Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

This deliciously easy side is a staple for family gatherings! 

I can't tell you how many casserole dishes of these I've made in the past couple years, but I know I bring one to every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas gathering, plus the many times I bring it to other family gatherings or other communal meals with friends. I've started making mine in the slow cooker so I can have them without heating the kitchen in the summer or a great way to make more room in the oven for busy holiday meals, but it works great in the oven too! 

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes (Slow Cooker or Oven)

1/2 cup Butter (melted)

1 Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced or your favourite garlicky seasoning (like Johnny's from Costco...yum)

1 can cCondensed Mushroom Soup

1 cup Sour Cream (substitute Greek Yogurt for some or all)

250ml container of Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese

7 cups Frozen Hashbrowns (one of the smaller sized bags)

2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Corn Flakes

Slow Cooker: I like to brown my onions before tossing them in the slow cooker, but it's not necessary, just adds more flavour to the dish. Combine the melted butter, diced onion, garlic, soup, sour cream, cream cheese together in a saucepan and heat until all the cheese melts and everything mixes together in a gooey sauce. Add Hashbrowns to the slow coker and pour cheesy sauce over. Mix well and cook until potatoes are heated through, about 2-3 hours on high. Top with corn flakes before serving (you can put them under the broiler for a few minutes if you want the top to be golden brown.

Oven: Melt butter in a saucepan, add onions and cook until slightly browned. Add garlic, soup, sour cream, cream cheese together in a sauce pan and heat until all the cheese melts and everything mixes together in a gooey sauce. Mix with hashbrowns and pour into an oven safe dish. Top with corn flakes. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes until sauce starts bubbling and the top is golden brown.

This recipe freezes really well, perfect for a big cook/freezer meal and makes a great alternative to Mashed Potatoes!

~Adel~

Maple Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a staple at many holiday family dinners. I love their flavour and my favourite way to have them is with extra sweetness and cinnamon, almost like dessert.

Maple Sweet Potatoes

10 cups Sweet Potatoes, diced in bite sized pieces

1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Boil sweet potatoes in water for 10-15 minutes until they are tender. Drain and combine with remaining ingredients in a bowl, coating the sweet potatoes. Pour into an oven safe dish and bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes until they start to brown.

A sweet kid (and adult) pleaser at Holiday meals.

~Adel~

Slow Cooker Stuffing

This year I managed to make our entire Thanksgiving Dinner without using my oven! I used Nana Ladybug's electric roaster for the turkey and the stuffing was made in my crock pot. Not only less to do, it turned out to be much faster and left me wondering what I forgot!

Slow Cooker Stuffing

3/4 cup Butter
1 Onion, diced
2 stalks Celery, diced
1 cup Fresh Mushrooms, diced
3/4 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1/2 tsp dried Sage
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1/4 tsp dried Marjoram
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 loaf bread, cubed & dried overnight (about 10 cups of bread cubes)
1 Egg, beaten
3 cups Chicken Stock (add another 1/2 cup if you like your stuffing really moist)

Melt butter in a skillet. Cook onion, celery and mushrooms until onion is translucent and celery is tender. Remove from heat and add seasonings, chicken stock and egg. Stir well. Fill slow cooker with bread cubes and pour vegetable/broth mixture over bread. Toss carefully to combine and cook for 45 minutes on HIGH. Turn down to LOW and cook for an additional 4-6 hours.

Serve with your favourite roast, turkey dinner, or instead of packaged stuffing in casseroles like Creamy Swiss Chicken.

I love turkey day. Happy Thanksgiving!

~Adel~

Horseradish Mash

Uncle Ladybug keeps a plot at a local community garden. This year they harvested so many potatoes that I'm trying to find ways to use them up. Daddy Ladybug gave me a great idea, he LOVES horseradish, so I decided to make mashed potatoes using his favourite horseradish.

Turned out great, a little surprising spice in creamy, delicious mashed potatoes.

Horseradish Mash

6-8 Red Potatoes (skin on), diced & boiled

2 Tbsp Butter

1/4 cup Sour Cream

1/4 cup (or more to desired texture) Half & Half

1-3 Tbsp Horseradish (according to taste, I did 2 Tbsp)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Mash cooked potatoes, butter, sour cream, half and half, and horseradish until it's creamy and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and more horseradish if you want more kick!

A great alternative to regular mashed potatoes & great with a big slab of steak.

~Adel~

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

I seem to always want a baked potato with my steak, but we only have steak when it's nice outside. Unfortunately, I hate heating my house up with the oven to bake them and putting them on the grill for so long seems ridiculous to me, so I have started to make my baked potatoes in the slow cooker. 

I know, not an original idea, but I just discovered this concept! They are perfectly done, without heating up the house and ready to either stuff with delicious goodness for twice baked potatoes or serve with our steaks. A great use for that slow cooker in the summer!

Vietnamese Shrimp Salad Rolls

One of my favourite parts about travelling is discovering new food and learning to make them at home. Years ago I discovered Vietnam and Vietnamese food and fell hopelessly in love. My absolute favourite is Salad Rolls (or fresh spring rolls). I can't say that I make pretty salad rolls, no matter how hard I try they never look like the ones in the restaurant, but they are amazing, so I don't really care how nice they look! It's so nice to just make my own when I'm hungry for one (which is all the time!). They are surprisingly easy to make and are the perfect snack. Make a batch of peanut sauce for dipping to make them even better!

Vietnamese Shrimp Salad Rolls

Rice Paper

Large Shrimp, cooked, peeled and cut in half 

Mint Leaves

Cucumber, julienned or long thin slices

Carrots, julienned or long thin slices

Rice Noodles, cooked and cooled

Wet rice paper according to package directions. Lay the two sides of the shrimp in the middle of the rice paper, place 2 mint leaves on the paper beside the shrimp. Add a few cucumber and carrot slices and top with a small handful of rice noodles. Fold the top part of the wrap over and then the sides in and roll tightly.

Great healthy snack and you can serve these to your friends & family with gluten issues!

~Adel~

Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus is one of our favourite vegetables. I didn't have it as a kid, it was hard to find then, but it's readily available now (although very expensive when not in season!).

My favourite way to have asparagus is to grill it on the BBQ, a perfect side for steak or ribs! 

Grilled Asparagus

1-2 bunches Asparagus

Olive Oil 

Course Sea Salt

Preheat Grill to med-high. Remove the dry ends by snapping off the bottom section of the asparagus (if needed). Toss in Olive Oil and sprinkle with sea salt as desired. Spread asparagus in a single layer on the grill and turn every few minutes. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, until desired tenderness.

I usually grill the asparagus while my meat is resting. An easy healthy side to any grilled dinner.

~Adel~

For more great food ideas check out my Recipes page