A Post! Father's Day Feast --- plus sides perfect for summer!

 I know what you're thinking... SHE'S ALIVE!! Or maybe it's more like "Who are you?!" I honestly can't give you a definite reason why I've been MIA this time. I've been cooking, coming up with new recipes... just haven't really felt in the mood to post anything, and most times by the time the food is done, I just want to EAT it, not take pics of it! But Father's Day is here and my husband picked the meal: Filet Mignon, Corn on the Cob and Dutch Oven Potatoes (Mac salad is left overs from last's nights Ribs and Fries -- we don't always eat like this, I promise!! ) I'm on a carb-overload this weekend, for sure!!

Here's my little secret about the steaks: pay attention to your meat dept.'s sales on WHOLE beef tenderloins. When it's on sale, grab one (or two if budget allows). Ask the butcher to filet it into 1.5" steaks. If he's super nice, he'll not only filet it, he'll trim the steaks of fat, and grind the small bits into ground beef for you (it's only happened to me once... but it was AWESOME!). Bring the steaks home, individually wrap each one and place all of them into a freezer storage bag in the freezer. Easy to pull one or two out for thawing the day you need. A whole tenderloin can be pricey, but you end up with about 10 steaks, plus either the pound of ground beef or a pound of stew meat, so at about $4-5/per steak that's a great deal -- especially knowing what GREAT quality they are. I mean come on... these are so juicy and tender and mmmmmm.... Plus, they're perfectly portioned, each one being about 4oz! No need to marinade these beauties!

The other two recipes I'll include in this post are wonderful additions to any summer BBQ. I love Mac Salad with fries and a steak. And Dutch Oven Potatoes go with anything! Just FYI: if you're making this meal, start the potatoes first, preheat the oven, then once you add the potatoes to the pot, you can start the steaks. Macaroni Salad is best made the day before.

Filet Mignon

Ingredients:
4- tenderloin steaks, about 1.5" thick
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper
1TBS olive oil

Sauce:
1C drinking wine
2TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat oil in oven-safe skillet. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper on all sides, and to scorching hot pan. Allow to sear for 5 minutes -- DO NOT TOUCH! Allow to sit the entire 5 minutes, set your timer.
When the timer buzzes, transfer the entire pan into the oven.
For Rare: roast 5 minutes
For Medium (seen here): roast 6 minutes
For Well: roast 8 minutes

Take pan out of oven and allow to "rest" for 5 minutes. You may cover with foil for this, or just leave it as is.

After 5 minutes, remove steaks from pan to serving dish. Turn stove on to medium and add wine and Worcestershire sauce.  Be careful as the pan may still be hot -- I know from experience! Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes scrapping up any browned bits with wooden spoon or whisk. Serve over steaks. (Great as a gravy for mashed potatoes too!)

Literally, that simple. Just remember this: 425 for 5/6/5. Easy peasy!

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Macaroni Salad -- my mom's version, with a twist of me. 

Ingredients: 

1 pkg cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled (unless using English), and diced
a bunch of Radish, sliced
a bunch of green onions, mainly greens sliced
about 2 C macaroni, cooked and cooled
1C mayo
1C milk
2TBS Worcestershire sauce
1TBS mustard
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Prepare macaroni and allow to cool in colander.

Prep all veggies into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add macaroni.

In a small jar (great if your Mayo is almost gone, just use it's jar!), add mayo, pour in milk, Worcestershire, and Mustard, close tightly, and shake for a good minute or two. Pour into large bowl. Combine well. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy.

Great to add baby shrimp!

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Dutch Oven Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/4"
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2lb bacon
2 garlic cloves, minced
dash of celery salt, red pepper flakes, thyme
salt and pepper
season salt

Instructions:

Cook bacon until crispy in large skillet. Drain all but about 2TBS of bacon grease. Add onion and cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add minced garlic, cook another minute.

Add potatoes and all seasonings, gently stir. Add about 1C of water and once it boils, turn the head down to low, cover and allow to simmer about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Careful as to not break apart the potatoes -- trust me, you don't want mush!

Uncover and allow to cook another 2 minutes. Enjoy with ketchup! 

Easter menu

I feel like such a slacker. I have been meaning to post this for a week now... so please forgive me for not getting it up in time. I realize Easter was LAST weekend and it may be pointless to even post this now... but it was so delicious, it deserves to be up.
I had never cooked a ham before, but it didn't seem that hard (and it's not). You don't even need a recipe, the little card attached to it will tell you exactly how to cook it. But I wanted mine to be EXTRA special. Start off by finding a decent 10lb-ish spiral sliced ham. Mine was from the Springfield brand. Highly recommended, and not overly-priced like some of those "Honey" brands. I will also list the recipe for "funeral potatoes take 2" and a super yummy dessert salad.

For the ham:

1 (10lb) fully-cooked spiral cut ham
2/3C brown sugar
1/3C apricot jam
1 tsp dry mustard powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Place ham cut side down on sheet of foil that has been placed on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix together the sugar, jam and mustard in a small bowl (here I added half the bag of glaze from the ham). Brush onto ham using a pastry brush. Reserve any leftover glaze. Enclose the foil around the ham.
3. Roast for 2 hours, or 14 minutes per pound if your ham is a different size. Apply the remaining glaze 20 minutes before the ham is done.

Note: if making funeral pots, start them when you add the final glaze and they will be ready for the oven when you pull the ham out.

Funeral Potatoes - take 2

Ingredients:

1 large bag frozen hash browns
1/2C butter, plus extra for buttering dish
1 can cream soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2C chopped onion
2 C shredded cheese (I like to add about an extra cup)
1C smashed corn flakes
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the soup, sour cream, and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add onions.
Butter a 13x9 baking dish and add the potatoes. Pour cheese mixture over and combine well. Cover with corn flakes. Bake for 45 minutes.


Apple Dessert Salad

Ingredients:

1C shredded coconut
1C mini marshmallows
1C pineapple tidbits
1C mandarin oranges
1C cored, diced apples
1C sour cream

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients well and allow to chill at least an hour.

Chicken Pot Pie

.... from scratch? Well... it was supposed to be. And there won't be a picture for you... sorry.

I was nervous to make this recipe as I don't make dough... but I was excited to use my handy-dandy food processor my wonderful hubby gave me for Christmas for the first time making this pie dough. The machine did a GREAT job. It was like watching the chefs on TV make their dough...
The dough on the other hand... was terrible. I followed the instructions perfectly, but I could not get it to roll out without sticking to EVERYTHING (even with flour everywhere). And the Food Nanny expected half the dough to be able to fit the bottom and up the sides... ya right. With that dough, I was lucky to get it to fill the bottom of the pan. And for the top, there was NO WAY I was going to be able to roll it out and be able to pick up and lay it across the pan. It just crumbled. I admit, I broke down. I cried. My poor husband had to run to the store to get the refrigerated pie crusts (heaven-sent I tell you!). 9pm and dinner still wasn't done. And when I was grocery shopping I thought I should just go the easy route... should've listened to myself.

So here's my opinion on the matter... if you're really good at making dough and you feel comfortable doing so, go ahead and follow the recipe. If you're like me and don't bake... and certainly don't make dough... go ahead and cheat and go with the already-made stuff. I could've saved myself 2 hours and a ton of frustration.

The insides, however, were DELICIOUS. And this will definitely be something I will make again, just minus the homemade dough.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C flour
1/4 C chilled butter
2 bone-in chicken breasts
2 carrots, sliced crosswise (I used about 1 C baby carrots cut in half)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4C cold water
3/4C shortening
1 tsp salt
4 TBS ice-cold water
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4C flour
1/2C frozen peas

Instructions:

To make the crust, stir the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with the ice water, a TBS at a time, and stir with a fork to moisten all the dough. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands. Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 9in pie dish. Roll out the other half and set aside.
Put the chicken breasts in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 18 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board or plate. Add the potatoes and carrots and return to boiling. Decrease the heat, cover, and simmer until they are tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, tear or cut the chicken off the bones into bite-size pieces, discarding skin, fat and gristle.
Remove the veggies from the simmering broth with a slotted spoon and set aside with the chicken pieces. Measure the broth and add water, if needed, to make 2 1/2 Cups. Return to the pan and simmer, stirring in the bouillon and the salt.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir the flour into the cold water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir into the broth and increase the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the broth thickens. Add the chicken to the broth along with the potatoes, carrots and peas. Stir to combine.
Pour the filling into the pastry-lined pie dish. Cover with the top crust, seal and flute the edges, and cut a slit in the top for the steam to escape. Bake 40 minutes, or until the crust is light brown.


Here is what I would do instead:
Use refrigerated pie crusts for the bottom, make the filling according to instructions, but add 1 tsp. each: onion salt, celery salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Top with 2nd crust, and drizzle with melted butter and bake according to pie crust instructions on box.

St. Patty's Day recipe

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!!
Am I the only one that has to set a reminder on their phone to remember today? I always get excited about it before it comes, and find the funniest/cutest GREEN things to wear.... then when the day actually comes, I usually forget. Not this year. I set a reminder. I planned a meal based around the holiday. My 2 yr old found a CUTE shirt (I already had one from 2 years ago). We have a hanging thing on our door. We were ready!

What was for dinner? Corned Beef Brisket with Cabbage (with roasted Yukon potatoes) of course!!

I've never made this meal myself, and I've only ever eaten it once... but it's definitely worth it for one night a year!! I do have to add a disclaimer here: DO NOT SCRIMP ON THE MEAT TO SAVE $1.50. Go all out and get the IRON CUT Brisket for $3/lb. I didn't. I went with the cheap-o Point Cut for $1.49/lb and even though the meat was tasty (what LITTLE meat was there....) it was not worth the money I saved. There was so much fat hidden inside.... I ended up with maybe 3 whole bites of meat for my dinner! Once again... GET THE IRON CUT. :) K... now for the recipe. It comes from Kraft. Totally delicious. Love the sauce.

Corned Beef w/ Cabbage

Ingredients:

3 lb. corned beef brisket with spice packet

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced (I didn't have any fresh garlic, so I used garlic salt... still tasty!)

2 bay leaves

1 cup maple-flavored or pancake syrup

1/2 cup yellow mustard

1 Tbsp. KRAFT Prepared Horseradish

1 head cabbage, cut into wedges
(I added carrots)

Instructions:

PLACE meat in large saucepan; top with onions, spice packet, garlic and bay leaves. Add enough water to cover all ingredients; cover with lid. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 1 hour. Drain, reserving meat in pan. Remove and discard bay leaves.

ADD enough fresh water to saucepan to cover meat; cover with lid. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender.

HEAT oven to 350ºF. Remove meat from pan, reserving liquid in pan; place meat in shallow baking pan. Mix syrup, mustard and horseradish; spoon half over meat. Reserve remaining syrup mixture for brushing onto cooked meat.

BAKE 20 min., brushing frequently with remaining syrup mixture. Meanwhile, add cabbage to reserved liquid in saucepan; cook 8 to 10 min. or until tender. (I added a handful of carrots with the cabbage, probably should cook them alone for 10-15min, then add cabbage for another 10min).

PLACE meat on platter; drizzle with pan drippings. Serve with cabbage

Roasted {Yukon Gold} Potatoes

Ingredients:

6-10 potatoes, washed, halved then quartered

olive oil

Salt and pepper

Italian Seasoning

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350. Lay potatoes onto rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. Bake until tender, 25-45 minutes.

*If cooking alongside Beef Brisket, when down to the last 30min of boiling the meat, put the potatoes in the oven. Once Beef goes into the oven, stir the potatoes and allow to continue to cook until Beef is done. Both will finish at the same time. *

Cola Pork + sides

A friend posted this recipe on her blog the other day and it sounded so good, I had to try it. The picture she had attached looked like she used ribs instead of chops (which she didn't) and that got me thinkin... I don't like pork. Plain and simple... it's not my favorite. But I can say I do like ribs. I prefer the meatier Country Style type without bones... but this past summer we ate PLENTY of baby backs smoked on our charcoal BBQ (recipe to come soon). With this sparked interest, I thought I would try out this "Coke Chop" recipe only substituting the chops for country style boneless ribs. It was yummy... and the best part, it IMMEDIATELY started to smell once the crock-pot was turned on. My mind kept switching between the tragedy in Japan and the BBQ aroma filling my house all during church. I was torn....
And the recipe is so easy. I do have to say one thing.... don't get a strong flavored BBQ sauce. I would use an Original flavored, or something a little more mild. I only had Hickory Bourbon flavored sauce on hand, and it was a little too much. But once again... I recommend Stubbs brand sauce. Yum!

No more waiting... here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

6oz (or 1C) Coke
1C Ketchup
1C BBQ Sauce
Country Style ribs, or 4 Chops

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to crock pot. Cook either 4-5hrs on HIGH, or 7-8hrs on LOW. Enjoy.


That simple. Now for the sides.
I have grown up on both of these sides... and they will always be a favorite of mine. My husband has come to love the Dutch Oven Potatoes. He hasn't tasted the Mac Salad, otherwise I'm sure he'd like it too. But for now, that's all mine!!

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

Elbow macaroni (cooked and drained)
cherry tomatoes (halved)
cucumber (peeled and diced)
bunch of radish (sliced thinly)
green onions (sliced)
about 1C Mayo
about 1C milk
2TBS Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Prepare all veggies into a medium to large bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Add cooked/drained macaroni.
In a small jar with a lid (or practically empty Mayo bottle), add the milk, mayo and Worcestershire sauce. Tighten lid and shake well. Pour over macaroni mixture and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight.


Dutch Oven Potatoes

Ingredients:

4-6 potatoes (washed, peeled and sliced)
1lb bacon
half an onion (diced)
season salt
pepper
garlic salt
pinch of onion salt and celery salt

Instructions:

Cook the bacon in either a large skillet or dutch oven. Do not discard oil. Once browned, add onions and cook about 2-3min. Add potatoes and all seasonings. Add a cup to two cups of water just to almost cover potatoes. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to med-low and allow to cook until potatoes are tender. Turn heat back up to barely brown potatoes and have water completely evaporated.

Sunday Pot Roast Make-over

A post?! It's amazing, right?! I finally have a desire for food again!! And you know what that means? I have some delicious recipes I'll be posting here in the near future. I'm really excited. I love food, I always have. But the past few months have been rough... but I'm finally starting to gain a little weight (1.5lbs in 21 days) and I can stand having my oven turned on again! Yay!!



This recipe comes from an old friend. A few days after my son was born, she surprised me by asking if she could bring over some food. I was so grateful, but I didn't think much about it... and then she arrived.... with an ENTIRE Pot Roast dinner. I could not believe it! She was so sweet to have done that! One bite and I thought I was in heaven. It was the most moist, full of flavor roast I've ever had. Definitely not the regular Sunday Pot Roast. Well.... I have her recipe... will I share? Of course!!! lol.
I was so excited to try this out for myself. After that meal, I had tried over and over again to recreate it... but nothing ever worked. So finally... FINALLY... I got it! And you know... left overs don't get eaten very well around here... not with this meal. It's only Wednesday and it's all gone!! I like to warm everything in a bowl covered in the lovely juice, so once the big stuff is gone the juice is like a soup in itself. YUM!!!

Here ya go...

Pot Roast

Ingredients:

Rump Roast
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt (I didn't have, so I used Garlic Powder)
Parsley
EVOO
Beef Broth
Water
Sliced onions
Quartered Potatoes
Baby Carrots
1-2TBS cornstarch

Instructions:

Heat a saute skillet over med-hi heat. Cover meat all over with lots of salt and pepper, garlic salt/powder and parsley. Once skillet is smokin hot, add a little EVOO. Sear meat on all sides until nice and brown.
Add meat to crock pot and fill 1/3 way with beef broth and 1/3 with water. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. After the 4 hours, add baby carrots, onions and potatoes and cook an additional 1.5-2 hours until potatoes are tender.
Pull everything out of crock pot keeping it on high (or you can transfer juice to a stock pot). Add cornstarch, whisking constantly, until desired thickness is achieved. (If using stock pot, bring juice to a boil and add cornstarch whisking constantly.)

Yum!! Pot Roast Sunday will not be boring again... I promise!

Day #5 of Thanksgiving Posts: The Bird

I've heard some families have a Turkey for Thanksgiving and Ham or Prime Rib or something different and special for Christmas. Not us, all growing up we had turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I loved it! My favorite Christmas tradition is driving around town looking at the lights on Christmas Eve and then coming home and breaking apart the bread for the stuffing. That was always my job (still is when I'm home! lol). And I love it. This is my mom's recipe and it's the same one I made last year. My first time ever making my own turkey, without any help, and it was just like being back home! Delicious!
Don't get lazy and not grate the carrots and potatoes. That's what makes the stuffing... I hope you can try this out and enjoy it as much as I have all these years!!

And TOMORROW starts the desserts! Y-U-M!!



Ingredients:

Whole turkey (with innards)
Poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
1C butter and 2TBS
Bag of bread, old
Carrots, peeled and grated
Potatoes, peeled and grated
Onion, diced
Celery, diced

Instructions:

1. Take a loaf of old bread and break each piece up into bite-size pieces into a large bowl.
2. Boil innards, until done, about 30 min over a medium boil.
3. Meanwhile place 2TBS butter in large saute pan or skillet with onion and celery. Saute until browned and softened. Add grated carrots and potatoes. Pour water from innards, simmer 30 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.
4. Pour over bread, mix well and refrigerate (preferably overnight).
5. Stuff turkey with stuffing, rub outside with 1C butter (more if needed) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Heat oven to 350, tent turkey with foil and cook until done. Take off foil and let brown for 10 minutes.

Day #2 of Thanksgiving Posts: Potatoes

What's Thanksgiving Dinner without a potato dish? My opinion? NOTHING!!! :) I haven't yet tried this recipe, but I plan to very soon, maybe even for my own T-Day Dinner! I know, I know, I always say something that's really GREAT about each of my recipes... and today is no different! :) This recipe (that comes from Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious) contains a super great ingredient.... Cauliflower puree! Can I just say I've had cauliflower in a potato-like setting before and it was so delicious! I'm sure your picky eaters (and mine too!) will still love this dish!

Ingredients:

1lb. Baking potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 tsp. salt

1/2 C cauliflower puree

2TBS soft margarine

1/2C low fat buttermilk

Instructions:

1. Put the potatoes and salt in a large pot and add enough water to cover by about 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well.

2. Set a potato ricer over the pot and pass the potatoes through in batches, or return to pot and mash with potato masher. Add the cauliflower puree, margarine, and buttermilk, and beat with a large spoon until the potatoes are smooth and creamy.

A Perfect Halloween Dinner

It's quick, it's easy and it's my husband's favorite. It's Tater Tot Casserole. I had never had it until I met him. I think it's safe to say his sister makes it best... but I do what I can! :)

Ingredients:

1lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 bag frozen tater tots
about 1 C shredded cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
onion powder
red chili flakes
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Heat oven to 450 (or whatever the Tater Tot bag says).
Brown meat in skillet for about 5 minutes. Add onion, onion powder, salt, pepper and chili flakes and continue to cook until beef is completely browned. Add to casserole dish and mix in soups. Spread to cover entire pan and top with cheese. Lay out the tots to completely cover. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little more cheese. Cook for about 25 minutes, until tots are golden brown (again going by package timing). Allow to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy.

For a little Halloween fun (and if your family likes it), spread a little Ketchup over the top to look like "blood" ooooh scary!

Happy Halloween!!

Sausage and Veggie dinner

I know I have seriously been slacking in my posts this week. But I have lots of things I'll be posting this coming week... as long as nothing else comes up and gets in my way!!



Do you have a bunch of veggies left over from your garden this year and are sick of the same ol' dish? I love this meal. It's so simple and easy and it has everything in it. And the best part? You can pretty much put whatever you have on hand in it and it will be delicious!

*Side note: I tried out a Turkey Polsa Kielbasa sausage and it just wasn't the same. Unless you really love turkey sausage, I don't recommend using it in this dish. Also, be aware of the Sodium intake in Turkey sausages. Did you know Turkey bacon is actually WORSE for you than regular bacon? Crazy!

Ingredients:

2 Polska Kielbasa Sausages (or a mix of your favorite, the already cooked kind)
2 Russet Potatoes, 1" chunks
1 Med. Onion, diced
2 Zucchini, about 1" chunks
1 Yellow Squash, 1" chunks
Sm bag of Cut Carrots, halved
2 pkgs. Cremini Mushrooms (have you had these? I used to only use white buttons... but these carry so much more flavor!)
2 ears of Corn
3 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt, Pepper, Red Wine Vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Soy sauce, Olive Oil
3 pats of butter
Reynolds Oven Bag

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Lay oven bag into large, deep baking dish. Add Potatoes and a little salt and pepper and olive oil. Add remaining veg and a little more salt and pepper. Add sausage and rest of seasonings. Toss well and pour in a little water, almost to cover. Tie off bag.

Bake for 45-75 minutes until potatoes are soft.

You can serve it on a platter family style, on individual plates allowing those "picky" eaters to only take what they want, or in bowls with a little of the broth. I prefer soup-style with the delicious broth!

Funeral Potatoes w/ Ham

Is it raining where you are? What's better than a nice plate of comfort food on a day like today? Today's recipe is the epitome of comfort food. It's got potatoes, cream, cheese, cereal, and ham. Yum. My mom gave me the recipe over the phone, so really... nothing's measured. But in her genius words, "Throw it in, and hope for the best!" Love her.

Funeral Potatoes with Ham

Ingredients:

8-12 md. peeled and sliced potatoes
2 sm. onions (or 1 lg) diced
Diced Ham (whatever you may have left over from a previous meal)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
about 1 C Sour Cream
about 1 C milk
about 2TBS dill *optional
about 2TBS dried chives *optional
about 2 C grated cheese
about 2 C corn flakes

Instructions:

Basically, throw in first 7 (9 if you're using the herbs) ingredients in a casserole dish, top with cheese and corn flakes and bake for about 45-65min at 350, until potatoes are soft.


Super easy, and a great pot luck item! If you're LDS, like me, you've had these very potatoes at many funerals/missionary homecomings/farewells! Perfect.