Nonie/Kiki's Cheesy Potatoes

• 32 oz bag of Ore Ida Frozen Hash browns (defrosted overnight in refrigerator)
• 8 oz bag of shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 pint light Sour Cream(not fat free)
• Chopped onion and Chives optional
• 1 can fat free Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 Cup of Cornflakes
• 1 to 1½ stick of butter

Mix potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese and chicken soup together in a large bowl.

Spray a glass pan with PAM(do not use aluminum pan)

Crumble cornflakes on top.

Pour butter on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Done when bubbly on sides.

open faced chicken sammies

Stuffing:

2 slices whole grain bread
Butter
1 TBL olive oil
1 lb maple sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 cup chicken stock

Gravy:

2 TBL butter
2 TBL flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt and pepper

small rotisserie chicken - meat removed from bone and set aside

4 additional slices of whole grain bread

For the stuffing:

- toast 2 slices bread and butter heavily
- chop the bread into little squares for "stuffing" and reserve for later
- brown and crumble the sausage in a pan with olive oil (I buy the maple breakfast sausage and remove it from the casing)
- add onions and celery to sausage
- season with poulty seasoning, salt, pepper
- cook for 5 minutes
- add the bread cubes and stir to combine
- dampen with stock, cover with foil, take off heat

For the gravy:

- melt 2 TBL butter in skillet
- whisk in flour
- cook for 1 minute
- whisk in 2 cups stock
- add poultry seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- allow to thicken slightly

- Set the rotisserie chicken into the gravy and warm through

To assemble your sammy:

1. Slice of bread
2. Stuffing mound
3. Chicken
4. Gravy

Night Before Christmas French Toast

1 loaf french bread, sliced 3/4 inch
1/2 stick butter, room temp
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBL maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
6 eggs, beaten

- spread butter over the bottom of a 9x12 pan
- layer bottom with bread slices in one even layer
-mix eggs, vanilla, syrup, salt, milk together
- pour 1/2 egg mixture over bread
- Flip bread
- pour remaining egg mixture over the second side of bread
- refridgerate overnight

Bake 400 15 minutes on each side

Nana's Yummy White Frosting

3/4 cup milk, HOT!
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla

- cream butter, shortening, and sugar
- add very, very warm milk slowly and continue mixing with hand held or stand mixer.
- add vanilla

You are going to think that something went horribly wrong. The frosting will look like it just won't come together. Just when you are ready to give up it will start to look like frosting and you will be able to see the tell tale lines of thickening frosting.

Frosting is done when it is well beaten and fluffy

I crave this frosting on a devil's food cake. My Dad and I used to fight over the last piece and not in the usual way - we'd keep cutting the last piece of cake in half to give the other one the official last piece.

Nana's Cream Puff Ring

1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup water

- Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil
- Add flour
- Stir constantly mixing eggs in one at a time
- Spread cream puff mixture out onto cookie sheet - Mom always did two long side by sides, but it looks like the original called for a ring - I bet the side by side is easier to get off the sheet in one piece

Bake at 400 for 40 minutes on cookie sheet and 15 minutes more with the oven off and doors closed

Nana's Meatloaf

1 lb ground beef/
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 eggs, scrambled
1/2 c - 1 c breadcrumbs
deli ham
deli cheese (meant to be swiss, but we use provolone)
ketchup

- chop onion and brown in pan with a small amount of oil
- mix eggs with ground meat
- add breadcrumbs
-add in onions
- spread meat mixture out evenly on cookie sheet (MEASURE your loaf pan against cookie sheets ahead of time to find a close match)
- layer ham on meat
- layer cheese on ham
- roll the layered meat creating a rolled loaf
- push into loaf pan
- cover with ketchup

Bake 30 minutes - the inside may appear pink but keep in mind that the HAM is also pink. At 30 mins it is usually done cooking.

ghetto taco salad

1 pkg ground turkey
1 envelope taco seasoning
bag o' lettuce or salad fixins of your choice
2 handfuls shredded sharp cheddar
1 bag Steamfresh southwestern corn
1 small can sliced black olives
salad dressing of your choice, but we think a ranch or creamy italian (!) is best

The night before:

If you can, this extra work will make the salad easier to toss together and having it chilled will prevent the dreaded lettuce wilt.

Do up your ground turkey and taco seasoning, let cool, gladware it in the fridge
Steam your steamfresh southwestern corn

Day of no fuss dinner:

in a large bowl toss together the taco meat, the salad fixins, the cheese, olives, corn. Add dressing to your taste.

No kidding people, this is a perfect no fuss mid week treat. Not as bad for you as it could be and you cannot beat the time it takes to put it together.