Jesus Take The Meal

  Meet my oldest kid's favorite side dish. To his credit, they are delicious. These make a very large bowl, so feel free to half the recipe for a smaller family. These make an appearance every Thanksgiving, and someone asks for the recipe every year. I subbed Alouette Garlic and Herb cheese here because the store was out of Boursin and I was making them that evening. Use Boursin when you can find it - I prefer it over Alouette. Ingredients: 4 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes (I use the entire 5 lb bag) Fresh chopped chives 2 packages soft garlic herb cheese, such as Boursin 6 T Butter 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 cup whole buttermilk 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper (I use more) Directions: Preheat oven to 400. Cook peeled potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Drain and mash with potato masher. Add cheese, 4 T butter, salt, pepper, and chives until combined. Stir in buttermilk until well combined. The mixture should be slightly more liquid than you would want but not overly so.  Spoon into a ligh...

Growing up, I never liked mac and cheese in the crockpot. I don't know why. My nephew made this recipe a few years ago, and I have made it ever since. I double it for Thanksgiving! It's easy but SO good.  Ingredients: 16 oz macaroni noodles, prepared according to directions 1 can cheddar cheese soup 16 oz sour cream 1 lb. shredded sharp cheddar 1 lb. shredded mild cheddar 1/2 c. butter salt, to taste pepper, to taste 1 tsp. ground mustard Directions: Spray your crockpot with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients minus noodles in crockpot. After cooking and draining noodles, stir in warm noodles to all other ingredients. Stirring them in while warm will help cheeses melt and everything combine. Stir well. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir well a few times while cooking to incorporate all ingredients. 

I roasted broccoli like this years ago and have never made it another way. It's fast, easy, and so good! Ingredients: Broccoli florets, trimmed of any long stems Olive oil for drizzling minced garlic salt, to taste pepper, to taste 1/2 lemon parmesan cheese or pecorino romano  Directions: Preheat oven to 425. Drizzle olive oil on broccoli florets. You don't want them drenched in oil. I usually drizzle then toss around with my hands. Add minced garlic and toss. Place spread out on a foil lined sheet pan. You don't want piles of broccoli because it will steam vs roast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 425 for about 15-20 min or until broccoli begins to brown. Remove from oven and squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon over broccoli. Grate some cheese over broccoli using a fine grater like a microplane. Enjoy!

This is not a pretty dish. There's no good way to make it pretty. So, I will just tell you it's good and stick with that. I did divide this one up before baking into a pan for the oven and a pan for the freezer.  Ingredients: 1 bag frozen shredded hashbrowns 1 bag of shredded cheese (2 c) 2 16 oz containers of sour cream 2 bags bacon pieces 1 package of Ranch seasoning Directions: Mix sour cream, Ranch, most of the cheese (save a little for top of dish), and bacon pieces. Stir in hashbrowns. Pour into casserole dish (I used an 8x8 square one, but the entire amount will fit into 9x11 dish). Top with a little shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  *If freezing, prepare up to baking and cover with foil. When ready to bake, leave foil on top and bake for an hour. Remove foil and bake for another 15 min until cheese is melted and center of dish is hot. 

When we have any sort of Mexican dish, guacamole is a MUST. I keep it pretty simple with my guac.  Not pictured, jalapeno (I forgot I had it until after I snapped this) Ingredients: Avocados Lime, juiced Red Onion, finely diced Cilantro. minced Jalapeno (optional, and I don't always use), seeded and diced Salt to taste Directions: Use ripe avocados and mash with fork or potato masher to the consistency you like. I prefer a little chunky, so whatever you like. Add lime juice, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno (if using), and salt. There is no exact measures on this one. You just have to add to your liking. I used 6 avocados last night, the juice from 2 limes, a handful of chopped cilantro, about 1/4 c minced red onion, and about 1/2 diced jalapeno, seeds removed. I know there are some cilantro haters, so leave that out if that's you. Make ahead by a few hours if possible. Store by smoothing out guacamole in bowl and added plastic cling wrap to the top. This will help prevent brownin...