Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

What is more delicious than mashed potatoes? Well that's easy....mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon! You could probably put bacon in almost anything and it would be amazing. Yeah, I'm going to stick to that last comment and say it's a fact, NOT an opinion. I don't even have to mention what cheese does to any dish....if you need convincing, you just aren't right.

Ingredients

5-6 cups of mashed potatoes (about 12 potatoes)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces sour cream

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup butter

8 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup milk (approximately)

Salt & pepper

Garlic powder

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil potatoes until tender. Mash potatoes, then add cream cheese, sour cream, butter and enough milk to get the creamy consistency you would like. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Add 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the bacon to mashed potatoes. Place into a casserole dish and top with remaining cheese and bacon. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. *You could also broil for a minute or two at the end to brown the cheese more.

These were delicious! What would make them even better you ask? The almighty cholula, green onions and French's fried onions!!! Do not judge, it is so good! 

Enjoy!

Chinese Fried Rice

It is a very hard toss up to decide what flavors encompass my favorite cuisine. I am a food lover so I like a variety. If I had to choose, it would be between Italian and Asian flavors. I love them both and on the days I don't have a clue what to cook, they are always an awesome back up plan. About a month ago, I stumbled upon this recipe from the Life as a Lofthouse blog (which I love!) Both recipes are absolutely delicious! We are a big fans of the simplicity and tastiness of this chinese rice!

Ingredients
3 cups cooked white rice (leftover rice works best but we've made it right before and it's still great!)
4 tbsp sesame oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 tsp minced garlic
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

Directions: Heat the sesame oil on medium high heat in a large saute pan or wok. Add the chopped onion, peas and carrots, and minced garlic, cooking until tender. Turn heat down to medium low, adding egg to pan and scrambling. Mix in rice and add soy sauce, blending all ingredients until heated through.

I don't need chinese take out anymore because of this recipe. So it's good on my wallet as well as my waist since we know all the ingredients!

Enjoy!

Mexican Rice

This is by far my husband's favorite side dish. He rants and raves about it all the time, which makes me feel good, obviously. I try to incorporate it into our meals whenever we have a little mexican flavor going on. Hope you enjoy it as much as he does!

Ingredients
1 cup of white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of tomato paste
2 tsp cumin
Juice of 1 lime (you can add less)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped parsley or cilantro

Directions: Place rice and chicken broth into saucepan on medium high head. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce heat to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes until rice is done. In a saute pan, heat olive oil on medium, add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, stirring continuously so garlic does not burn. Add tomato paste and cumin, stir to mix all ingredients well. Add onion mixture into cooked rice, seasoning with salt to taste. Squeeze juice of 1 lime into rice, and add chopped parsley or cilantro.

*We have used both parsley and cilantro in this dish, depended on what we had for fresh herbs. They both add good flavor.

Enjoy!