Baked Potato Ground Beef Casserole

4 potatoes, cubed and cooked
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 med. Onion, finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbl. Minced chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl combine potatoes and ground beef. In another bowl combine remaining ingredients, add to potato mixture and gently toss to coat. Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Serves 6

Changes – Use chicken or bacon instead of ground beef. Add mushrooms and/or minced garlic for added flavor. Reserve ½ cup cheese to add to during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Potato & Sausage Casserole

1 lb. lean sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 med. potatoes sliced (I do circle cuts)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups grated cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage and onions. Drain. Mix soup, milk, salt & pepper. In a large casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray, layer 1/2 of the potatoes, soup mix, cheese, sausage. Repeat ending with sausage. Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Put back into oven until cheese melts. Serves 6-8

Changes - use ground beef or sweet sausage. Add mushrooms. This works great with turkey or chicken sausage.

Roasted Herb Potatoes

2 lbs. potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into 1 1/2" chunks
1 Tbl. your favorite herb salt free herb mixture
4 Tbl. vegetable oil
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 15 x 10 baking sheet with non-stick spray. Arrange potatoes in a single layer. Season with herbs, salt and pepper. Pour oil evenly over potatoes. Bake 1 hour turning after 30 minutes. Potatoes should be golden brown. Serves 4-6

Changes - use just one herb such as rosemary or chives. Add onion wedges for more flavor treating them the same as you do the potatoes. If your potatoes are browning quicker than they need to, lay a sheet of foil over them to slow down the browning.

Country Omelet

2 cups potatoes, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
8 - 10 strips bacon
8 eggs
2 Tbl. milk
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large skillet fry bacon until crispy. Remove and pour grease from pan but don't wipe clean. Fry potatoes and onions in bacon pan until done and browned. (Add just a little bacon grease if needed for cooking potatoes.) Add bacon and mix with potatoes. Remove skillet from heat. In a bowl beat eggs, milk and salt & pepper until blended. Pour over mixture in skillet and cover. Place over med. heat burner. Tilt pan to let egg mixture run down onto the hot skillet. Remove cover occasionally and fold egg mixture over around edges to allow more of the liquid to run onto the hot skillet. When omelet becomes puffy around the edges and center is set, gently slide onto plates. Serves 6-8.

Changes - Use ham or sausage instead of bacon. If using ham you will have to add a little cooking oil for cooking the potatoes. And of course, you can add cheese. When I do this, I add during the last 5 minutes of cooking to allow the cheese to melt and run into the omelet.

Ground Beef & Potato Pie

2 med. potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 pie shells (9" each)
1 Tbl. mustard
1 Tbl. milk

Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Mash and set aside. In a skillet brown the beef and drain. Stir in onions, clove, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Simmer 4-5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and chili sauce. Place 1 crust in a 9" pie plate. Brush mustard evenly over crust. Add meat mixture. Top with cheese. Top with remaining pie shell sealing edges. Trim off excess pie shell. Cut slits in the pie crust. Brush with milk. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 6

Changes - ground chicken or pork instead of beef. Add green peppers and/or mushrooms when adding onions. Don't like cheese? Leave it out. Use condensed cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup instead of chili sauce for a creamy texture.

Cajun Homefries

2 lbs. white potatoes, cut into 3/4" squares
3 Tbl. cooking oil
3 strips bacon, cut in half
4 tbl.. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. black pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 tbl. Tabasco sauce
1 tbl. chili powder
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbl. paprika

Add all ingredients to a large, cold frying pan. Stir until blended. Turn heat to high. Stir frequently until potatoes are golden brown. Reduce heat to low and cover pan. Continue to stir and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and serve.

Changes - These will have a some heat to them. You can control the heat by the amount of Tabasco sauce used. One change that I've made in the past is to use sausage instead of bacon. It changes the flavor completely but is really a tasty change.