Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip

Fig and I had the youth leaders over for dinner last night.  The best part is that we discovered two additional leaves for the table allowing us to sit 10 adults quite comfortably at the table (the little girls sat at their table next to us).  We had a potluck and it turned out awesome.  Without too much coordination everything complimented each other.  For example, I made a bacon dip and one person brought chips and another brought fresh veggis both went quite well with it!  I served crackers and bread for people to spread the dip on!  What a great start to the weekend.

Warm and Creamy Bacon Dip

Prep Time: 5 Minutes  Total Time: 35 Minutes
Serves: 15 (5 tablespoons per serving)

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups Sour Cream
3 ounces bacon bits
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped green onion

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Place the mixture in a 1-quart baking dish. Cover. Heat the dip for 25-30 minutes or until hot. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables, crackers and/or chips. *Serving option: Dip may also be placed in hollowed round sourdough loaf, wrapped in foil and heated in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Cowboy or Tatertot Casserole

My husband loves this casserole and though I don't make it often I could eat it as often as possible as well.  It's simple and delicious.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1-2 cups of cheese
1 bag frozen tatertots

Instructions
Brown meat in onion then drain.
 Mix in soup and pour mixture into an 8x8 pan.
Sprinkle cheese on top and put as many tatertots as possible on top!  Normally it turns out to be 3/4 of the bag.
Bake at 350 for an hour.

Note:  I serve green beans and/or peas with this and inevitably end up mixing them in, you should try it!

Baked Potato Soup

This week for our Dine & Sign we had an awesome dinner: Cheddar Broccoli Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chili, Baked Potatoes, Salad and Desserts.  The leftovers were distributed to people in need or who could be blessed by them but we weren't exactly sure what to do with all the leftover baked potatoes.  Soup or chili we could freeze but not the baked potatoes.  Therefore I had to look up Baked Potato Soup recipes!  This is the one I chose from Allrecipes.com.  I tripled the recipe so we'll be able to eat this for awhile. . . or giving a bunch away since it doesn't freeze well!

Prep: 10 min    Cook: 20 min   Ready in 30 min

Ingredients:
3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Directions
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. 
Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.