Cool

Jack was in charge of dinner today. That means he was supposed to plan the meal, as well as help prepare it. He planned it all right, but then got involved in a big Wii game with 3 of his friends, and I didn't have the heart to make him stop. So I made his dinner. He wanted his favorite, potato casserole. Not exactly summer fare, but we all like it and if there should be any leftovers, they warm up nicely for lunch the next day.





Just as chicken dishes must be served with rice and beef dishes must be served with potatoes, all potato dishes must be served with carrots. Always fresh, never EVER frozen, and steamed in the microwave for about 6 minutes is just right.

Naturally, my pictures are in the wrong order again. This is my potato casserole just before going into the oven. Its a little extra creamy because I had a little extra sour cream, but not enough extra to do anything with so I just threw it in. But isn't that the genius of casseroles - just throwing stuff in?

Just in case you need to know how to make potato casserole:

8 potatoes, baked and cut into chunks.

1 stick of butter. Yes, you heard me. Butter. No margarine, please.

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

Grated cheese. I don't know how much. Just till it looks good.

Combine all the above and put in a casserole dish. Sprinkle top of casserole with crushed corn flakes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yeah, it's funeral potatoes. But this way it is a meal, not a side dish. No hash browns. Real, Idaho russet potatoes cut into large chunks. It is easily hearty enough for a meal, even with Jack in the house. We usually even have enough left over 1 or 2 single serve lunches. But it has to be real baked potatoes. The hash brown short-cut takes away from the filling-ness of this dish and makes it a side dish, not a meal. And as stated above, carrots must always accompany this meal. If I had more time today I would have also made some cheddar biscuits and I was out of salad. So we had cantaloupe.

Cooling - Giving or suggesting relief from heat.

July 15, 2009

So after spending time in the hot kitchen preparing dinner, I needed a cool drink. This has become a favorite summer time drink at our house. It is just a half of a lime, pressed in my handy-dandy Pampered Chef citrus press (which no home should be without) and ginger ale. I always toss in a cherry just for kicks.