Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Help! My Alfredo Sauce Leftovers Don’t Reheat Well!

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Not that I know much about leftovers around my house anymore. But occasionally when we have a small amount of alfredo sauce leftovers, we’ve found that the butter separates when reheated, making for a greasy noodle on a plate. Have you ever run into this problem? Not to worry – I am here to solve the dilemma.

alfredo leftovers 2

What to do with alfredo sauce leftovers

Perhaps you have figured out the trick to prevent this and would like to share. In the meantime, this is what our family does to remedy the problem:

We stir the leftover Alfredo Sauce into some marinara sauce. Have you ever had marinara mixed with alfredo? It’s incredibly delicious. It’s so delicious, in fact, that my boys sometimes request that I make this on purpose. This is fine because I always love preparing two separate sauces when I make pasta because I have nothing better to do than to double my efforts in the kitchen.

alfredo leftovers 1

But seriously, it’s worth making two sauces because the combination is so good. Or…we could simply make extra Alfredo Sauce on purpose one day to eat as Fettuchini Alfredo. Put the leftovers away, then make spaghetti with marinara sauce the following day. Put those leftovers away, and then on the third day we can stir all the leftovers together and have a Spaghetti Alfredo meal.

Probably the day after that, we should make something besides pasta. You think?

The Perfect Solution for Warming Leftover Alfredo Sauce

Yum

The two sauces together with pasta truly is delicious. If only all leftover issues could be solved by stirring them into something else to create a delightfully brand new dish.

For the record, Homemade Alfredo Sauce with pasta is amazing and tastes even better than what you order at a restaurant. Talk about a money saver!

Have you discovered any tricks for reheating Alfredo Sauce?

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Make Your Own “Nesquik”

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Oh yeah. Homemade Nesquik coming right up.

Homemade Nesquik

Want to know something about Chocolate Milk?

Nobody needs it. It’s not a health food. We probably shouldn’t drink it.

Yet I still have a homemade “Nesquik” recipe to share with you. Why?

Because it’s fun, because it’s tasty, and because some people love their chocolate milk. So if you at least had an option to drink a healthier version of chocolate milk, wouldn’t that be nice?

Here’s the info I found on the official Nesquik website. This is what you find in the store-bought variety of the powdered mix…

INGREDIENTS: SUGAR, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, SOY LECITHIN, CARRAGEENAN, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, SPICE. VITAMINS AND MINERALS: SODIUM ASCORBATE (VITAMIN C), FERRIC PYROPHOSPHATE (IRON), NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE, COPPER GLUCONATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, BIOTIN.

What’s with all that stuff in there? If you can possibly imagine, I just learned to make a chocolate milk mix with the simple yet magical ingredients I like to call cocoa and sugar. For real? Are we sure we can have our chocolate milk without adding some niacinamide? Because I just don’t know.

Here’s how easy this is: You put your cocoa and sugar in a jar, then you add two dashes of salt – which is a fun little ingredient that enhances the sweetness and completes the package. Shake it up, and you’ve got a fine little treat – if you think you can get along without the copper gluconate. (I am having the best time listening to all of you try to pronounce these words as you read.)

Homemade NesquikYum

4.5 from 2 reviews
Make Your Own "Nesquik"
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 2 dashes of salt (I use Redmond Real Salt)
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients into a pint sized jar.
  2. Put a lid on and shake the ingredients until they are well mixed.
  3. To make chocolate milk, add 1-2 Tablespoons of mix to a 12 ounce glass of milk.
  4. Stir well.

And that’s it. Making Homemade Nesquik will take less effort than finding your missing shoe.

Make Your Own Nesquik

My boys were thrilled with this fun treat, so I went ahead and made a half gallon of chocolate milk. The next morning was chilly, so I used the mix to make hot chocolate. (Just warm the milk, then stir in the milk as directed above.)

What’s your relationship with chocolate milk? 

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The Boy Who Brought Thousands to Their Knees

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You know what I’ve really appreciated the past 8 days? My dirty kitchen. It is so normal. The laundry pile. School work. Soccer practice. Vacuuming. Messes. Sibling arguments. Busy schedules. All of the normal.

When there is a tragedy, normal tasks are a blessing. Does this even make sense? It’s just that the things I might normally complain about (dirty dishes and all of the above) became something I was so thankful to be dealing with this past week. After all, my cousins were in the hospital watching their 16 year old son fight for his life. Just days before, they had been doing all of the normal. How we long for the normal when suddenly nothing is normal.

Friday, September 11 our 16 year old cousin sustained a head injury on the football field. He slipped into a coma, underwent surgeries, became weaker, continued to lose ground. I’ve never been so obsessed with Facebook. It was my link to my cousins in Oklahoma when all we could do here in Nebraska was pray and watch for updates from those who were at Ben’s bedside.

Here’s what I watched transpire: All of us who knew Ben were praying. We all asked others for prayer. Others began praying. Word spread. People who didn’t know Ben began praying. In just a few days, I watched as thousands and thousands of people shared that they were praying. Most were praying for a family they didn’t know and for a boy they’d never meet.

This is love, this is Jesus in the heart of people, and this is powerful.

God answered our prayers, but He didn’t let us keep Ben. He healed Ben fully, but not in the way we all asked. Ben is whole again, but he’s not home with his family. He is in his new home. His forever home.

ben

Should we ask why? It never hurts to ask. Will we ever know? Does it even matter?

God’s plan for our lives, for Ben’s life, for the life of Ben’s family – God’s plan is absolute. Even if it hurts and even if it doesn’t make sense to us. We choose to trust God through the pain.

As we mourn our devastating loss of Ben, we are in awe of the beauty of God and His work in and through His people.

Because of this one boy – this boy and his family who are so loved by so many – thousands and thousands of people got on their knees and talked to the Creator last week.

Because of this one boy and his family, thousands of people are still on their knees, pleading for comfort and peace for Ben’s family. Tears are being shed, love is being shown, and Jesus is being glorified.

Praise be to God for the heart of His people.

May we not wait for tragedy to renew our relationship with our Creator. May we stay humbly and joyfully on our knees as we recognize the truth of the strength this provides.

Praise God with me for the life of this one boy – the one who brought so many into precious communion with others and with the Father this week.

We’re gonna miss you, Ben.

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Finally! Free Shipping and 45% Off Palm Shortening at the Same Time!

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Man, I’ve been waiting for this one!! It’s hard for me to fork it out for shipping on something heavy like Palm Shortening (because I’m spoiled…and I like to save money). I’ve been needing palm shortening, but I was waiting for it to go on sale and sync up with a free shipping weekend. I waited, and I waited, and I waited…

Here it is! It is a free shipping weekend at Tropical Traditions AND their Organic Palm Shortening is 45% off through Sunday! $26.89 for a gallon…yes please.

palm_shortening

How do I use Palm Shortening?

Well first of all, it’s almost pie baking season. Palm Shortening is a fantastic, healthy alternative to Crisco when making pie crusts (because our bodies can digest it well). I fry foods in it because it can withstand high temperatures without becoming hydrogenated (this is rare for a fat!). I use palm shortening to make my Whole Wheat Quick Baking Mix (like Bisquik), which is then used to make all kinds of goodies.

My Favorite Ways to Use Palm Shortening (and why it's good for you)

Yes, I love palm shortening.

Heard about the deforestation problem that accompanies the harvest of palm oil? This is not an issue where Tropical Traditions is concerned. They practice safe and environmentally friendly methods of palm tree farming. Read more details here. You can trust Tropical Traditions when it comes to healthy, nourishing food and the care of the earth.

Find the Organic Shortening here. Use the code 21159 at checkout to receive free shipping. The sale price is only good through Sunday, September 20. Stock up time!

Do you love palm shortening? How do you use it? Do you like frying food in it or do you prefer to fry in coconut oil?

This post contains my referral link. New customers who purchase through the links in this post will receive a free Virgin Coconut Oil Book!

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The Easiest Way to Make Muffins, Plus 23 Delicious Muffin Recipes

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The Easiest Way to Make Muffins

I love it when I order something and then I forget about it. When a package comes I get to be surprised! What did I order? What did I get? What’s in the box?

It is especially silly that I do this even when ordering with Amazon Prime two day shipping. There are just too many things to remember from a Wednesday to a Friday, apparently.

Remember when I told you about the fun-shaped silicone muffin cups for a great price? I got me some of those, then I surprised myself with them two days later when the package came. “What’s in the box?” asked the boys. I have no idea. And then this was inside:

silicone4

I think I squealed.

The 12 regular Muffin Rounds together with a set of 12 Stars is still on sale. You, too, could surprise yourself with a package.

Early this week I went with the freeze muffin batter for easy breakfasts idea. The easy idea just got easier with these cups!

silicone muffins 1

silicone muffins 2

silicone muffins 3

See how easily the frozen batter pops out?

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To clean these, I simply rinsed them well in very hot water.

silicone muffins 5

I put all of the frozen batter shapes into a freezer bag for another day.

silicone muffins 6

Then I baked a few muffins for a snack. Not only do I sometimes forget what I order online, I also sometimes forget I have muffins baking in the oven. This is what timers are for, Laura. Ah well. So they are only slightly overdone. This is what milk is for, Muffins. But are those cute, or what?

silicone muffins 7

Well, I for one am very excited about my new toys. I also love the bright colors. Silly as it is, the rainbow of muffin cups made the stirring and the freezing and the baking more fun. It doesn’t take much for me, apparently. After all, I’m the one who squeals when I open a package that I ordered for myself.

Did you get yourself some of these? Check out all the varieties I found, along with the coupons some of them offer. (These circles and stars are the best deal though.)

Here’s a list of the 23 wholesome muffin recipes we have listed here at Heavenly Homemakers:

23 Kid Friendly Muffin Recipes

What are your favorite muffins? Please tell me you’ve tried the “freeze the muffin batter” idea. Did you get some of the fun silicone muffin cups? Think of all the fun we’ll have!

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How to Make Refrigerator Cookie Dough – Save Money and Use Healthier Ingredients

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This idea was born out of pure laziness. I was hungry for my Easy {Low} Sugar Cookies, but the idea of chilling the dough, and rolling out the cookie dough, then cutting out the dough…oh it was all just too much.

I don’t want to knead bread dough, I don’t want to roll out sugar cookies…has it really come to this? (Yes.) So here is what I did to save myself some effort and time:

I mixed the dough. I took half of the dough and I rolled it up in parchment paper – just like a tube of dough you would buy at the store, except that mine didn’t have a Pillsbury Dough Boy pictured on the side. I stuck the tube in the fridge. It worked so well, I did the same with the other half of the dough. It was too easy. An hour later, I sliced my cookie dough tubes. I baked my slices (just as the recipe states). I rejoiced that I had avoided the difficult task of using a rolling pin. I ate a cookie.

Sugar Cookie Collage

Just a reminder that these cookies are very low in sugar – kind of like a sweet, buttery biscuit. We don’t miss the extra sugar because they are so delicious just as they are. If you were wanting to try the Easy {Low} Sugar Cookies recipe but balked at the idea of rolling and cutting and getting flour down the front of your shirt – just roll the dough into a tube. You will feel so Betty Crocker-ish, perhaps a little Martha Stewart-y, but mostly you will break in to a Heavenly Homemaker dance. Do not ask me to show you what this looks like. 

One thing has led to another with cookie dough tubes in my kitchen. These are all the other important facts you need to know:

These Cookie Dough Tubes freeze well.Yum

These are so easy and fun to make, that I found that it made sense to make several batches to freeze to have on hand for all the cookie emergencies. To do this, simply place the parchment paper-wrapped dough into freezer bags, label, and freeze. Thaw in the fridge, if you think ahead better than I do. Otherwise, set the frozen dough tube on the counter-top for about 15 minutes, then slice and bake (according to the time and temp as directed in the cookie recipe). Yes, it’s that easy.

These Cookie Dough Tubes cost much less than what you can buy at the store.

I did the math, because I was curious and thought maybe you would be too.

One recipe of sugar cookie dough cost me roughly $2.60. This was using high quality ingredients, most of them organic. I get two tubes of dough out of one batch, each making about 18 cookies. This breaks down to $1.31 for one tube of cookie dough! Take that, Dough Boy! (I’m sorry. That wasn’t nice. You are adorable. You just aren’t good for us. And you are expensive. This is not your fault, because you are imaginary.)

These Cookie Dough Tubes aren’t limited to just sugar cookies.

Obviously, you can use this same idea to make other varieties of cookie dough. Chocolate chip works very, very well.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Collage

Need the recipes? But of course!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy {Low} Sugar Cookies

I haven’t tried yet, but I’m very sure this idea will work with:

Whole Wheat Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Christmas Spice Cookies

How to Make Refrigerator Cookie Dough

Have you tried this idea before? What other varieties of cookies should we try with this idea?

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How to Freeze Apple Pie Filling – Easy!

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When it comes to making and preserving Apple Pie Filling, you have a few choices. You can can it (can can, can you do the can can, can you…). You can freeze it, which I will describe here today. Or (and this is by far the most novel idea of them all) you can put the filling directly into a pie crust and bake it immediately.

apples

It all comes down to how much freezer space you have, how much pantry space you have, if you love canning produce, if you have plenty of jars, or if you really just want to eat an apple pie after dinner on this very day.

But really most of it comes down to apples. You can’t do any of this if you don’t have apples.

So…do you have apples? I have apples. This year I decided that the easiest way for me to preserve Apple Pie Filling is to freeze it.

If you want to can apple pie filling so that you can store it in your pantry, you can learn how to do that here. You should know that I break out in a sweat every single time I type the word p-a-n-t-r-y. I re-read it four hundred and eighty times to make sure I didn’t leave out the “r” because that would bring a whole new unintended meaning to my sentence.

apple_pie_filling_5

Here’s how to freeze apple pie filling:

1. Wash, core, and slice apples into a large bowl. I leave the peeling on. (Once again I sweat and make sure I added the “l” to p-e-e-l-i-n-g.)
2. Stir in 1/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon per every 5-6 apples.
3. Transfer mixture to quart-sized freezer bags, 3-4 cups of apple pie filling per bag.
4. Label the bag and freeze it for up to a year.

How to Freeze Apple Pie Filling

When you’re ready to make an apple pie, simply thaw and dump the contents into an unbaked pie crust, then proceed as you normally would to make an apple pie. Here’s my Whole Wheat Pie Crust recipe. Even easier, use the filling to make an Apple Crisp or a Salted Caramel Apple Crisp.

It’s wonderful having prepared apple pie filling in your freezer, and yes, even in your pantrrrrrrry.

How’s your apple supply? Have you been able to get your hands on plenty of good apples this year? 

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Easy No-Knead Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls For the Freezer ~ With Honey’d Orange Glaze!

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No-knead breads are THE WAY to go.

Cinnamon Roll with Orange Glaze

I’m not sure that my dearly missed, hard working grandma would be too pleased with me about this – but I’ve decided that kneading bread dough just isn’t my favorite thing. I mean, I’ll do it if I have to. But I’d rather stir ingredients, smile at the pile of dough (you know, for encouragement), then walk away.

This is how I found myself experimenting with my Whole Wheat Cinnamon Roll recipe. I had all the ingredients mixed together, but then I was like, “Really? Do I really have to knead this now? That just sounds soooo hard and time consuming.” (Really, Grandma. I know you lived through the Great Depression and fed nine children three meals a day from scratch with food that you grew or raised on your farm, that you worked from sun-up to sun-down in your teeny-tiny kitchen, and the only time you rested was to watch Judge Wapner after you turned 80. But do try to understand what I’m up against here.)

I figured that at the very worst, I’d have little hard cinnamon roll hockey pucks we could dunk in milk. So I did it. I walked away from my dough without kneading it.

It looked like this when I covered it up:

cin rolls 10

An hour later, it looked like this:

cin rolls2

Did it work, or did it work? 

Thus, my Whole Wheat Cinnamon Roll recipe is being turned into a No-Knead Whole Wheat Cinnamon Roll recipe because our lives are too full from all the hard work it takes to think about Grandma scrubbing all of the manure-crusted clothes on a wash-board.

What you see here is absolutely not a picture of me kneading the dough. It is simply me working a little flour into the dough after it rose so that I could roll it out without it sticking to the countertop.

cin rolls3

After I rolled it out, I spread melted butter over it and sprinkled a little sucanat and cinnamon over it.

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Then (like a boss) I rolled both ends until they met in the middle and separated the rolled dough with a knife. (Start on the outside, top and bottom, and roll them into the middle.)

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I then proceeded to cut individual rolls, making a huge mess in the process.

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My rolls went on a pan in a most unattractive way because I leave perfectionism up to the perfectionists. Do not poke fun. They can’t help how they look.

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I froze the dough rolls on the pan, then transferred the frozen rolls to a freezer bag for another day. I will use them when I am busy not having to pluck a chicken for our dinner.

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No-Knead Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls – for the freezer (or for directly into the oven)

Easy No-Knead Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls For the Freezer ~ With Honey'd Orange Glaze!
 
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Author:
Serves: 15-18
Ingredients
  • 1 cup warm (but not hot!) water
  • 2 Tablespoons yeast (active dry)
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2½ cups milk
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup honey
  • 4 teaspoons sea salt
  • 7-8 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, mush the yeast and 2 teaspoons honey together with the warm water and set aside. It will begin to form bubbles soon.
  2. In the meantime, stir together milk, butter, ½ cup honey, and sea salt on the stove until the butter has melted and the mixture has reached 120°.
  3. If the temp exceeds this, allow it to cool before moving on.
  4. Pour the milk mixture into the bubbly yeast mixture and stir.
  5. Mix in flour, two cups at a time until a nice dough has formed.
  6. Do not knead. (There is no need.)
  7. Cover the dough and allow it to rise for at least one hour, or until you remember that you were making rolls.
  8. Prepare the innards:
  9. Ingredients for the “innards” of your cinnamon rolls: ½ cup melted butter, ½ cup sucanat or brown sugar, and ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon
  10. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough to about ¼ inch thickness.
  11. Spread melted butter over the rolled dough.
  12. Sprinkle with sucanat, then cinnamon.
  13. Roll up the dough from the outsides of the "dough circle" as pictured above.
  14. Cut apart the two rolled lengths, then cut the dough into ½ inch thick rolls.
  15. Place the rolls side-by-side on a baking pan.
  16. Allow them to rest/rise for about 20 minutes, then bake the rolls in a 350° oven for about 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
  17. Glaze and serve!

Honey’d Orange GlazeYum

2 teaspoons orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons honey

Whisk ingredients together on the stove until smooth. Drizzle over baked cinnamon rolls.

To Freeze and Bake:

Place the prepared rolls about a 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet. Freeze for about two hours, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to two months.

To bake, place the desired number of frozen rolls on a baking pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (In the winter, I leave them on the countertop overnight.) Place the rolls into a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 350°. Bake as directed above, adding a few minutes of additional time as needed.

Easy No-Knead Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls for the Freezer with Honey'd Orange Glaze

These are deliciously easy, and mostly low in sugar! They kind of resemble those frozen orange rolls you can buy in the freezer section – except that these have a little bit of nutritional value and not nearly as much sugar, so we can all rejoice.

Are you a perfectionist? Did my frozen roll picture cause you to cringe? I’m just a “get the job done and move on” kind of girl…which basically means that I am a mess when I cook.

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Are Essential Oils a Fad?

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Let’s talk. Are Essential Oils a fad?

Essential Oils - Fad

Chevron decor, tatoos, and skinny jeans – plus a bunch of stuff I’m not aware of because I just don’t keep up very well. Those are kind of fads, right? I mean, chevron is the way to decorate right now – but in a few years we’ll all be sick of it just like we got sick of our peach and teal southwestern wallpaper of the 80’s (raise your hand if you remember this delightful decorating era).

We went from flared jeans to skinny jeans – as if we all sorely missed our pant legs and want to now hug them close. I’m not opposed to tatoos, but I do wonder if people might eventually get tired of looking at the very same thing on their arm for 60 straight years. This is why I didn’t decorate my new bathroom in chevron – because I’d get tired of it eventually. Clearly there is a direct connection in my logic between chevron, bathrooms, and tatoos. It all makes sense.

And then there are diets. I’d love to think that the “low fat” trend is on its way out. I mean, it is if I have anything to do with it. Eat real food fats like butter and coconut oil! Balance this with other real foods! You have nothing to be afraid of! There, I’m doing my part. (Yes, you’ll still fit into your skinny jeans.)

So let’s talk about Essential Oils. They are all the rage. Are they a fad? Or are they the real deal?

It’s easy to discover a product and declare it to be the be all and end all. The product that cures everything. The thing that heals what ails you and cleans your toilets too. Got naughty toddlers? There’s an oil for that. Feeling sluggish? There’s an oil for that. Need to sleep better? Oil!

Are Essential Oils a Fad

Is it for real? This is what I think:

1. Essential Oils aren’t new. We just think they are.

They were the first medicine. There are 188 references to oils in the Bible. Oils were found in King Tut’s tomb. Oils have been around for a very long time, but I certainly never heard of them until just a few years ago. That’s why it seems like they are the latest thing. Perhaps there’s a lot of hype going along with oils now because they seem new to so many of us. But they aren’t new – and I don’t believe they are a fad. I guess to some people they might be – as in they’ll get excited about them for a while, then brush them aside when something else comes along. But I plan on using them forever (she says, as she takes a whiff of peppermint oil).

2. Oils work. I can attest to this.

They’ve helped our family with countless issues. Our family has experienced their work many times over. (That was me, being very vague and non-specific because the FDA doesn’t allow me to say much more.) :)

3. Oils are easy. I love this.

I do not have to run my kids to the doctor every time they have an ailment. Essential oils are a perfect remedy to try first. I love having them in my cabinet so that we can often experience immediate relief when we begin to feel yucky. At the very least, they give temporary relief as our bodies do their job to fight off sickness. And there’s no “wait four hours before using again” like conventional medicines. Need to rub some on fifteen minutes after the first application? No problem.

4. Oils are not the be all and end all. Nothing is. Okay, well – Jesus is. C’mon now.

This summer our 13 year old, Elias, got his shoulder yanked out of its socket at church camp. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that was the problem at first. He just said his “shoulder hurt.” (He is a man of few words.) I oiled him just as Asa always does when he has a sports injury. Whereas Asa usually finds relief immediately, the oils didn’t even take the edge off Elias’ pain. I tried other oils. Nothin’. That’s when I finally looked at Elias head on and saw that his arm and shoulder looked funny (and by funny, I mean so not funny). Off to the chiropractor we went, where his shoulder was put back in place (also not funny). Oils are great, but they couldn’t put Elias’ shoulder back in its socket. There are doctors for this.

What are your thoughts?

I’d love to hear your experiences with Essential Oils! Do you use them? In what ways have they worked for you? Which ones are your favorites?

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Easy (Make-Ahead) Baked Potato and Bacon Casserole

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It’s a Potato and Bacon Casserole. Life is good.

Bacon Baked Potato Casserole

This is so easy we can hardly call it a recipe. I’m pretty sure my family will be having this every other week for the rest of our lives for the following reasons:

  1. Bacon. Of course. And also, cheese.
  2. We can slather it with Spicy Ranch Dressing, which tastes so good I believe I shall become addicted to it.
  3. I can make several of these casseroles at once and freeze them for later, making this easy meal even easier.

This “casserole” is basically baked potatoes cut up in a dish with bacon and cheese all over it. I’m sorry that I can’t make it more complicated for all of you who would rather spend many more minutes sauteing, braising, and broiling. This time, you’ll have to get your steeping and zesting fix elsewhere.

Everyone else: I lovingly suggest that you go scrub some potatoes. You’re having this for dinner tonight.

Baked Potato and Bacon CasseroleYum

Easy (Make-Ahead) Baked Potato and Bacon Casserole
 
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8 medium-sized potatoes (any variety) 1 pound bacon 2 cups shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese Sour cream, chives, and/or Spicy Ranch Dressing for topping
Author:
Ingredients
  • 8 medium-sized potatoes (any variety)
  • 1 pound bacon
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
  • Sour cream, chives, and/or Spicy Ranch Dressing for topping
Instructions
  1. Scrub and bake potatoes by putting them into a covered dish in a 350° oven for 1½ hours.
  2. In the meantime, cut bacon into bite-sized pieces and cook thoroughly on the stove-top.
  3. Cut baked potatoes into chunks, spreading them out into a 9x13" baking dish.
  4. Sprinkle cooked bacon over the potatoes.
  5. Top with shredded cheese.
  6. Bake in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Offer sour cream, chives, and/or Spicy Ranch Dressing to complete this main course. Serve with a salad and another fruit or veggie. It is too easy. Makes 6-8 servings.

Baked Potato Bacon Casserole

To Freeze This Dish: 

Make it as directed above. Allow it to cool completely. Cover and label. Put it in the freezer.

To Reheat and Serve This Dish:

This is my favorite trick. Get the casserole out of the freezer. Cover the frozen dish with foil (somebody needs to invent a 9×13 glass cover for my pyrex dishes). Put the frozen casserole into a COLD oven. Turn the oven on to 250° allowing it to heat up along with the casserole. After one hour, turn the oven up to 350° and bake for one more hour or until the casserole is thawed, heated through, and looks like wonderful cheesy deliciousness.

Let us all add this recipe to our “Reasons to Make Extra Baked Potatoes When We’re Making Baked Potatoes Anyway” list.

7 Ways to Use Baked Potatoes

Switch out the bacon in this casserole for other cooked meats. Switch out the regular potatoes for sweet potatoes. Just whatever you do, try it with the Spicy Ranch Dressing. Ah-mazing.

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