Mashed Potato & Cauliflower Casserole

I'm a huge mashed potato fan.  Add lots of great things to them like bacon or cheese, and I'm one happy camper.  Awhile back a friend of mine told me she added mashed cauliflower to her mashed potatoes to add some more vitamins.  I figured why not, I'd give it a try.

They were delicious!  I think I could have easily added more cauliflower because there wasn't a lot of "cauliflower" taste to them.  But you could definitely tell they were more than just mashed potatoes.  Totally tasty!

You will need:

* 8 potatoes, peeled

* 1/2 head raw cauliflower

* 1 cup grated cheddar cheese + more for the top

* 4 ounces cream cheese

* 5 strips of bacon, cooked

* 1/4 cup ranch dressing

Cut your potatoes into large chunks and boil until tender.  Drain.

Steam the cauliflower until soft.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and ranch dressing.  You can add more or less depending on your taste and how thick you would like your mashed potatoes.  Add the potatoes and cauliflower and beat until smooth (unless you like chunky mashed potatoes.)

Stir in crumbled bacon and cheese.

Preheat over to 350 degrees. 

Spoon potato/cauliflower mixture into a baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Add more shredded cheese to the top and bake until melted.

This was so good.  I kind of forgot to take pictures of it (oops.  I was too eager to eat it.)

It's a great change to regular mashed potatoes and you can add as little or as much cauliflower as you would like.  And if your kids aren't big cauliflower eaters, they will never know =o)

Here are some other delicious mashed potato dishes (I told you I loved mashed potatoes.) =o)

Bacon, Broccoli, Cheddar Mashed Potato Bites

Mashed Potato Pie

Enjoy!

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Deep Fried Green Beans with Garlic Aioli {Secret Recipe Club}

After taking December off from The Secret Recipe Club, it's nice to get back into a routine.  This month my assigned blog was Kate's Kitchen.   Her blog is wonderful with all kinds of amazing recipes.

I decided to make her Fried Green Beans.  We all know how I feel about fried food.  We're a pair =o)

Deep Fried Green Beans 

Source: Kate's Kitchen

• fresh green beans
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2/3 cup beer
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper and beer.  Let sit for about 10 minutes.

Wash the green beans and towel dry.

Heat your oil until you put a drop of batter in it and it immediately bubbles back to the surface.

Working in batches, dip the beans in the batter and carefully place into the hot oil.  Turn them once during cooking until they are golden brown.

Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Serve warm with aioli.  I am in love with garlic aioli so that's what I made.  Kate made a delicious aioli sauce as well but I needed a little more garlic =o).  

I loved these!  I've had Fried Green Beans a few times and just love them.  Seriously!  Whoever came up with the concept of deep frying vegetables should win a medal!

Did you miss my other Secret Recipe Club posts?  Here they are, just in case =o)

Chocolate Peppermint Snowball Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies

 Double Layer Oreo Cake Bars

Bannock: Skillet Fried Native American Bread

Beautiful Beet Bundt Cake  

French Butter Cookies  

Puff Pastry Mini Apple Bites  

Egg Shaped Brownies  

Pecan Pie Bars  

Cinnamon Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars  

Double Chocolate Caramel Mousse Cookies  

Chai Tea Bread  

Cinnabun Cheesecake  

Marble Cake with White Chocolate Glaze  

Mt. Bachelor Bars  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

 Ummm, can you say sweet tooth?  =o)

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Did you know that you can cook baked potatoes in your crock pot?  Am I the only one that didn't know this???  When I saw this over on Skip to My Lou, I thumped my forehead and seriously said (out loud) "GENIUS!"  I love baked potatoes!  But I don't like turning on my oven for an hour and I don't think baked potatoes taste as delicious when they are cooked in the microwave.  Plus, when you have to cook a lot of them they take forever in the microwave!

This is so simple and so cool!  Simple wash and scrub your potatoes.  Cover them with aluminum foil.  (You can rub them down with a little olive oil or garlic infused olive oil (which we did.)  Yum!

Place all the potatoes in your crock pot and turn it on low.  Let them cook for at least 6-8 hours.

Voila!  Crock Pot Baked Potatoes!

 

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Sausage Stuffing and Some Thanksgiving Tips from Mrs. Cubbison's

What's your favorite holiday?  Did you know that in a recent "Thanksgiving Across America" survey, researchers at Mrs. Cubbison's Kitchen found that most people say Christmas is their favorite holiday, followed by Thanksgiving?  I wouldn't have guessed Thanksgiving was number two, but what do I know?  Participants also said that this year they will be giving thanks for "family, followed by "health", "God" and "friends".  There are all kinds of fun survey results to look at on their site!

Mrs. Cubbison's also has an amazing Thanksgiving Tips page.  It has everything from recipes and ideas to tips on how to cook the ultimate turkey.  There are also printable coupons (which are always fantastic!) and you can enter the Mrs. Cubbison $1500 Thanksgiving Shopping Spree Giveaway.  That's $1500!!!  Yes, please!

In the US, Thanksgiving is a huge holiday for some families. I'm not a huge Thanksgiving person. I'm not totally sure why. Maybe because growing up I didn't really like "Thanksgiving food".  I liked turkey and mashed potatoes (if I could cover them in ranch dressing) but that was about it.

When I was in Graduate School a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to try her famous Pork Sausage Dressing.  I said no thanks, that I didn't like stuffing and she looked at me like I sprouted a second head.  "How could you not like stuffing?" she asked me.  I didn't even know the answer to that one.  I just never liked it.  But somehow she convinced me to try hers and I was completely shocked at how good it was.  

I'm going to digress for a minute.  Is it stuffing or dressing?  I mean, really?  Are they the same?  Like pop and soda?

Ever since Graduate School and my friend's totally tasty stuffing, I'm a little more adventurous in my Thanksgiving food trying.  I even like gravy now =o)  But her stuffing has always been the best I've had.  

I used Mrs' Cubbison's Classic Dressing.

It is wonderful!  From the sponsor "Do more than cook, Create with Mrs. Cubbison's Stuffing, Croutons and Toppings. Made from fresh breads, seasoned just right, Mrs. Cubbison’s stuffings and dressings have been trusted by home cooks for over 60 years as the perfect choice for the most important meals of the year."

You can find Mrs. Cubbison's on Facebook and on YouTube.

Pork Sausage Stuffing

* 1 box Mrs. Cubbison's Classic Dressing (seasoned)

* 1 1/2 lbs. pork sausage

* 1 cup diced onion (I used a sweet onion)

* 1 cup chopped celery

* 2 cups chicken broth

Cook the sausage while you are dicing the onion and celery.  

When the sausage is almost done, add the celery and onion and cook until they are soft.

Mix Mrs. Cubbison's Classic Dressing with the sausage and veggie mixture.  Don't judge on this one, but make sure you add the grease as well.  You can go ahead and drain the grease if this freaks you out.

Add the chicken broth and gently stir to mix everything together.  Scoop into a casserole dish.

Doesn't it look delicious!

Cover and cook in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Uncover and cook another 15 minutes until top is browned and delicious looking.

What will you be cooking for Thanksgiving?  Will it include stuffing? 

Cover this in gravy and I'm eating this for breakfast too!

This sponsorship is brought to you by Mrs. Cubbison's who we have partnered with for this promotion.

 

{Crazy Cooking Challenge} Bacon, Broccoli, Cheddar Mashed Potato Bites

I can hardly believe it's that time again. A month has passed since the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge. This month... the ultimate mashed potatoes. I don't know about you guys but I love mashed potatoes. They make me happy.  And what better way to serve mashed potatoes than all loaded up with goodness and then fried!  Right?  So delicious!

I got my recipes off two different blogs.  The recipe came from Mommy's Recipes Blog.  Her Creamy Loaded Mashed Potatoes spoke to me.  I got the idea to fry potato balls from Life's Ambrosia.  Check out her delicious looking post for Cheesy Roasted Garlic Potato Balls. 

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

* 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

* 2 cups cooked and chopped broccoli

* 1 cup sour cream

* 1 cup mayonnaise (we used Ranch Dressing)

* 3 green onions, finely chopped

* 6 slices bacon, cooked crispy and chopped

Cover potatoes in water in a large pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Drain and mash.

Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, broccoli, green onions and 4 slices of bacon (crumbled.)  We used Ranch dressing in place of the mayonnaise.  I thought it would give it a little more flavor.

Turn into a greased shallow baking dish and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Top with remaining cheese and bacon and cook an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

If you stopped right here you would be in heaven!  But wait, it gets even better! 

Have your amazing loaded mashed potatoes with your dinner and refrigerate the rest.  The next day, remove them from the refrigerator and form them into balls about the size of a golf ball.

In one bowl beat 3 eggs.

In another bowl add 1 cup bread crumbs and 1 cup Panko crumbs.

Dip each ball into the egg and then the bread crumbs.

Fry in hot oil for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, remove and place on a paper towel.

Now enjoy every single one of them!  They were so darn good.  I loved the bacon and cheese in there and the Panko crumbs added an extra crispiness to the outside.

But let's look inside..

Oh man.  My new favorite thing to eat.  Seriously.  Is it terrible that I ate these for breakfast too???

Again, a huge thank you to Tina from Mom's Crazy Cooking for hosting this awesome challenge.  If you are interested in joining us, let her know!

And don't forget to vote for your favorite mashed potato post. I'm number 49 (hint, hint) =o)

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