Au Gratin Potatoes

I believe people refer to these as "funeral potatoes" cause it's what people bring to a funeral. I call them my "mom's potatoes". This recipe is just straight from a handwritten recipe card and I ate them all the time growing up.

Directions:

32oz (alb) bag OreIda cube hash browns (take out 1 hour ahead of time to start to defrost)

1 pint sour cream

1 small/medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup melted butter (1/4 in recipe, 1/2 in topping)

2 cups cornflake crumbs

Mix together hash browns, sour cream, onion, soup, cheese and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl. Spread in a large baking dish.

Mix cornflakes and 1/2 cup melted butter, then top potatoes with it.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Recipe Borrowed from: My mom

Tarragon & Sherry Cream Shrimp

A delicious recipe from Rachael Ray! You can serve over pasta, toasted bread (my fav) or by itself. I have actually added cut up sirloin steak to this and its perfect.

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 pound sliced white mushrooms

1 large shallot, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup sherry

3/4 cup cream

A few grates fresh nutmeg or a pinch ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil

20 large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails on

Juice of 1 small lemon (3 tbsp.)

4 slices good-quality white bread-toasted, buttered and halved corner to corner

A small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until slightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic, season with salt and pepper and stir until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the flour until well incorporated. Stir in the sherry, and then the cream. When the sauce bubbles, reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the nutmeg and season. Stir in the tarragon.

In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, one turn of the pan, over medium-high. When the oil ripples and starts to smoke, add the shrimp and toss until they're just opaque in the centers, about 4 minutes. Season, stir in the lemon juice and add the shrimp mixture to the pan with the mushroom sauce.

Place the toast points on dinner plates. Top with the shrimp and mushroom sauce. Garnish with the parsley.

Recipe borrowed from Rachael Ray

Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

Perfect meal to make ahead and bake when ready! The picture doesn't do it justice. One of our favorites, thank you to my sister for teaching me how to make.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips

14oz can mild enchilada sauce

14oz can refried beans

2 cups shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese (or combo)

3 green onions, chopped

handful chopped cilantro

soft flour tortillas

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the chicken and green onions and sauté until chicken is browned. Add enchilada sauce and cilantro to the chicken, heat another 5 minutes.

Lightly grease a baking dish. I use a round casserole dish, you can also use a 9X13 pan. Place a layer of tortilla in the bottom of the dish (the medium size tortillas fit perfectly in my round dish, but you may have to cut some tortillas to fit a layer.

Layer chicken mixture on top of tortillas, then spoonfuls of refried beans, then cheese. Repeat until you end with tortilla, then enchilada sauce and finally cheese on top. (3-4 layers)

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with white or Spanish rice. Also sour cream is a nice topping as well!

Recipe Borrowed From:

Karin Caicedo