Cheesy Bacon Roasted Potatoes

Hi everyone!

Today I've got a delish side dish that's warm and filling for these cold times that are creeping up on us! Roasted potatoes are one of my favorite things, but these are kicked up a notch with cheese, bacon, and garlic powder. Also a plus? these potatoes are super easy to make, and you can just stick them in the oven while you do other things or prepare the rest of dinner or lunch. And with this recipe, feel free to alter the amounts or kinds of cheeses, ranch, or bacon. Let's go!

Mix up all ingredients except the potatoes- cheese, ranch, bacon, and seasonings.

Then chop up your potatoes and mix it together well.

Pour mixture into a greased pan- I made a half recipe, so I used an 8x8'' pan.

After an hour at 350 under the foil and 15 minutes at 400 sans foil, remove and sprinkle with extra cheese before broiling.

Cheesy Bacon Roasted Potatoes
-6-8 russet potatoes
-1/2-3/4 cup ranch dressing
-1/3 cup shredded cheddar, and more for topping
-1/3 cup shredded monterey jack or pepper jack
-6 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbed
-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
-1/2 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
-salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients except potatoes in a medium sized bowl.
Chop potatoes into bite-size pieces, then mix with the cheese, bacon, and ranch mixture.
Pour potato mixture into a greased 9x13'' pan (or 8x8'' for a 1/2 recipe)- use a larger pan if you want the individual pieces more crisped.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for 60 minutes, stirring potatoes halfway through.
Remove foil and raise heat to 400 F. Bake for 15 more minutes.
Sprinkle potatoes with cheese, then stick the pan under the broiler for 2-4 minutes, watching closely, until cheese is bubbly and brown.

And here's your finished product- yumm!! Enjoy.

Savor it!
love, rue

Jordan's Chicken Soup

Hey everyone, Jordan here!

Rue was sick so I made her some chicken noodle soup! Nothing super fancy, though you could do it up pretty good with a little extra planning. You can really add the veggies you like, but I'd recommend that you at least use what we have on the list (the peas aren't so important). They are cornerstone aromatics. The amount we made would serve about 4.

Put your chicken in a pot and cover with stock and water. Boil for 30-40 minutes (adjust time for amount you have).

Here are your chopped veggies, pasta, and peas.

Here's your stock after your remove the chicken and skim off any fatty bits.

Meanwhile, you have sauteed your veggies, and they are ready to add to the pot!

Cool chicken until you can handle it, then shred into small pieces. You can add it to the pot, or leave it to add to individual bowls.

And here's the soup after you've added the veggies, added the pasta and cooked it, and thrown in the peas for just a minute or two.

Jordan's Chicken Soup
-1 Quart Chicken stock (or bullion) plus enough water to cover the chicken/Cornish hen
-Chicken (I picked up a Cornish game hen because I wanted the bones in and this was cheapest)
-Season to taste. I just used salt and pepper, but stuff like rosemary and thyme would be good.
-1.5 cups chopped Carrots (we used baby carrots for ease)
-2 Celery Stalks
-1 Small Onion
-1/2 to 2/3 cup Peas (we used frozen ones)
-2-3 cloves Garlic
-1 Tablespoon Butter
-1/4-1/3 lb. pasta of your choice (I used rigatoni)
Skin then place the chicken in a medium sized pot and cover with stock and water. Boil for 30-40 minutes (give or take, depending on poultry size).
Chop up the celery and onion. Add them along with the carrots to a saute pan with the butter. Saute until onions are translucent. Mince the garlic and add to the pan. Saute for a few minutes.
Take the chicken out of the stock/water and put in a colander to drain. Skim the chunks/fatty bits out of the stock (I used a small hand strainer).
Add the vegetables to the stock and simmer.
Let the chicken cool until handle-able. Remove the bones and connective tissues. At this point you can either add the chicken meat to the soup or you can set it aside for people to add individually to their bowls (Rue does not eat much meat).
Making sure your soup is at a boil, add your pasta, then cook according to the package.
Add in the peas at the very end.
Serve quickly and hot, as you do not want the pasta to overcook.

Your finished soup! Easy, simple, and delicious.

Eat well! (which includes this soup :) )
Jordan

Baked Broccoli Fritters

Hey there everyone!

I hope you had a great Halloween! Now let's get on to a simple and delicious dish that's good for almost any time of day and comes together in minutes. I made this recipe as outlined below, but I imagine it would work equally well with different cheese(s), cauliflower instead of broccoli, or adding different seasonings- experiment! These are great for any meal of the day or a snack, and are great to have in the fridge or freezer to pop in the toaster oven for a snack.

Just put all your ingredients into a bowl...

And mix together well! Your mixture should look about like this.

Form into patties and place on parchment or an equivalent, or a greased baking sheet if you have none of the above.

Baked Broccoli Fritters
-16 oz. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
-1 cup breadcrumbs (seasoned or plain)
-salt and pepper to season
Mix all ingredients together.
Form into patties (whatever size you like) and place on parchment paper (or an equivalent, or grease the baking sheet) on a baking sheet.
Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes.

Bake for 25 minutes, flipping about halfway through, and you'll be rewarded with these delicious morsels!

Savor it!
love, rue

Peanut Butter Butterscotch No-Bake Treats

Hey everyone,

These are super delicious. And even better, super easy. There's no big story to go along with these, other than the fact that I think they'd be even more phenomenal if you dipped the bottoms in chocolate after they set. These taste a lot like Butterfingers, and I bet even more so with the chocolate! Yumm! Let's go.

Put your peanut butter and butterscotch chips in a microwaveable bowl.

Melt, and mix well.

Then add in your peanuts and rice krispies.

Stir well!

Peanut Butter Butterscotch No Bake Treats
-1- 11oz bag butterscotch chips
-1 cup peanut butter
-1 cup peanuts, chopped- I used toffee peanuts
-4 cups rice krispies cereal
Melt together the butterscotch chips and peanut butter- I did it in the microwave and it took about a minute to a minute and a half. Stir together well.
Stir in peanuts and cereal.
Drop by the spoonful onto parchment or wax paper. Let set.
Refrigerate if you plan on keeping them for more than a day or two.
Optional: melt chocolate chips and dip the bottoms of the treats in chocolate, refrigerate.

Drop by the spoonful (I used my cookie scoop) onto wax paper, done!

Savor it!
love, rue

Cheese Fondue

Hey all!

While my mom was in town we made Cheese Fondue (and Chocolate, but I've already blogged that!), and let me tell you- it is easy, and it is fantastic. I will say you can do cheese fondue many different ways and with different cheeses, so use this as guidelines, and do a little research to find a cheese combo that knocks your socks off. Let me show you how to fondue!

Your cheese- sprinkle the flour and ground mustard over top.

Then add everything into the pot in handfuls, stir well, and enjoy!

Cheese Fondue
-1 1/2 cups white wine
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 lb. cheese, your choice (we used various cheddars etc.)
-3 tablespoons flour
-1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
-1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
Put white wine and garlic into a small pot over medium heat. Heat until slowly simmering.
Sprinkle flour and ground mustard over cheese, then add cheese to the pot by the handful, stirring after each addition.
Stir in the Worcestershire.
The longer you let it simmer, the more the wine taste will cook away, so adjust that time as to what you prefer.
Dip whatever you can think of into this cheese- delish!

Here's our spread- roasted veggies, raw veggies, bread, and apples. Dip away!

Savor it!
love, rue