The Trimmings

I was strongly encouraged to prepare Shirley's Cheesy Potatoes and I must say they go well with ham! The preparation is easy and can be started the day before serving so that is a bonus. The original recipe called for plain cheddar cheese but we long ago decided that taco cheese gave the dish a little pizazz! There is also sour cream, butter, and onions in the dish.

Easter and carrots seem to go together and when your husband offers to help prepare them you can't go wrong. Glazed carrots were the choice and all it takes is a little butter and brown sugar after the cooked carrots are drained. A little parsley cluster never hurts and I always sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and dill on top!

The roll recipe came from a Lutheran Brotherhood magazine some 35-40 years ago. My Mom found the recipe and started making rolls and now I have been making them for about 37 years. Good grief, could it be that many years? Several years ago, because of medical issues, I made the rolls using skim milk and they were fair, but certainly not great. So we are back to using whole milk in the rolls and furthermore we don't have them on a regular basis.

The pineapple topped salad was made by our oldest daughter and it was very tasty! I believe it consists of crushed pineapple, Cool Whip, coconut pudding and it has that fluffy consistency! The pineapple rings and cherries carried out the party theme!

Wednesday evening dinner

Another windy and cold day in Michigan so a hearty dinner seemed to be the ticket this evening. After perusing a few magazines for ideas, I decided to try a couple of recipes from Kraft www.kraftfoods.com/foodandfamily

Since my husband doesn't care for tuna noodle casserole, I decided to add corn rather than peas, and instead of milk I used evaporated milk, and to top off the dish I used crushed potato chips. A little garnish of parsley and baby tomatoes added to the interest of the dish.

The asparagus recipe came from Kraft and you just fry three slices of bacon and drain on paper towel, crumble and set aside. Discard all drippings but don't wash pan. Meanwhile, cook one pound of asparagus until crisp/tender. Add about 1/3 cup chopped onions to saute pan and cool until tender, remove from heat and add 1/3 cup Ranch Dressing. Plate asparagus and pour sauce over and sprinkle with the crumbled bacon.

A little fruit gave the plate more color and it is healthy you know!

Peanut butter cheesecake brownies were the grand finale. Again, this recipe is from Kraft Foods and it calls for brownie mix, how easy is that? A cream cheese and peanut butter mixture is spooned on top of batter in each "cupcake". As you can see I topped the brownie with cool whip, mint, maraschino cherry, and chocolate sauce.

This blogging could put on some pounds...maybe I should stick to crafting!