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Mustard Glazed Ham

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Mustard Glazed Ham is a bone-in, spiral cut ham baked with glaze made from honey, brown sugar, ham drippings and stone ground mustard. 

After that Air Fryer Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze from last week, I decided that a similar recipe for ham needed to be done with the upcoming Easter holiday around the corner. I wanted the glaze to have great mustard flavor with a touch of sweetness that roasted up beautifully. This Mustard Glazed Ham really works and makes a gorgeous main course on your holiday table. We pair this ham with Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, gravy and Roasted Asparagus.  Simple, traditional, gorgeous food- that’s what it’s all about. 

Mustard Glazed Ham

I really focused on pulling that mustard flavor out with this Mustard Glazed Ham. Expect that little mustard kick with each glazed bite! It is really delicious. My ten-year-old asked if I could just give him “end” pieces because it was tasty. He just wanted to eat the glaze and I can’t even blame him. 

How To Keep Your Ham Moist

Ham is one of those foods that can very easily be dried out when cooking. This can be because it is over-cooked or not properly prepped before cooking. I kept this recipe really simple today and if followed correctly, you will get a very moist ham. Here are the main three things to pay attention to while cooking this ham: 

WATER

Instead of having the ham baste in its juice, we are cooking it in a roasting pan. This means we will need to count on steam to keep moisture inside the ham. Steam comes from water so put 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of your roasting pan and you can go ahead and add any extra ham juices leftover from the packaging. 

FOIL

You can’t steam well in an open area. Right? Think of a hot shower in a small bathroom. When the door is closed, their is crazy steam. When the door is open, there is virtually no steam. We all know this. Same applies in the oven. Create a small area to steam the ham like a closed door while showering. That aluminum foil over the top of the ham needs to be fitted tightly with the roasting pan. 

COOK TIME

Be mindful not to over-cook the ham. Most hams are already cooked meaning we just need to re-heat. Pick a bone-in, pre-cooked, spiral-cut ham in the 8-10 pound range. Now, bake 10 minutes for every pound. An 8 pound ham would cook for 80 minutes and a 10 pound ham would cook for 100 minutes. Once the ham is cooked, you crank the heat, remove the foil and pour the glaze on to roast. 

Note that you can cook a larger ham if needed. Adjust your cook time accordingly using the 10 minutes per pound calculation. 



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Mustard Glazed Ham

Mustard Glazed Ham is a bone-in, spiral cut ham baked with glaze made from honey, brown sugar, ham drippings and stone ground mustard. 
Course dinner
Cuisine American
Keyword Easter, Ham, Holiday
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Author Amber

Ingredients

  • 8-10 Pound Spiral Cut Ham Bone-In, pre-cooked
  • 1/2 Cup Honey
  • 1/2 Cup Stone Ground Mustard
  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Ham Drippings
  • 1/2 Cup Water

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 325 degrees. 
  • Place the ham onto the rack in a roasting pan. 
  • Add 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of the pan. I also like to add in extra ham juices from the bag the ham came in. 
  • Wrap the the top in aluminum foil. Make sure you have a tight wrap where the ham can steam inside. 
  • Bake for 10 minutes per pound. My ham was 8 pounds so I cooked it 80 minutes. 
  • When there is 20 minutes left for your ham to cook, begin the glaze. 
  • Using a basting syringe, pull 1/2 cup worth of ham drippings and put the liquid in a non-stick pan on the stove-top. Make sure to cover the ham back up well. 
  • Along with the ham drippings, add honey, stone ground mustard and brown sugar. Bring the glaze to a low simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes. Set to the side. 
  • After the ham has cooked, take it out of the oven and raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. 
  • Remove the foil and pour half the glaze over top of the ham. 
  • Return to the oven for 10 minutes. Leave the foil off. 
  • Pour the rest of the glaze over top and cook another 5 minutes. 
  • Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. 

Notes

You may substitute butter for pan drippings to create your glaze. 

 

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

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Easter Bunny Cupcakes are made with white cake mix, a sweet buttercream frosting, sprinkles and an adorable milk chocolate bunny on top.

I know it sounds crazy but Easter is less than a month away! Time to get the kids their Easter outfits, make some brunch plans and enjoy some Easter inspired desserts like these cute cupcakes. They really are the perfect addition to an Easter tablescape or family gathering.

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Easter Bunny Cupcakes

Easter Bunny Cupcakes start with a box of white cake mix! So easy- just add some milk, butter and eggs to the mix to create a delicious, moist cupcake that tastes like it came from a bakery. The buttercream frosting is a butter/vegetable shortening blend to form a stable, pipable frosting so the “grass” has a lot of dimension and holds up.

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Tips & Tricks 

All About That Buttercream!

A pipable buttercream is very important to make perfect “grass”. The frosting should be stiff but not so much that it hurts your wrist to decorate with. I like to use the combination of butter and vegetable shortening to create that stiffness. Add the vanilla extract and then the confectioners sugar in increments until everything is combined. You should be left with a very thick frosting that will be needed thinning out. 1 teaspoon of water beat into the frosting should do this.

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Easter Bunny Cupcakes, easter recipes, easter dessert, bunny cake, simple cupcakes, holiday dessert, cute easter ideas, easter recipe
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Easter Bunny Cupcakes

Easter Bunny Cupcakes are made with white cake mix, a sweet buttercream frosting, sprinkles and an adorable milk chocolate bunny on top. 
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword easter, cupcakes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
resting time 10 minutes
Total Time 46 minutes
Servings 24 Cupcakes
Author Amber

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 box cake mix
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 eggs

Buttercream Frosting

  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups confectioners sugar
  • green food dye
  • water

Garnish

  • confetti sprinkles
  • Lindt extra small chocolate bunnies
  • Whopper Robin Egg chocolates

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Place 1/2 cup softened butter into mixing bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to beat butter until creamy. 
  • Add cake mix, followed by milk and beat. 
  • Add eggs, one at a time. 
  • Place cupcake liners into muffin pan and fill each 3/4 full of cake batter. 
  • Cook for 15-18 minutes. 
  • Remove cupcakes from oven and let cool. 
  • Begin frosting. Place 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup vegetable shortening into a mixing bowl. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat until creamy. 
  • Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the 4 cups of confectioners sugar into bowl in increments until fully blended. 
  • Add green food coloring until at desired color. 
  • Add a pinch of water if the frosting is too thick. Start with a teaspoon of water to thin it out but you want this frosting to be thick and pipable. 
  • Fill a pastry bag with the frosting with a #233 tip for grass. Decorate each cupcake. 
  • Add some confetti sprinkles and a chocolate bunny on each. You can even make some cupcakes with a couple Whopper Robin Eggs int he center instead of a bunny. 

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Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices

Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices is a deliciously tart pie made with sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and freshly squeezed lemons in a graham cracker crust topped with homemade candied lemon slices and whipped cream.

While, I am a peanut butter and chocolate dessert kind of girl, every once in awhile, I want a dessert that is sweet, tart and creamy. This Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices is just that! Plus, both my kids really enjoy these types of desserts so it a nice treat for them too.

Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices

This Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices recipe was inspired from Joanna Gaines and her favorite lemon pie from Magnolia. This pie is vibrant, beautiful, fresh and perfect for spring entertaining, dinner parties or even the Easter holiday. This is a super simple pie to create with a bake time of less than 20 minutes and is a breeze to whip together. Make this pie for your next family get together and promise everyone will be begging for more!

Tips & Tricks

Lemon Pie

This lemon pie filling is crazy simple! Just make sure to use fresh egg yolks and once you have beaten the filing mixture, by and release some of the air bubbles by tapping the bowl on the counter before pouring into the pie crust to bake.

Whipped Cream Topping

You want to beat heavy cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract together to form a nice whipped cream topping for your pie which will take about 7 minutes to form a stiff peak. As you beat the mixture, look for trails being left in the mix. At that moment, you want to pay attention to ensure you don’t over mix. The whipped cream will be stiff and hold it’s shape. This means it is time to serve.

Candied Lemon Slices

The candied lemon slices make this pie really fun and is a great spin off the original recipe. The hardest part of making these candied lemon slices is the waiting period after simmering them so make sure to make them in advance. If you forget, no biggie! Just use fresh lemon slices or decorate the pie however you please!

Don’t toss that sugar water you simmered the lemon slices in! Save it for later as a lemon simple syrup to use in cocktails, to make sorbet or as part of a sweet dressing.

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Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices

Magnolia Lemon Pie with Candied Lemon Slices is a deliciously tart pie made with sweetened condensed milk and freshly squeezed lemons in a graham cracker crust topped with homemade candied lemon slices and whipped cream. 
Course Dessert
Keyword dessert, lemon, pie
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 38 minutes
Servings 8 slices
Author Amber

Ingredients

Candied Lemon Slices

  • 2 lemon sliced
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water

Lemon Pie Filling

  • 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk (2 cans)
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup lemon juice (4 lemons)
  • salt

Graham Cracker Crust

  • 10 graham crackers (1 sleeve)
  • 6 Tablespoons butter melted
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Whipped Cream Topping

  • 2 cuips heavy whipping cream
  • 3 Tablespoons confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • 24 hours prior to servings your pie, begin the candied lemon slices. Wash and slice 2 lemons. 
  • In a saucepan on the stove top, bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a simmer and then add in lemon slices. Simmer for 15 minutes and place onto parchment for a day. 
  • Begin the crust. first pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Place the graham crackers and brown sugar into a food processor and blend for 1 minute. Add the melted butter and blend for another 30 seconds. 
  • Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of an 8 inch pie pan. I use  spatula to press the graham cracker down and come up the the sides. 
  • Bake the crust for 8 minutes. 
  • Begin the lemon pie filling. In a large mixing bowl, add condensed milk, egg yolks, and a pinch of salt. Juice about 4 lemons to get 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice and place into the mixing bowl. I like to juice the lemons into a separate small bowl and then add the juice to ensure I don't drop in any lemon seeds. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the mix for 5 minutes, 
  • Pat the bowl down on the counter top a few times to get the air bubbles out and then pour over baked pie crust. 
  • Bake another 10 minutes. 
  • Remove from oven, let the pie cool and then place in refrigerator for 2 hours. 
  • As the pie chills in the refrigerator, make the whipped topping. In a mixing bowl, add 2 cups heavy whipping cream , 3 Tablespoons confectioners sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Use a stand or hand mixer to beat until you have reached a firm peak which takes about 7 minutes. 
  • Decorate the pie with the candied lemon slices and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.  Mint is optional to add a pop of color. 

Notes

A touch of yellow food dye was also added in for these photos. Try 5 squirts for a more vibrant pie if you please! 

Are you typically a chocolate dessert eater or do you love more tart desserts like this Lemon Pie? Let me know in the comments below and tell me how this dessert fit into your spring planning.

Hash Brown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole is a delicious side dish made with hash browns, onion, garlic powder, condensed soups, sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Hash Brown Casserole is one of those dishes everyone has probably had at one point or another. Cracker Barrel makes a delicious one and it is a frequent favorite for gatherings, pot lucks and holidays. We even like to make this side dish with a Sunday ham and eat leftovers through the week! Everyone should also have a good recipe to make a Hash Brown Casserole because it is a great go-to and so cravable!

Hash Brown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole is really creamy and cheesy.  This recipe makes 12 servings but you could even push it to feed a few more people so it is perfect for feeding a large crowd.

Tips & Tricks

This Hash Brown Casserole is so easy to make that any could toss it together! The only tip I have is that if you cannot find a cream of cheddar, you can substitute it for another can of cream of chicken.

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Hash Brown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole is a delicious side dish made with hash browns, onion, garlic powder, condensed soups, sour cream and cheddar cheese. 
Course Side Dish
Keyword hash brown casserole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 servings
Author Amber

Ingredients

  • 32 ounces frozen hash browns defrosted
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 10 ounces cream of cheddar
  • 10 ounces cream of chicken
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 1/2 onion finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
  • parsley garnish optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
  • Dice the onion. 
  • In a large bowl, mix cream of cheddar, cream of chicken, diced onion, sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese together. 
  • Add the melted butter and hash browns. Mix thoroughly. 
  • Place the mix into a large casserole dish and sprinkle the remainder of the cheese over top. 
  • Bake for 45-55 minutes. The cheese on top should just begin to brown. 
  • Let cool for 5 minutes and serve. 

 

Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham

Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham

This post is sponsored by Hatfield and SheKnows Media.

Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham made in the crock-pot with brown sugar, honey, orange zest, freshly squeezed orange juice, garlic and orange marmalade featuring Hatfield’s Classic Boneless Ham.

The time of year is upon us for family gatherings, work events and dinner with friends. This Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham is a beautiful centerpiece entrée that’s a real crowd pleasure or just a comforting Sunday dinner on a cold day. This ham can even be prepped at home ahead of time and travels easily in the crock-pot to your dinner party destination.

Hatfield is one of Pennsylvania’s family-owned, American-made, heritage brands creating products of high quality. Hatfield products are all about keeping things delicious, simple and stress-free in the kitchen and promotes the importance of family time.  In my home, mealtime is family time – no matter where the meal takes place.

Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham

Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham is a favorite classic of mine. Cooking the ham in the crock-pot makes this tasty entrée simple to make and so flavorful!

What about the leftovers? Okay, I will admit, leftovers might be the best part of making this gorgeous Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham with Hatfield’s boneless hams. Cold ham sandwich with gouda cheese, a grilled cheese with cheddar and warmed up ham, diced in a morning omelet or an easy snack paired with crackers.  

 

 

Let’s get slow cooking!

Open your Hatfield’s Classic Boneless Ham using the easy open tab at the top and place into your slow cooker. For this particular recipe, remove the netting before cooking.

Hop over to your food processor. Add the orange marmalade, brown sugar, garlic cloves, honey and zest from an orange. Squeeze the juice from that orange and blend everything together. Pour over the ham and cover the top with aluminum foil. Put the crock-pot lid on and cook on low 4 hours. Half way through cooking, baste the ham once and cover again. I don’t recommend cooking past 4 hours since the Hatfield’s Classic Boneless Ham is pre-cooked so you just want to warm up the product.

Once the ham has finished heating up in the crock-pot, pre-heat the oven to broil and place the ham onto a pan. I just use a baking sheet lined with foil. With the juices left at the bottom of the crock-pot, place on the stove-top with a bit of flour. Whisk until the sauce begins to simmer and thicken. Pour over the ham and broil for 5-10 minutes to get that stunning glaze.

Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham is now ready to serve and the smell is amazing! If you need to take the dish to-go, simply put it back into the crock-pot to keep warm and head out. Serve as soon as possible and keep in mind the longer you have the ham on the warm setting, the more you risk it drying out.

Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham
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Slow Cooker Orange Marmalade Glazed Ham made in the crock-pot with brown sugar, honey, orange zest, freshly squeezed orange, garlic and orange marmalade cooked with Hatfield’s Classic Boneless Ham.

  • 3 pound Hatfield’s boneless ham
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup orange marmalade
  • 2-4 garlic cloves (use 4 for a stronger garlic taste, just how I like it)
  • 1/4 cup juice from orange
  • 1 orange, zest
  • 1 orange, sliced (garnish of platter)
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  1. Remove netting from ham and place into crock-pot.
  2. In the food processor, add brown sugar, honey, orange marmalade, and 2-4 cloves garlic (4 for my garlic lovers). Zest and juice 1 orange. Blend ingredients.
  3. Pour the sauce over ham.
  4. Cover the top with foil and secure lid.
  5. Cook on low 3.5-4 hours. Baste the ham half-way through placing the sauce back on top.
  6. Pre-heat oven to a broil.
  7. Remove ham from crock-pot and place onto a pan to place in oven.
  8. Place the sauce from the bottom of crock-pot into a saucepan on the stovetop on a medium to high heat. Add the flour and whisk until simmering and thickening.
  9. Drizzle over the ham and broil 5-10 minutes.
  10. Slice an orange to decorate the bottom of the serving platter for an extra special touch and pop of color.

Chocolate Hummus Platter

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boar’s Head for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Chocolate Hummus Platter with pretzels, tomatoes, grapes, pistachios, strawberries, blueberries, dried bananas, pomegranate, smoked gouda cheese and a  Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus for a beautiful snack or appetizer solution while hosting.

This time of year I do a lot of hosting at the house from Sunday football with friends to big holiday events like Christmas dinner with the family. A hummus platter is a really great way to feed the masses a healthy, delicious, filling snack that is zero guilt but still full on indulgence. Plus, the platter is quite stunning with all the different textures and colors throughout.

The Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus Platter really pulls people in and is an instant invitation to eat and be merry. Place it in the room where you want people gathering and watch everyone flock to this platter as they “ooh” and “aah”. I promise every single person will ask about this Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus because it is incredible so be prepared with answers.

Boar’s Head’s has a line of nine premium hummus flavors that are available year-round, however, the dark chocolate hummus is for a limited time available October 2017 through February 2018. They could run out earlier so grab it early! Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus is made with high-quality ingredients – steamed chickpeas are blended with cocoa powder, organic sugar, and real vanilla to produce an extraordinary tasting, healthier indulgence crafted with all Non-GMO Project verified ingredients.

Want more information on Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus?

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Boar’s Head wants to see your own creations with Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus! Snap a photo, share your story on Instagram and Facebook tagging @boarshead_official and the brand may even repost a share!

Have questions or need help locating the Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus? Contact the wonderful people over at Boar’s Head Customer Service and they will happily assist you. They are available M-F, 8a- 5p EST, at (800) 352-6277.

Chocolate Hummus Platter

Let’s start putting together our Chocolate Hummus Platter!

Wash all your fruits well before beginning and find a platter to use. I like to utilize serving trays for my platters because it holds everything in, looks fantastic and you can move it from room to room easily. Wash the serving tray and line with parchment paper.

Creating a Chocolate Hummus Platter is really simple. Place the Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hum-mus and Boar’s Head Smoked Gouda Cheese towards the center and then grab the other larger ingredients to place around those. Think about how colors are distributed. You don’t want one side heavy on a single color or texture. For example, don’t place the strawberries next to tomatoes alongside the pomegranate because the balance will be off. Distribute all those reds throughout different sections for a more visually appealing platter.

Once the largest ingredients are placed, dice the Boar’s Head Smoked Gouda Cheese and fill in the open spaces with the remaining fruits.

The last items to place are the pistachios and sage. I added sage to complete the look of the Chocolate Hummus Platter and it gives off a nice aroma.

Don’t be afraid to make some swaps that work for you! Crackers, pita chips, oranges, kiwi, rosemary, almonds, raspberries would all be great options for your Chocolate Hummus Platter. Even try some crispy bacon!

Chocolate Hummus Platter
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Chocolate Hummus Platter with pretzels, tomatoes, grapes, pistachios, strawberries, blueberries, dried bananas, pomegranate, smoked gouda cheese and a Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus centerpiece.

  • 8 ounces Boar’s Head Smoked Gouda Cheese
  • 8 ounce container Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 1 cup dried banana chips
  • 1.5 cups pretzels
  • .5 cup pistachios
  • 3/4 quart strawberries
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 2 bunches grapes of choice
  • 3 sprigs basil
  1. Wash all fruits well.
  2. Clean the platter or serving tray being used and line with parchment paper at the bottom.
  3. Place the Boar’s Head Smoked Gouda Cheese and Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Hummus onto the center of the platter.
  4. Arrange the grapes, pretzels and dried banana chips in each corner.
  5. Dice the Boar’s Head Smoked Gouda Cheese and place back onto platter.
  6. Arrange the cherry tomatoes, blueberries, and strawberries on the platter in open spots.
  7. Cut the pomegranate in quarters and place 2 on the platter. Remove the arils (seeds) from the other 2 quarts and you can place them into a small bowl to the side.
  8. Fill in any open spots with the pistachios and decorate with a few sprigs of sage.

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Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole

Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole

Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole with russet potatoes, sour cream, butter, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese and green onion.

The cool weather is approaching and holidays are near which means comfort foods are on the menu! Mashed potatoes is a favorite comfort food in this house. Add cheese and bacon and it is a huge hit! This is one of those dishes that you just cannot stop eating. So make sure there will be plenty for everyone. Big crowds will probably need two of these casseroles!

For the holidays, we always serve mashed potatoes of some sort. Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole pairs perfectly ham. Try our Crockpot Holiday Ham for an easy main dish!

Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole

Should we get cooking?

You want to start by peeling all your potatoes and cutting them into quarters before dropping them into a large pot of boiling water. Also cook your bacon at this time until crispy and set to the side. Cook potatoes until soft which takes about 20-25 minutes. Drain and add all the goodies. Loads of cheddar cheese, some butter, milk, sour cream and crispy bacon are added in and mixed. Sprinkle some of the cheese and bacon on top.

Place the Cheesy Potato Casserole into the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Take the casserole out of the oven and place green onion on top before serving.

Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole
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Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole, side dishes, holiday recipes

Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole with russet potatoes, sour cream, butter, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese and green onion.

  • 5 pounds russet potatoes
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • .5 cup milk
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • .5 pound cooked, crispy bacon
  • 2 green onions
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  1. Peel the potatoes, quarter and place in a large pot of boiling water for 25 minutes.
  2. While potatoes are on the stovetop, cook the bacon until crispy and chop into small pieces. Set to the side.
  3. Once the potatoes are softened, drain and place into a large bowl (or use the same pot you cooked in). Add the butter, sour cream, milk and desired amount of salt and pepper.
  4. Use a hand mixer to mix until creamy.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  6. Add 2 cups shredded cheese and most of the cooked bacon. Mix again.
  7. Transfer the mashed potatoes to a large casserole dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese and bacon on top.
  8. Place the mashed potatoes into oven for 20 minutes.
  9. Chop up the green onion and sprinkle over top.
  10. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve!

What are some dishes that your family must have during the holidays? Are mashed potatoes on the menu?

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes with sliced russet potatoes and a creamy cheese sauce. Great for a side dish for a variety of meals.

 

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

 

These Home Style Scalloped Potatoes are an old fashioned recipe that is very simple and the cheese can be swapped out for any type you would like. I made them with a mixed Italian cheese today but frequently use a cheddar. Use whatever cheese you please! You cannot go wrong.

 

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

 

I posted this recipe today in thought of Easter coming up and thinking about what is going to be on our menu. Every Easter, we make a huge ham and multiple side dishes including these scalloped potatoes. Potatoes and ham are just the perfect combination in any form. Get some creamy sauce and potatoes on a fork with a bit of salty ham and oh yes, so heavenly. Comfort food at its finest. We will also make a vegetable side and large salad. Oh, and rolls. Cannot miss the rolls for Easter dinner.

 

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

 

Skin on the potatoes? Peel or not to peel? This is up to you. I prefer to keep skins on potatoes as much as possible but some people don’t love the skin so if you are feeding a large group, think about peeling the potatoes to make everyone happy- if that is possible.

 

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

 

What type of dishes does your family typically eat for Easter? Are scalloped potatoes always on your table?

 

Home Style Scalloped Potatoes
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Scalloped Potatoes
  • 2 cups shredded cheese (i used italian cheese mix today but cheddar is also a good choice)
  • 3 cups milk
  • 6 cups sliced russet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons finely diced white onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoon flour
  • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Slice your potatoes as thin as possible and lay half in the bottom of a casserole dish. Chop your onion.
  3. Make your sauce. On the stove pan, heat up a sauce pan on medium heat.
  4. Add butter and flour. Whisk well and slowly add in the milk.
  5. Add your diced onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper and whisk until thickened.
  6. Add your cheese, turn off heat and mix until creamy.
  7. Pour half your sauce on top of first layer of potatoes in casserole dish.
  8. Add the rest of your potatoes and the remainder of your sauce.
  9. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
  10. After 1 hour, remove foil and let bake 30 more minutes uncovered.
  11. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.
  12. Serve.

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Home Style Scalloped Potatoes

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes with a simple graham cracker crust, cheesecake with a little nest of chocolate frosting and Robin eggs. Cute and festive for your Easter get together!

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

 

I love this time of year when the weather starts to warm up and families get together for grill outs and activities. One thing that I love to do is cook for my family! Spring just inspires me to do so. I wanted to create a recipe that really brings out the fun in the upcoming Easter festivities but still be an indulgent treat. Of course, I have a deep love for cheesecake so here comes Mini Easter Cheesecakes.

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

 

Making cheesecake can be difficult but this recipe is perfect for those that have little or even no experience baking cheesecake. You will put the graham cracker in the food processor or just chop them into crumbs. Mix with some melted butter and press into some cupcake liners in the muffin pan. Bake for 5 minutes, cool, and mix the cheesecake filling. The trick to a good cheesecake is using cream cheese that is not too cold. This helps you get a nice creamy consistency and will bake up perfectly. Once the cheesecake filling is mixed, fill each cupcake liner and pop into the oven once again. Let cool and decorate.

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

 

Decorations are really easy for these Mini Easter Cheesecakes. I used a premade chocolate frosting. You are welcome to whip up your own buttercream of course if you wish. I just wanted to keep this recipe as quick and as convenient as possible so the premade worked out just fine for me. Frost a ring around the edge of each cheesecake. Finely chop some chocolate from a milk chocolate or dark chocolate bar and sprinkle over top. Set in 3 Robin Eggs and done. Let chill and serve!

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

 

How do you plan on spending this Easter? Do you also get together with your family for a dinner, dessert, crafts, egg decorating?

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes
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Mini Easter Cheesecakes
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 16 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • .5 milk chocolate bar
  • 1 cup chocolate frosting
  • 36 candy Robin Eggs
  1. Gather ingredients, muffin pan, cupcake liners, mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer, measuring cups, knife, cutting board, frosting bag and tip.
  2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  3. Place cupcake liners into muffin pan.
  4. Crush a sleeve of graham crackers either in a Ziploc bag or in a food processor.
  5. Melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and add to graham cracker crumbs.
  6. Place a spoonful of graham cracker mixture into each cupcake liner pressing the crackers down.
  7. Bake for 5 minutes, let cool.
  8. In a medium mixing bowl, add cream cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 3/4 cup sugar. use a hand or stand mixer to blend until creamy and smooth. If you let the cream cheese sit out to warm up before this step, the mixture will turn out much more consistent than using cold cream cheese straight from the fridge.
  9. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full of the cheesecake filling.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool.
  11. Decorate your cheesecakes! Place the chocolate frosting into a frosting bag and frost a circle around the edge of each cheesecake.
  12. Finely chop your chocolate bar and sprinkle chunks over the top of each cheesecake.
  13. Place 3 Robin Eggs on each and enjoy!

 

Mini Easter Cheesecakes

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Mini Easter Cheesecakes

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

 

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

 

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes with loads of fresh parsley, garlic and ghee. Perfect side dish for chicken, steak, pork, ham, meatloaf…. oh my gosh I could go forever with the list of foods it pairs well with. Bacon Wrapped Turkey Meatloaf possibly? I think so.

By the way, what the heck is ghee? To simply put, ghee is much like butter but produced slightly different. Ghee is commonly used in Indian and Pakistani cuisine, especially with rice. Most grocery stores should have ghee or you can check out a specialty store. Can’t find ghee where you are? That’s okay. Swap with butter.

 

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

 

It is that time of month once again for Recipe Swap Club and Simply Made Recipes got tasked with Cook at Home, where you can find a lot of Whole30, gluten free and lactose free recipe options! I browsed and browsed the site for what I wanted to recreate and found these Herb and Garlic Smashed Potatoes. We are potato lovers in this family and I jump on any chance to try a new potato recipe. Plus, there is garlic…. tons of garlic. Who can say no to that?

Check out the original recipe here.

 

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

 

I made just a couple changes to the Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes recipe. One, the recipe calls for almond milk and I used regular 2% because that’s what I have on hand. Two, I chopped up some fresh parsley over dried because I prefer fresh herbs and spices. Third, the instructions were to steam the potatoes but I made a large batch and my steamer does not hold the amount of potatoes I needed so I boiled them and added the garlic after cooking the potatoes. If you steam the potatoes, add in the garlic while cooking and keep the same cook time. Either way you cook your potatoes, the outcome will be right on.

Potatoes skins on or off before cooking? I leave potato skins on as often as possible, especially for yellow or red potatoes. What is the benefit of leaving the skin on? Well, to get the full nutritional value of the potato you need to eat the whole potato full of fiber and numerous nutrients.

 

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

 

Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes
Print
Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes
  • 3 tablespoon ghee
  • 2.5 pounds small yellow potatoes
  • 1/4 cup-3/4 cup milk (almond milk is recommended)
  • 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • salt
  • pepper
  1. Wash potatoes and chop into quarters.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop your potatoes in. Add a pinch of salt.
  3. Let cook 30 minutes or until potatoes are softened.
  4. Drain and place into large mixing bowl.
  5. Mince 6 garlic cloves and add to potatoes along with freshly chopped parsley, 3 tablespoons ghee, pinch of salt and pepper.
  6. Use your potato smasher (I use my avocado smasher) to smash the potatoes and mix all the ingredients together.
  7. Add 1/4 cup milk and mix. If you want to thin out your potatoes more, add another 1/4-1/2 cup milk.
  8. Garnish with a pinch more of fresh parsley and a bit of ghee.
  9. Serve.

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Garlic & Herb Smashed Potatoes

What are you going to cook up first with these garlic & herb Smashed Potatoes?