When choosing the pasta for this recipe, there’s no set noodle size or shape. I like the elbow noodles or shells, because they are great at holding moisture inside of them, and that means…extra delicious flavors!

Okay, here’s what you’re going to need:
2 large potatoes (clean, peel and cube)
1/2 lb of macaroni (I’ll choose elbow)
1 large can of crushed tomato (16 ounce can)
1 onion (diced- optional, ex: my son doesn’t care for onions, while I love them for added flavor)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper for flavor
1 Tbspn olive oil
1 cup of water

Let’s get started:
1. In your small pan, add your oil to the bottom.
2. Add your diced onion and brown it lightly.
3. Add in your tomatoes and 1 cup of water
4. Let this mixture simmer for about 40 mins
5. In a large pot, cook your pasta and potatoes
6. Drain the water, leaving just enough water to cover the noodles and potatoes.
7. Next you’re going to take your onion mixture and add it to your pasta and potatoes.
8. Lastly add in your grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

Mmmm, hearty right? Your husband is going to love this stick to his ribs meal! Tasty goodness!

This will serve 4 people:
4 center cut porkchops
4 potatoes (large, cleaned and cut into small cubes)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of water
1 cup shredded parm cheese
1 can of french fried onions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

1. In a casserole dish, layer first the pork chops, then the potatoes over top of them.

2. Mix one can of cream of mushroom soup and one cup of water together, then pour over your potatoes and pork chops.

3. Cover with foil or lid, and bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees

4. Remove from over, remove foil, add the parmesan cheese and french fried onions, and put back in the oven for 15 more minutes without the lid/foil.

Total cooking time: 1 hour

With this simple potato recipe with pork chops, you can set it in the oven and go about your business! It’s so easy to do, and you can substitute pork chops for chicken too!

Things you’ll need to serve a family of four:
4-6 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 package of French Onion soup mix
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of water
1 cup of grated cheese (I usually go with a cheddar, parmesan or a mozzarella, based on my mood)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and prepare a casserole dish

1. Slice and layer your potatoes
2. Combine your soup mix, your cream of mushroom soup, and one cup of water
3. Pour your mixture over your potatoes
4. Sprinkle half of your cheese on your mixture, cover with foil
5. halfway through baking (30 mins), pull from oven, remove foil and add the remaining cheese
6. Cook for 30 more minutes

*Sometimes to mix things up, I’ll use half breadcrumbs and half cheese. I’ll also toss bacon crumbles in for a change in taste…it’s an easy recipe that can be suited to your families preferences. What will you do with it to make it your own? Happy eating!

Ingredients to make four servings:

4 large potatoes, peel and thinly slice
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 can of soup (cream of pumpkin) - if you don’t have it at your market, you can still make a similar recipe, and just substitute cream of mushroom soup

What’s great about this, is it’s an easy potato recipe to make!
1. Spray your casserole dish with non-stick spray. Now simply layer your potatoes and onions. Once you have all of your potatoes and onions layered, you’re going to make a mixture.

2. Mix your milk and soup together. You can also season with salt and pepper. Sometimes I just add it on top when I serve it, so we can season to taste. When cooking with potatoes, your seasonings can sometimes get “lost” to the potato, so I wait until later.

3. Pour your mixture over your potato and onion layers.

4. Lastly, sprinkle your breadcrumbs across the top of the casserole.

You’ll want to bake your casserole at 350 degrees for 1 hour. I hope you enjoy this super easy potato recipe: I think you’ll be surprised how well the flavors go together! Enjoy

I don’t know about you, but we’ll be having some homemade mashed potatoes this week!

This is a simple recipe for potato soup:

3 potatoes, clean and cube
1 onion
1 bag of baby carrots
(you can buy and chop carrots, I use baby carrots for a quickie time saver!)
celery is optional (my son doesn’t like celery, so we omit it)
1 large can of chicken broth, or 4 small cans

I cook things in the crock pot on high for the first hour, then turn it down to low and let it simmer all day long. That means I’m popping my ingredients in around 8 or 9am, and dinner is ready for me by 5 or 6 without much thought.

**Note: about an hour before you’re ready to eat, add in 1 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. You don’t want these ingredients in from the beginning. Also be sure to salt and pepper to taste.

You can put so many different things in the crock pot. I love my crock pot and pressure cooker for these reasons. It’s SO easy to pop ingredients and let it go.

2 potatoes, cleaned and cubed
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 small can of chicken or beef broth (see below)
1 small can of tomato soup

(meat is optional)
I like to use chicken, others may prefer beef
2 cups of cubed chicken
1 small diced onion

Simply combine all the ingredients and let simmer for an hour.

You can also do this recipe super quick in a pressure cooker if you have one. Here’s what I like to do:

1 large can of chicken broth
diced chicken (3-4 breasts)
carrots
potatoes (you can also substitute noodles)

Lock your pressure cooker, and you’ll have fresh soup in 20 minutes!

Are you ready to get cooking?

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
6 sweet potatoes
3/4 C honey
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 C margarine, melted

Instructions for Sweet Potato Casserole:
(Preheat over to 400 F)

Place your sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet. Be sure to poke holes in them with a fork.
Bake for 1 hour (or until they are tender)
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, and reduce the oven temperature down to 350.

Once your sweet potatoes have reached room temperature, you’re going to peel them and cut them into slices about 1/2 inch.

Pour your honey into a mixing bowl, then add your cinnamon, salt and lemon juice.
Next you’ll add your melted butter to the mixture, making sure it thoroughly combines.

Layer half of your your sweet potato slices in a baking or casserole dish.
Pour half of your honey mixture over the potato slices.
Add one more layer of sweet potato slices, and then pour the remaining honey mixture on top.

Back your Baked Sweet Potato recipe for 40 minutes. This will make enough to serve 6-8. You can always cut the recipe in half for smaller portions. Some people enjoy pecans with their sweet potato casserole, you can simple sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the casserole before baking it, if you’d like to add them for taste and crunch.

This will be a recipe that’s super easy to turn to when you’re looking for something simple around the holidays!

Here’s what you’re going to need to get started:
(8 servings, which means plenty of leftovers!)

3 lbs. white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 eggs
1 (4 oz.) pkg. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. butter

Now that you have your ingredients together, let’s get cooking:

1. Boil your potatoes, then turn the heat to low until they are fork tender. It will take about 30 minutes with this many potatoes.

2. Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. You’re going to mash the potatoes either with a potato masher by hand, or you can use an electric mixer. You want to get them smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, place your eggs and beat them. Once that’s down, you’ll add in your cheese (both the Parmesan and the mozzarella)

4. You’ll want to add in your garlic salt and pepper here.

5. Once that’s down, you’ll combine the two bowls into one. Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the potatoes that you have waiting. Blend the ingredients together well, until they are completely mixed together.

6. Add the mixture to a casserole dish you’ve sprayed with non-stick spray. Drizzle the butter over the mixture.

7. Lastly you’ll want to pop it into the over at 350 degrees F, and cook it for 20 minutes.

You’re ready to go…another easy mashed potato recipe to share with your family. If this is a family favorite, try mixing in other ingredients to change it up time to time, such as diced ham, or crumbled bacon! It’s a nice twist. You can also sneak in some green beans if you’re kids aren’t good about getting in green veggies.

If you’d like to try some other mashed potato recipes, you can find them here.

Liquids
Generally, liquids may be decreased in slow cooking - a general rule of thumb is about half the recommended amount. Unless the dish contains rice or pasta, one cup of liquid is usually enough.

Pasta and Rice
When recipes call for cooked pasta to be added, cook it until just slightly tender before adding to the pot. Add 1/4 extra liquid per 1/4 cup uncooked rice, and use long grain converted rice for the best results. For long-cooking recipes, add cooked rice shortly before serving.

Beans
It is usually best to soak beans overnight before cooking them in the crockpot. Before adding sugar or acidic ingredients, the beans should be softened first, either in the slow cooker or on the stove top. If your recipe includes tomatoes, salt, or other acidic ingredients, the beans should be tender before beginning.

Herbs and Spices
Ground herbs and spices tend to dissipate over long cooking times, so it’s best to add them near the end of cooking. Whole herbs release flavors over time, so are a good choice for crockpot cooking. You should taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary, before serving.

Milk/Cheese
Milk, sour cream, and cream break down over long periods of cooking, and should be added during the last hour. Condensed cream soups are good substitutions for milk and can be cooked for extended times. “Healthy,” or reduced fat cream soups can be used in any recipe as a substitute. Cheeses don’t generally hold up over extended periods of cooking, so should be added near the end of cooking, or use processed cheeses and spreads.

Soups
Add water only to cover ingredients in soup, and add more after cooking if necessary for a thinner soup. For milk based soups, add 1 or 2 cups of water and during the last hour, stir in milk, evaporated milk, or cream as called for.