Potato Casserole aka Funeral Potatoes or Celebration Potatoes

My sister-in-law, Debra, gave me a cookbook from her ward and this recipe was in it. I like it because it is so easy.

2 lbs. pkg. frozen hash brown potatoes, partly thawed
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 cup sour cream
1 large onion, grated very fine
1 can cream of celery or mushroom soup - I just use two cans of cream of celery
1 can of cream of potato or chicken soup

Mix together. Place in buttered dish or pan. Sprinkle 1 cup grated cheese n top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I love sweet and sour chicken and this recipe is so easy. Sorry I can't give you exact measurements I just make what will feed the crowd that I am serving.

Chicken
Flour
Eggs, beaten
Oil
LaChoy Sweet & Sour Sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Dip chicken into flour and then in to egg. Fry until brown. Place in an oven safe dish. Pour sweet and sour sauce over chicken. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken

Jamie found this recipe online at All Recipes. I found it a little to spicy for my palate but those that like spicy food enjoyed it.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
2 tablespoons white wine - we omitted
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2
tablespoons water
1 ounce hot chile paste
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts
4 ounces chopped peanuts

To Make Marinade: Combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture and mix together. Place chicken pieces in a glass dish or bowl and add marinade. Toss to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

To Make Sauce: In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and sugar. Mix together and add green onion, garlic, water chestnuts and peanuts. In a medium skillet, heat sauce slowly until aromatic.

Meanwhile, remove chicken from marinade and saute in a large skillet until meat is white and juices run clear. When sauce is aromatic, add sauteed chicken to it and let simmer together until sauce thickens.

Beef Taquitos

I found this recipe on the top of the roast beef cans that I purchased at Costco. My taquitos didn't take 20 minutes to bake so keep a close eye on them. I liked these with beef but I am thinking that I might try this with chicken.

2 12 oz. cans Roast Beef, drained
1 small can diced green chilies, drained
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
16 corn tortillas (8-inch)
Cooking oil spray
Garnish - salsa, guacamole, sour cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or place a baking rack over the baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mash the drained beef until shredded. Blend in chilies and seasonings, then divide the mixture into 16 portions.

Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and warm in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until tortillas are completely flexible. Place one portion of filling in each tortilla and roll up tightly. Place the rolled taquitos on the prepared baking sheet; spray tops lightly with oil. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Chicken Haystacks

This is Becky's recipe.

16 oz. can of chicken or turkey
Cream of Chicken Soup

Mix can of chicken with cream of chickn soup. Warm. Serve with your choice of the following -

Hot rice
Diced celery
Chinese noodles
Chopped tomatoes
Grated cheese
Crushed pineapple
Almonds
Shredded coconut

Mom's Potato Salad

This is not my Mother's recipe but it belongs to someones Mom that posted a recipe on Recipezaar. It was feeling so much like spring that I wanted hamburgers and potato salad but I feel like I can never quite get it right. I did add an additional scoop of Miracle Whip and mayonnaise because it seemed quite dry but other than that everyone seemed to enjoy it.

6 boiled potatoes, cut in chunks - I used red potatoes
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2-1 onions, chopped - I omitted because some don't like a lot of onions
6 green onions, sliced thin
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup Miracle Whip
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
paprika (optional)
parsley (optional)

Toss together. Chill. EAT!

Strawberry Pudding

This is Mom's recipe but it is one of Jamie's favorite desserts and since I won't be home for her birthday we had it last night. As you read through the directions you will notice that I have made a few changes to the original recipe.

Update: I emailed Aunt Sharon and asked if she knew anything about this recipe and this is what she said, "From what I remember, it was a recipe that I got from my mom. She didn't make it a lot because of all the butter and other expensive ingredients. I remember asking her about it and she said that it was one of her mother's recipe that she used in her catering. I think that is how my mom learned to cook--by helping her mother with the catering. I really wish I had been older when Grandma Giauque passed away. She must have been a neat lady!"

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 egg whites, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream sugar and shortening. Add flour, baking powder, milk and salt. Fold in egg whites. Put in a greased dish. Steam for 1/2 hour. I have a Black and Decker Handy Steamer and it is too small to cook the batter all at one time so I cooked half the batter and cooked the other half when that one was done and it worked great.

Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1 cup powder sugar
1 egg yolk
strawberries

Mix butter, powder sugar and egg. Add mashed strawberries. This is where I made my changes, no egg was added. You have to have sugar but I didn't use as much as the recipe called for but you need the sugar to create strawberry juices and Jamies says that is the best part. Instead of adding butter I just put butter on my hot pudding. I like butter but Jamie doesn't so she opts out.