Hashbrown Cheesy Casserole

This casserole is amazing! It's creamy and cheesy and delicious and a perfect addition to a regular meal, a special meal, a potluck, or a holiday meal. I love potatoes in pretty much every way possible, and this recipe does not disappoint. This is supposed to be a copy of Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole, and I found two recipes that were just slightly different, so I made my own decision on how to prepare this.

26 oz bag frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Colby cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine melted butter, cream of chicken, onion, and sour cream. Stir until well blended.

Stir in potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Pour hashbrown mixture into baking dish.

Bake for about 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Enjoy!

German Chocolate Cake

Is there anything more decadent or delicious than a rich German Chocolate Cake? It's not only one of my favorites, but it's a favorite of many of my friends and family. So, to make them happy I went on a search for a recipe. I found one online titled Original Baker's German Chocolate Cake, and it was a wonderful find. Everyone who has tried this recipe loves it. It's a straight forward, simple recipe that will make you look like a pro, even if it's your first baking attempt.

4 ozs Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate, melted and cooled
2 1/3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round or 9x13 cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter.

Add flour mixture, 3/4 cup of the buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape bowl periodically.

Add melted chocolate, eggs, and remaining 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Beat 1 minute.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 28-35 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely before frosting the cake.

For Coconut Pecan Icing

1.5 cups evaporated milk
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter
2 tsps vanilla
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 2/3 cups sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

In a saucepan combine milk, sugars, butter and vanilla over medium heat.

Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat, add a small amount to the eggs, mixing quickly, and then return the egg mixture back to the pot, mixing thoroughly and quickly. 

Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans.

Cool to spreading consistency, beating occasionally. Spread evenly over cake layers.

Quesadillas

I love Mexican food... even Americanized Mexican food. And what could be more delicious than quesadillas? This is my own creation, but I used Applebee's former quesadillas as my inspiration. These are super easy to make. The hardest part is chopping everything. But the flavor is amazing! Add a little homemade salsa verde and you've got a super easy and delicious dinner.

Quesadilla cheese
tortillas
jalapeños
tomatoes
onion
bacon bits
olive oil spray

I prep the quesadillas on a plate so that they're ready to cook. Put about 1/3 cup of cheese on half of a tortilla. Sprinkle with tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, and bacon to taste. 

Heat a skillet large enough to hold the tortillas on medium-high. Spray lightly with olive oil spray. Fold tortilla in half and carefully place in skillet.

Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until slightly browned.

Keep prepping and cooking quesadillas until you have how many you want. If they start to cook too quickly then turn the heat down to medium. Cut up and enjoy!