Cheesy Camp Fire Potatoes

I call these my camp fire potatoes.  Not because I camp. I am not a camper.  My idea of camping would be at a 5 star hotel preferable in the penthouse suite overlooking the ocean.  But if I was a camper and I wanted the perfect side dish, I would serve this with whatever I was cooking up over the camp fire.  

I guess you could call cooking out on the grill the closest I come to camping. And when I’m making chicken, steak, fish or any other dish, this is my favorite side dish to serve.  It takes only a few minutes to make these when you use the pre-packaged little microwavable potatoes.

Cheesy Camp Fire Potatoes

1 package of microwave ready potatoes*

5 slices of bacon, cooked and diced

1 cup cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Make sure your potatoes are all roughly the same size whether you are using pre-packaged microwavable or fresh baby potatoes from the produce section. 

Place potatoes on a microwave-safe bowl or plate and cook on high for 3-4 minutes until tender when you test them with a fork or knife.

Preheat the grill or if using the oven preheat it to 350 degrees.  Lay out 3 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil to make your packet. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice a single layer on to the foil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with cheese and bacon.  

Repeat layers two more times until all potatoes, cheese and bacon are used. Fold up the sides of the foil and pinch the top closed. Place on grill, cover and cook for 10-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender and the cheese has melted. Open foil and serve!

NOTE:  There are different varieties and brands of microwavable potatoes. Or you can buy baby potatoes and microwave them but make sure they are all about the same size.

*These potatoes can also be baked in the oven for roughly the same amount of time at 350-400 degrees.

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Fried Chicken with Pecan Honey Glaze

Do you ever get food cravings?  I mean real cravings for that certain food that you just can't stop until you drop everything you're doing and go make it.  That's what this is....your ultimate food craving.  I think about this chicken a lot. I dream about this chicken.  I mean there's something about crunch and sweet that sets off cravings like nothing else.  Make it once and you'll know what I mean.

Fried Chicken with Pecan Honey Glaze

1 quart buttermilk (4 cups)
1 frying chicken (3-4 lbs.), cut up into 8 pieces

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 tablespoons onion powder
11/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil or shortening

Rinse the chicken and pat completely dry with paper towels.

Pour 1/2 the buttermilk (2 cups) into a shallow bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat well. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Set up your dredging station with three shallow bowls. Place the remaining 2 cups of buttermilk in one bowl. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, garlic and onion powders, paprika and cayenne and divide the mixture into the other two shallow bowls. Season both bowls generously with salt and pepper.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and drain off buttermilk.  Then pat it dry with paper towels. Dredge the pieces a few at a time in the flour mixture and then shake off excess. Then dip each piece of chicken into the buttermilk and again shake off the excess buttermilk. Finally, dredge the chicken a third time into the second shallow dish of flour and shake off excess. Set chicken pieces on rack until ready oil is hot enough to fry.

Add about 3 inches of cooking oil to a heavy skillet…add no more than half way up the sides. Fry the chicken over medium high heat working in batches of 3-4 pieces at a time. Using tongs, turn the chicken pieces in hot oil for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through. I like to cover my chicken half way through this cooking process.

Remove chicken from the oil with tongs and move to a rack lined with a paper towel to drain; repeat to cook the remaining pieces.

Pecan-Honey Glaze

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup honey
1 cup coarsely finely chopped pecans

To make the glaze, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the honey until well blended. Bring to a simmer and add the pecans. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle the glaze over the hot fried chicken and serve.

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Four Cheese Stuffed Shells

I remember the first time I ever made stuffed shells. I was young and I wanted to make something special for a new boyfriend I wanted to impress. I remember seeing the box on the grocery store shelf and thinking, how cool are these?  I can probably stuff these with something!  And then I read the box and learned that this is a traditional Italian recipe that's been around forever. I made the recipe with extra spices and a lot more cheese and they turned out great.  My guest was very impressed. And I was too! 

Four Cheese Stuffed Shells

1 (12 oz.) box uncooked jumbo pasta shells

15 ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1 egg

1 (26 oz.) jar Ragu Chunky Tomato, Onion and Mushroom

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta shells according to package directions for al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, Romano, 1½ cups of the mozzarella, egg, salt, pepper, and parsley.  Set aside.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Not too deep just about 1/3 cup will be fine.  Fill each shell with the cheese mixture and place open side up, in a single layer, in prepared pan. Pour more sauce over the stuffed shells. I like just a little sauce but you can add as much as you want.

Loosely cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

During last 5 minutes of baking, remove foil and sprinkle more Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top if desired. Bake 5 more minutes. Serve with crusty Italian bread.

For Crockpot:  Follow the same directions as above. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours on high or 3 hours on low OR until hot all the way through. 

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Slow Cooked Pot Roast with Potatoes in Onion Gravy

Sometimes you just don’t want all those veggies with your pot roast.  I’m a true meat and potatoes kind of girl and so now and then I like to just make a pot roast with potatoes as my only vegetable….oh and onions…You have to have thick and rich onion gravy to make it the best pot roast you’ve ever tasted!  I decided to try something different with my gravy this time so I used a couple of those little McCormick gravy packets.  I only had the pork gravy and not the beef but I decided to give it a try.  OH MY GOODNESS.  This turned out to the one of the best pot roasts I’ve ever made!

Slow Cooked Pot Roast with Potatoes in Onion Gravy

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 (4-5 pound) chuck roast

Salt and Pepper

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 cups of beef broth, unsalted or low sodium

1 small bag of new potatoes

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. Carefully place it in the pan and sear it on all sides until golden brown.  Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate.

Add sliced onion to the skillet and sauté over medium heat until they are lightly caramelized and golden in color. 

Spray a 4 quart crock pot with cooking spray. Place the seared roast in the pot and place the caramelized onions on top. Add chopped garlic. 

Pour beef broth over roast.  Set temperature to high, cover and cook for about 4 hours. After four hours, remove the lid and place baby potatoes on top and around roast.  Cover and cook another 90 minutes to 2 hours or until potatoes are tender. Remove the meat and potatoes to a platter and cover with foil.

Gravy

Juices from crockpot

2 packages of McCormick Pork Gravy Mix

¼ cup of water

¼ cup heavy cream

1 small can cream of Onion soup, (undiluted)

Carefully pour the juices from the crock pot into a medium sauce pan.  Add two packs of Pork gravy and stir well.  Add the can of soup, the water and the cream and whisk until smooth. 

Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to simmer and allow gravy to thicken, stirring occasionally.  Once gravy is thickened, remove from heat and pour over meat and potatoes and serve! 

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