Mashed, Baked Potatoes

9 or 10 medium potatoes, boiled, drained, and mashed (do not add much milk to mash)

To the potatoes, add:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken OR cream of celery soup

not quite 2 cups sour cream

chopped onion

fresh grated garlic

3/4 stick melted margarine or butter

salt and pepper

1 pkg. grated cheddar cheese

Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes.

Mashed potatoes are my weakness, and these are definitely the best mashed potatoes I've ever had! Just make sure to not add too much milk when you are first mashing them (like I did) or they will end up a little runny. This makes a large batch, so I made a half a batch and that was plenty for us to have, plus enough for a couple meals of leftovers.

Western Potato Rounds

2 large unpeeled baking potatoes

Vegetable oil

1 cup shredded Co-Jack cheese

6 bacon slices, crisply cooked, drained, and crumbled (I cheated, and used real bacon bits)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 450. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Spray both sides of potato slices with oil; place on a baking stone (or I'm sure you could use any shallow pan, like a cookie sheet). Bake 20 minutes; remove from oven. In a bowl, combine cheese, bacon, and onion. Using a pastry brush, brush each potato slice with barbecue sauce; sprinkle with cheese mixture. Return potato slices to oven. Bake 5 minutes longer.

These were a fun and easy side dish to go with our grilled pork chops tonight, I will definitely be making them again!

Pasta Salad

12 oz. cooked tri-color pasta

1 small can black olives (optional)

1 cup chopped broccoli

small amount onion, chopped fine

16 oz. Italian dressing

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

cherry tomatoes

red, yellow, green peppers - chopped (whatever amount you prefer)

Mix all together, and enjoy! This is my new favorite pasta salad, so good!

Mushroom Oven Rice

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I use 1 small can, drained mushrooms instead)

1 can chicken broth

1/3 cup water

1 to 2 Tblsp. soy sauce

1 Tblsp. dried parsley flakes

In a skillet, saute the rice in butter for 2 minutes. Add celery and onion, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook and stir until celery is tender. Transfer to a greased baking dish. Stir in the broth, water, soy sauce, and parsley. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed and rice is tender.