Peppery Potato Soup (Crock Pot)

2 cans chicken broth
4 small baking potatoes, halved and sliced crosswise
1 large onion, quartered and sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup half and half
1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tbsp butter

Combine broth, potatoes, onion, celery, salt and pepper in Crock Pot and mix well. Cook on LOW 6-7 hours. Stir half and half into flour; stir mixture into slow cooker. Cover and cook one hour. Slightly mash potato mixture with potato masher. Cook uncovered 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Just before serving, stir in butter. Garnish with celery leaves and parsley if desired.

Bellinis (Lithuanian Potato Pancakes)

Bellinis (potato pancakes)

buy a 5 pound bag of russet potatoes.

peel & rinse 8 potatoes (more or less depends on how many people you are feeding. 8 potatoes can make over 20 pancakes easy).

grate 8 potatoes with a hand grater into a bowl or chop them up into cubes & put into the blender then put into a bowl.

grate a half of white onion into potatoes.

add white flour.

i don't have any measuring rules for this recipe. i just add enough to make a batter. it is usually like pancake batter. not to thick & not too runny.

add salt & pepper for taste.

fill the bottom of a frying pan with vegetable oil. add a scoop of batter, make sure the bellinis are deep in the oil. i can usually fry about 3 bellinis at one time. fry until golden brown on each side & serve. it is best to serve them as fast as possible since they do tend to get soggy, but they are still tasty.

i serve with sour cream but you can serve them with apple sauce too.

if you make too much batter just keep it in tupperware. it keeps for a good amount of time. since they are potatoes the batter will turn black on top but that is just like if a banana or apple is left out. i usually scoop off the black top & chuck it then mix the bottom white layer & fry them up.

Cheesy Potato Casserole Supreme

I got this recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook and put my own spin on it. It was REALLY good. One of the household members described it as "cheesy potatoes in awesomeness". It originally calls for 1 can of cream of chicken soup but I replaced it with 1 can of cheddar cheese sauce. And I also added chopped Quorn Chik'n Tenders.

Prep: 15 min; Bake: 50 min

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cheddar cheese sauce
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (30-ounce) package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (I used O'brien potatoes)
8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup) (I omitted the green onions since I used the O'brien potatoes)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 1/2 cup of diced cooked chicken or Quorn Chik'n Tenders (optional)

Heat oven to 350°. Grease rectangular baking dish, 13 x 9 x 2 inches. Mix soups, sour cream, milk and pepper in very large bowl. Stir in potatoes and onions. Spoon into baking dish. Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbly around edges.

Notes: You could also add chopped broccoli or carrots or other veggies to sneak veggies into your kids' dinner. I would recommend making this with frozen O'Brien potatoes since it has onions and bell peppers already added. It adds great flavor and color to the dish and saves you an extra step!

NUTRITION FACTS: 1 Serving:; Calories 325 (Calories from Fat 135); Fat 15g (Saturated 8g); Cholesterol 40mg; Sodium 1,060mg; Carbohydrate 39g (Dietary Fiber 3g); Protein 9g % DAILY VALUE:; Vitamin A 10%; Vitamin C 10%; Calcium 16%; Iron 6% DIET EXCHANGES:; 2 Starch; 2 Vegetable; 3 Fat

From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.