Gluten Free Augratin Potatos

Ore Ida had a special on their frozen' taters. I walked right up to that freezer and said to myself "I'm not stupid. These things are like gold and if ya can get them on sale. Buy some!" So a bag of Ore Ida frozen GF hash browns went in the cart. Below you will find the gluten free version of Augratin Potatos from the mid west relatives.

Gluten Free Augrtain Potatos

16 oz sour cream
8 oz Pacific brand Organic Roasted pepper and tomato soup
3 Tbs melted butter
1/4 cup dried chives
Salt and pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 tbs Jamie and Robby's Seasoning
One bag Ore Ida hash brown potatoes

In a small oil sprayed crockpot or medium bowl combine sour cream, soup, butter, chives and seasoning. Stir until well combined.  Add cheese slowly and stir until we'll mixed. Slowly add hash browns until fully incorporated. If using the crockpot place lid on crock and place crock in the heating unit. Cook on low for 6-8 hours stirring every couple hours. 

If you are cooking in the oven, spray a small casserole dish with oil. Pour potato mixture in the dish and place in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until casserole is bubbly and top slightly browned.

Meatless Main Dish

Recipes a plenty to be posted Thursday over at LifeasMom.com. Check it out. The recipe swap for this week is focusing on MEATLESS Main dishes. I had to think hard about what I make as a main dish without using meat. Aside from Spaghetti or Mac and Cheese the only thing I could think of was...

Spicy Cheesy Sandwich

2 pounds Extra Sharp cheddar
1 small can chopped olives
2 10 oz can Rotel with green chilie
1/2 small jar of pimientos
3 green onions sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stick butter melted
Salt and pepper
2-3 dozen small french bread rolls or sourdough
1 roll aluminum foil

Slice rolls, leaving one side hinged. Carefully remove the insides of rolls and put them in a large bowl. Add cheese, olives and Rotel to the roll insides. Mix well. In a serperate bowl add melted butter, garlic, green onion slices and pimiento. Pour this mixture on top of the bread cheese mixture and mix well.

Cut aluminum foil into 12 inch sheets. Take a roll and stuff it with 2-3 tablespoons of cheesy mixture. Place roll on aluminum foil and then wrap the cheesy sandwich. Do this to all of the rolls.

These can be frozen. (Highly reccomended, makes a quick dinner) Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 375 F degree oven. These are DE-Lish!

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos!!!

Yum, Yum and YUM! People will go nuts with this twist on Buffalo Wings. I tried this about a year ago and our the garage guests went wild. Less mess and less finger licking.

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

36 corn tortillas softened in heated oil set aside on paper towels
3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 6 oz. Red Rooster Louisiana Hot Sauce
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl combine, chicken, cheese and sauce. Stir. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the chicken mix onto the corn tortilla. Roll the tortilla and fix it with a toothpick. Keep rolling and tooth picking until all of your ingredients are used up.

Bake on cookie sheets for 15-20 or until flautas are browned and crispy. Allow to cool a bit and serve with celerey sticks and ranch dressing. Be sure to remove toothpicks from the flautas before serving.

We double and triple this recipe. (Uncooked flautas can be frozen. I did this and sprayed some with oil spray and cooked them. They were perfect)

Refrigerate leftover flautas. They are fabulous nuked in the micro for 15 seconds.

Cut these flautas in half to make appetizers.

Pizza Grilled Cheese

First for dinner I made some frozen food from Trader Joes. Rob and I are NOT frozen food people. He ate half of his dinner and I nibbled at mine. Later on, I found myself to be hungry. So I made a grilled pepper jack cheese sandwich on sourdough. It was warm, toasty cheesey and garlicy. Simply divine.

Then, I remembered that I had pepperoni and salami in the deli drawer. The Pizza Grilled Cheese was then created.

Pizza Grilled Cheese

Sourdough bread
pepper jack cheese
pepperoni
salami
butter
garlic powder
salt

Pizza Sauce
Grated Parmesan Reggiano

On a microwave safe plate take two pieces of bread. Layer one side with cheese and salami, layer the other side with cheese and pepperoni. Top one side with another piece of cheese. Microwave for 30-45 seconds. Assemble the sandwich and butter each side. Place sandwich on the pan and grill on high heat. Flip and cook. Flip until both sides are toasty and golden brown. Sprinkle sandwich with Parmesan Reggiano.

Serve your sandwich with warmed pizza sauce for dipping. This sandwich is amazing!

Chicken Tamale Casserole/Pie?

I had one of these types of meals at one of my high school friend's house back in the early 90's. It was so good. I got my friend's Mom's recipe. Tried to make it and it was totally disgusting. Her recipe called for cornmeal. I made it wrong, apparently all wrong.

When one of my friend's was on Maternity leave I created this as one of the meals to put in her freezer. So at a moment's notice she could just pop one of the frozen meals in the oven and wha-la dinner is ready. I was also inspired by that yummy concoction from the 90's and The Green Corn Tamales from El Cholo (they are only available like 3 months out of the year). This is my combo/dream creation of the two.

Chicken Cheese Tamale Casserole

2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 small can green chiles or jalapenos (if you like it spicy hot)
a few shapes garlic salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or milk
2 eggs
2 chicken breasts cooked, seasoned and shredded
3/4 pound cheddar cheese or Spicy Jack (if you like it spicy) cubed
Save a 1/4 pound of cubes to top the Casserole/Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a medium sized casserole dish or two smaller oven safe containers.

Pour contents of the two Jiffy boxes into a medium sized bowl. Add corn and chiles or jalapenos. Sprinkle salt. Pour buttermilk or milk onto the above mentioned and begin to stir. Stir until all ingredients are mixed. Spread 1/2 the mixture for one or a 1/4 of the mixture for two on the bottom of dish.

Sprinkle chicken on the muffin mix layer. Then press cheese cubes into mix. Spread remaining batter over chicken and cheese layer. Press remaining cubes into the top layer of muffin mix.

Bake 30-45 minutes until Casserole/Pie passes the toothpick test. I make this recipe into two, cook one and double wrap one to freeze to use at a later date. Bon Appetit!

Hee Hee Hee Macaroni and CHEESE

I love Macaroni and Cheese! I used to enjoy the boxed kind but as an adult, thankfully my tastes have matured a bit. I have tried many a recipe and with delight I have 2 recipes to share with you. I had a third to share but, in my messy hand written cookbook that I have had since I was 14 years old, I cannot seem to find it. That recipe has cottage cheese in it! I do not care for cottage cheese but when you blend it up in the Cuisinart with the seasonings and use it in the Mac & Cheese it is Divine.

I do not care for cream cheese either. Not in frosting or on a bagel. I know I am WeIrD! But it ends up that cream cheese is not too bad in Macaroni and cheese. This recipe is modeled after a recipe in Southern Living by Heather Markowski.

CREAMY ITALIAN MACARONI AND CHEESE Serves 6-8

1 pound cooked rigatoni noodles
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1- 12 oz can evaporated milk
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
3 oz. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dried Italian seasonings
1/8 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 pound cooked and chopped up bacon
2 green onions sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Slowly add flour by tbsp. full and whisk, until all flour has been used and the mixture is smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Pour milk/s slowly into flour/butter mixture. Cook, being sure to whisk constantly until sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Whisk in cheeses and seasonings. Remove from heat and stir in the bacon and sliced green onions.

In a large bowl or pasta pot from cooked pasta, mix pasta and cheese sauce together. Grease your casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

GARLIC MACARONI & CHEESE from my kitchen

1 pound cooked Trottole Pasta (its a cool curly noodle I found at Trader Joes)
1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. Lawry's Garlic Salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup milk
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
1/2 cup Perlini (tiny mozzarella balls, also a find at Trader Joes)
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated Sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the pasta pot dump cooked pasta, melted butter, milk and minced garlic. Stir until well combined. Add Sour cream and stir. Slowly add different cheese until all cheeses are incorporated. Spray Casserole dish with cooking spray and bake covered for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.