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Cowboy Caviar-Aunt Michelle (Alex’s Aunt)

Mix in a bowl:

  • 1 can corn
  • 1 can pinto beans
  • 2 cans black beans
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 1 green pepper diced
  • 1 red pepper diced
  • 5 jalapenos
  • 1 celery stalk

Bring to a boil:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Pour over veggies and serve with tortilla chips

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Twice Baked Potato Casserole

  • 1 pound thin bacon
  • 16 russet potatoes
  • 6 tablespoons canola oil
  • 4 sticks (1 pound) salted butter, plus more for buttering baking dish
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 2 cups grated Cheddar or Jack (or a mix of both), plus more for topping
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 4 teaspoons seasoned salt
  • 6 green onions, sliced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook the bacon in a saute pan until crispy; let cool and then crumble.
Scrub the potatoes, then place them on baking sheets. Rub the potatoes with the canola oil and bake until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the potatoes and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Slice the butter into pats and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the bacon and sour cream. With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise and scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl. Tear up 3 of the skins and throw them in.
Smash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add the cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and some salt and pepper and mix together well.
Butter a baking dish, and then spoon the mixture into the dish, top with more grated cheese and bake until warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes

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Crispy-Cheesey Summer Squash Casserole

  • 2 small summer squash, sliced
  • ½ cup onion, diced
  • ½ teaspoon  garlic salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup mayonaise
  • pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (can add more or other kinds)
  • ½ cup corn flakes (grandma Morgenegg used Ritz crackers instead, crumbled, but not too small)
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Combine squash, onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small pan.  Cover with water, bring to a boil, lover heat, simmer till squash is crisp tender. Drain.
Whisk egg, mayo, sugar, salt, pepper.
Stir into squash mixture with cheese. Put in greased baking dish.
Combine Ritz with butter. Sprinkle over squash.
Bake 350 degrees until golden and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes

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Greek Potatoes

  • 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup beef stock or chicken stock (we use chicken)
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (we used bottled and don’t add the whole amount)
  • 2-3 TBS chopped fresh oregano (we never have this so we don’t use it)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the potatoes in a single layer in a 9 X 13 baking dish and pour the oil over them. Add the garlic, dried oregano, salt, and pepper to taste and toss well to coat with the oil.

Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Add the stock, toss and bake for 10 minutes more.

Add the lemon juice, toss and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the potatoes are cooked through. If you like, preheat the broiler and broil the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with the fresh oregano and serve.

We just added everything at once and cooked stirring occasionally.

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Easiest Mashed Potatoes

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks
  • 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (I think this would taste great, but never have so I use 2 cups milk)
  • 3 Tbs butter
  1. Pressure cook potatoes. Put the potatoes in the Instant Pot and sprinkle with salt. Add the milk, cream, and butter. Lock the lid into place. Select Manual; adjust the pressure to High and the time to 8 minutes. After cooking, quick release the pressure. Unlock and remove the lid.
  2. Mash the potatoes. Using a potato masher or large fork, mash the potatoes into the milk mixture until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, you can remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon or skimmer and use a ricer to press the potatoes into the pot then stir to combine them with the cream and butter.) Season with salt and pepper, if necessary, and serve.
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Baked Potato Fans

  • 4 Small baking potatoes
  • 1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided (or your favorite Italian dressing)
  • 2 TBS Shredded Parmesan Cheese or Shredded Cheddar Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 375. Scrub potatoes thoroughly with brush; pat dry. Make 7-9 diagonal slices across tops of potatoes about 3/4 of the way through, being careful to not cut all of the way through to the bottoms of potatoes. (See picture)

PLACE potatoes on lightly greased baking sheet. While slightly spreading potatoes apart to open up the slices, drizzle each potato with 1 TBS of the dressing. Bake 1 hour or until potatoes are cooked through.

PLACE hot potatoes on serving dish and sprinkle each with 1/2 TBS of the cheese.

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Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

  • 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded Italian Style 5 cheese blend
  • 1/4 cup Real Bacon Bits
  • 2 lb. small red potatoes, quartered (about 6 cups)
  • 1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

PREHEAT oven to 350. Mix dressing, cheese, and bacon bits in large bowl. Add potatoes; toss lightly.

SPOON into lightly greased 9X13 baking dish; cover with foil.

BAKE 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

Makes 8 servings

We made them with russet potatoes and they were great. Brittney put the cheese and bacon on in the pan on the top of the potatoes and liked how they cheese browned a bit. We did them on the bottom rack in the oven while we cooked other stuff on the top rack and we liked how the cheese browned on the bottom.

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Stuffed Artichokes

  • 4 artichokes
  • 1 lb ground sausage
  • red and yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • onion, chopped
  • seasonings maybe salt, pepper, season salt, garlic, Parmesan cheese
  • I saw Tiffany Haddish do this recipe, but she didn’t give amounts of anything.
  1. Cut about an inch off the tops of the artichokes and cut off the stems to make a flat bottom. Use kitchen shears to trim the sharp tips off the leaves.
  2. Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil. Add the artichokes and place a heat-safe dish on top of them to keep them submerged in the water. Boil for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside upside down to drain and cool.
  3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. In a large bowl, mix together the Italian sausage,peppers, onion, seasonings, until just combined. Do not over-mix. (Or I saw you can cook the sausage then add the peppers and onions to saute. Then add the seasonings. This way you can taste test since we don’t have a recipe)
  5. Once the artichokes are cool enough to handle, dry them with paper towels, gently pry open the center leaves, and use a spoon with a twisting motion to scoop out the fuzzy choke inside. Place the artichokes into a baking dish, facing up.
  6. Stuff each artichoke with the sausage mixture, making sure you get some between all the leaves and in the center. Sprinkle the artichokes with Parmesan cheese.
  7. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through (to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C)) and the outer leaves are easy to remove.
  8. Remove the foil. Set the oven to broil and place the stuffed artichokes under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese. I think adding some mozzarella would be good at this point too.
  9. Pull leaves off with sausage mixture on them and eat.

Let me know if you try this and how it works. I combined recipes I found online.

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Roasted Cauliflower

  • 1 head cauliflower cut into bite-size florets (about 2 pounds, 8 cups)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic, rough chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped (we used dried and it was fine)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees