pot and let it melt. Again, you do not need to turn the burner back on, the warmth from cooking the potatoes earlier will melt the butter.

-Add the 2 Tablespoons of Milk once the butter has melted. Then add the potato cubes. Add salt, pepper and Garlic Seasoning (use your own judgement depending on how much seasoning you want.

-Start Mashing! I use a potato masher, but you can throw everything into an electric mixer if you don’t have the time to hand mash. I prefer hand mashing, it only takes about 5 minutes.

-Now, taste! Sometimes I need to add a little more milk and a little more butter to get the taste I’m looking for. Taste often! Add milk and butter until you get the consistency that you like. I also add a little more salt sometimes.

-Once you get the consistency that you like, chop up two green onions and throw them into the potato mix. Mash together and then serve!

Caesar, Shrimp & Pasta Salad

I cannot tell you how much I love Kraft. Mostly because of their amazing cheese….because I am a complete cheese-head. But in addition to their awesome products, they offer great recipes as well! My Mother made this for us last summer and it was an absolute hit! It is freakin’ AMAZING! The original recipe is here: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/layered-caesar-shrimp-pasta-118663.aspx I GUARANTEE you that this will make everyone beg you for this recipe at your next BBQ or family dinner! **Please note that I used the photo of this recipe from the Kraft website because it's been a year since I have had it. I DO NOT layer the ingredients in this recipe. I prefer a "chopped" and "mixed" salad, but do to your own liking.**

Ingredients:

¼ cup Creamy Caesar Dressing

¼ Mayo

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pkg.  (6 oz.) torn mixed salad greens, divided

2 cups medium pasta shells, cooked, cooled

1 large tomato, coarsely chopped

¾ cup seasoned croutons

2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced

½ lb. frozen cooked cleaned medium shrimp, thawed

¼ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (you can use whatever shredded cheese you want)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

**Note: These are Kraft’s instructions but I just mixed the entire salad together. I LOVE chopped salads, so I did not layer.**

Mix dressing, mayo and garlic.

Mix remaining ingredients into a serving bowl. **Kraft layers this recipe, I prefer chopped salads, so I mixed all the ingredients together**

Add dressing mixture to salad just before serving; mix lightly.

Kelly's Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Biscuits

Using the slow cooker is one of my favorite things to do when cooking because it is SO easy! One our favorite slow cooker recipes are chicken and biscuits. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do and I hope I can finish this post before the power goes out! Crazy thunderstorms here and tornado warnings too! 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup frozen peas
1 can of sweet corn

1 small onion, diced (I only used about 1/2 of a medium sized onion)
1 packet of dry onion soup mix

1 can chicken broth

2 packages (10 oz. each) refrigerated biscuit dough
flour and/or corn starch if needed

Instructions:

-Place the chicken breast on the bottom of a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker. Top with both cans of soup, carrots, onion and dry soup mix. (see below regarding the other veggies, I don't like mine mushy, so I add them towards the end of cook time).

-Pour the chicken broth over the soup mixture. The chicken should be covered; if not, add more broth.

-Place the cover on the slow cooker and turn on high. Cook on high for 5 to 6 hours.

- At about 4-5 hours (depending on your slow cooker) take a fork or whisk and shred the chicken. You don't even have to take the chicken out, just shred while in the slow cooker.
-Add the peas and corn.
-Check the consistency of the sauce. If it seems too watery, add some flour and corn starch until you achieve a thick sauce.

-Tear the refrigerator biscuit dough into pieces and place it on top of the chicken mixture in the slow cooker. Replace the cover and cook another hour or until the biscuits are done all the way through.

**you can skip this step if you want to just cook the biscuits in the oven and then plate the biscuits with the chicken mixture, but still cook the slow cooker for one more hour. Total time should be 5-6 hours (again, depending on your slow cooker).** If you choose to bake your biscuits in the oven and serve them separately, I like to brush mine with a little butter before putting them in the oven...makes 'em super delicious :)

-To serve, spoon the chicken and biscuits onto plates directly from the slow cooker.

Copyright © 2013 Kellicipes

French Dip Crescent Rolls with Au Jus

Crescent Rolls are seriously the most amazing invention ever. There are so many delicious recipes you can concoct from them! I found this recipe from another one of my favorite blogs, Recipe By Photo. Lilly shared this awesome pic by pic recipe via the Quick Dish by Tablespoon website. Recipe By Photo's author is Lilly, who is one of my favorite bloggers because she seriously takes the BEST step by step photos for her best found recipes! This recipe is seriously ingenious! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Finger foods can sometimes be the best and easiest ways to make a quick meal!

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

8 slices of Provolone (You can use any cheese for this)

½ lb. thinly sliced Roast Beef

2 cups Beef Broth

¼ tsp. Garlic Powder

1 pinch Onion Powder

Butter (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven 375

-Lay out the individual crescent triangles on some parchment paper. Add a small roll of roast beef and a slice of cheese at the larger end of the triangle, then roll the crescent over the meat and cheese until the crescent roll is formed. Repeat with remaining triangles, beef and cheese.

-Place each crescent roll on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. I like to brush a little melted butter on the crescent rolls before popping them in the oven, but that is completely optional.

-Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the crescent rolls are slightly golden and the cheese has melted.

-While the crescent rolls are baking, bring the beef broth, garlic powder and onion powder to a boil over high heat.

-Remove from heat and pour into your serving/dipping bowl.

-Serve the crescent rolls with the au jus and Enjoy!

Hamburger Beef Stroganoff Recipe

Comfort food is the best! Not only does it taste SO good, but most of the time, it is actually quite inexpensive! The other night I was looking for an easy and inexpensive dinner with the food I had on hand, which wasn’t that much! I came across the Quick and Easy Dinner blog and found an awesome Hamburger Beef Stroganoff recipe. The blog name says it all because this dinner was definitely quick and easy…AND DELICIOUS! I added a few ingredients, because that’s how I roll :) But the original recipe can be found here: http://www.quick-and-easy-dinner.com/hamburger-beef-stroganoff.html

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger (ground beef)

2 TB. Minced Garlic (refrigerated kind)

1 small onion chopped

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1 packet of onion soup dry mix

1 cup of sliced mushrooms (give or take a bit, depending on your love of mushrooms)

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish: Fresh parsley and/or sour cream

Instructions:

Brown hamburger. Drain. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic, mushrooms and onions. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes on medium-medium/low heat. Add soup and sour cream. Heat until warm. Serve over egg noodles or rice. Feel free to garnish with fresh parsley and/or sour cream! Enjoy!

Copyright © 2013 Kellicipes

General Tso's Chicken

My Man absolutely loves General Tso’s Chicken. I mean, unless we are at a Chinese Buffet, he will not order anything other than General Tso’s Chicken. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Chinese Buffets, only because most of the time after we leave, our stomachs are not in the greatest shape…won’t go into detail. But the thought of trying to make General Tso’s Chicken on my own scared me….I am deathly afraid of frying anything in oil. Scared I’ll burn the house down. However, I love my Man with all my heart and I was willing to conquer one of my fears and it actually was AWESOME! This recipe is from Food.com, courtesy of Kirstin in the Couv. While it may look intimidating, it was actually quite easy! I made just a few minor changes, but if you want the original recipe, visit: http://chinese.food.com/recipe/mean-guys-general-tsos-chicken-52488.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2” cubes
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cornstarch, plus
2 teaspoons cornstarch
5 dried chili pods (I have substituted with red pepper flakes in the past and works fine)
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Peanut oil or Canola oil (I used Canola Oil)
Instructions:

GENERAL TSO’S SAUCE: In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining the 2 tsp cornstarch with the wine, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce. Set aside, you won’t use this mixture until the second frying stage. It can be stored in the refrigerator until then.

Before you start with the chicken, I suggest getting out a baking sheet or large plates and line them with a few layers of paper towels. Set aside.

Prep the Chicken - In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the 1/2 cup of cornstarch and the eggs; add the chicken and toss to coat.
First-Stage Frying - CHICKEN: Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil or canola oil in a wok or large pan to medium-high heat (350°F-400°F).
Fry the chicken in small batches, just long enough to cook the chicken through, about 2-4 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces.
Remove the chicken and place on your baking sheet or plates that are covered with paper towel and allow to stand.
Second-Stage Frying - PEPPER PODS OR PEPPER FLAKES: Leave a tablespoon or two of the oil in the wok.
Add the pepper pods or pepper flakes to the oil and stir-fry briefly, awakening the aroma but not burning them.
Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry until the pieces are crispy brown.
The General's Favorite Sauce: Add the sauce-mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-2 minutes).
Serve immediately.
Serves 4, along with steamed broccoli and rice. Copyright © 2013 Kellicipes