Cheesy Potatoes

My favorite side dish for parties, Cheesy Potatoes are always a hit. I make these every year for my kid's birthday dinners. For an added kick, mix some Frank's Red Hot into the soup and sour cream mixture. Try greasing the dish for easier clean up.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 32-oz package of Southern style hash browns (thawed)
• 2 cups Ritz crackers  (crushed)
• 3 T melted butter

OR AN ALTERNATE VERSION (that is perhaps a little less healthy):

• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 32-oz package of Southern style hash browns
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 stick margarine - melted
• 2 cups crushed corn flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine soup and sour cream.
3. Add potatoes (and onions if using the alternate recipe ingredients). Mix well
4. Add cheese. Mix.
5. Spoon mixture into 13 x 9 baking dish.
6. Combine crushed crackers and butter; sprinkle evenly over potato mixture.  (Or, if using alternate version, sprinkle the top with the corn flake crumbs and pour butter over top.)
7. Bake 45-50 minutes.
   

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10 minute prep, 50 minutes cooking
Source: Kraft Food and Family (alternate version is from Joyce's mom)

Zippy Beef Casserole

This is another recipe that dates back to my childhood; as far back as I can possibly remember, my mom made this for us for dinner.  It is a super kid-friendly meal that flies off the plate (adjust the green pepper as your family can tolerate - my daughter loves them, my son can do without, but does eat them in this meal).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 cup uncooked macaroni (I usually use a little bit more, maybe 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper (I often dice it very small and use an entire pepper)
• 1-2 Tablespoons instant minced onion (I have on occasion used a sprinkle of onion powder when I realized I was out of minced onion)
• 1 tespoon salt
• 1 cup (or so) crushed potato chips (I never use that much and I sometimes use none at all)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Boil water for pasta and cook pasta according to package directions.  The rest of the steps can happen during this time.
2. Chop pepper.  Brown ground meat.  (The original recipe does not call for the pepper to be cooked, but I typically toss it in with the meat for the last few minutes of browning to soften it a bit.)
3. Mix all ingredients (except for potato chips) in a 2qt casserole and bake covered for 40 minutes.
4. Top with chips and cook uncovered 5 minutes longer.  (Depending on how healthy you are feeling, you may prefer to reduce or leave out the chips...it is still delicious!)

Difficulty: relatively easy (some chopping and measuring required)
Time:  15-20 minutes prep, 45 minutes cook time
Source: my mom