Ham & Potato Casserole

2 cups peeled, sliced potatoes (about ¼” thick)

1 cup of peas and carrots (frozen or canned (drained)

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups cubed fully cooked ham  

¼  red onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk, or more as needed

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place potatoes, peas and carrot in a large pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender. Drain and transfer to a 2-quart baking dish.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir ham and onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer ham mixture to baking dish and mix with potatoes.

Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter in a skillet.  Stir flour in melted butter until smooth. Gradually stir in milk.  Add salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese; stir until melted. Pour cheese mixture over ham and potatoes.

Bake in preheated oven until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow casserole to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Comment:  This recipe originally called for celery and carrots.  I made the change to peas and carrots.  I increased the amount of onion using red to give it even more flavor and eliminated the bread crumbs that topped the dish.  It turned out easy to make as well as delicious.  You can bet I'll be making this again.  My food testers loved it too.  If you want to add back the bread crumbs you can but I think I would add it during the last 5 minutes and use panko for the crunch.

Potato Soup

3 lbs. new red potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
2 qts. water
4-6 strips of uncooked, lean bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
Salt & Pepper to taste

Remove as much fat from the bacon as possible and cut into small pieces.  Place potatoes, water and bacon in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower heat and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mash the potatoes leaving a few small chunks here and there.  Mix milk and 1 Tbsp. flour until smooth and pour into potato mix.  Bring to a boil to thicken.  Add another 1/2 Tbsp. of flour if needed.  Stir in cheese, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. 

Comment:  The whole secret to this dish is boiling the bacon with the potatoes.  It cooks the flavor throughout the potatoes giving the dish a delicious smoky taste.  The food testers that I served this to are still begging that I make more.  I've never gotten such raves about any dish I've ever cooked.

Pork Chop Potato Soup

4-5 boneless pork chops
2 Tbsp. oil
4 cups water
3-4 med. potatoes
4 more cups water
1 pkg. (4 oz.) instant potatoes with the works
salt & pepper to taste
cheese

Cut pork chops into 1/2" (approx.) pieces.  Put in a large pot with oil.  Saute on high until all has started to brown.  Add 4 cups water, cover and simmer until meat starts to fall apart (1-1 1/2 hrs. depending on meat).  Cut potatoes into cubes.  Add the other 4 cups of water and simmer until potatoes are done.  Add package of instant potatoes, salt & pepper.  Stir to mix.  Add more water if you want a thinner soup.  Sprinkle with cheese when serving.

Comment:  This soup came to me out of the blue.  I had a package of boneless pork chops that I had found on sale.  I spotted a package of instant potatoes with the works in the pantry and decided since it's cold outside soup would be good.  This worked perfectly!  I'll not change a thing when I make it again.  Well... I might add some chopped green onions.  Maybe a little bacon bits.

Baked Potato Casserole

1 pkg. instant potatoes
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheese (divided)
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (divided)
green onion tops, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a sauce pan heat evaporated milk and water.  Stir in instant potatoes, sour cream, cottage cheese, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 4 slices bacon.  Mix until well blended.  Pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish.  Bake 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and dish is bubbly.  Remove from oven and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, remaining 2 slices of bacon and green onion tops.  Turn oven off.  Return dish to oven and allow to sit 5-10 minutes.  Cheese will melt and the dish is ready to serve.

Comments:  The original recipe came from Carnation Evaporated Milk.  I used the package of instant potatoes instead of the 8 med. potatoes in the original version.  I added the 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and used an Italian cheese blend instead of the cheddar.  If you decide not to use the cottage cheese, no problem.  I added it for another taste.  This dish came out simply delicious.  The instant potatoes made it a lot quicker to make and it also give you a choice of adding other flavors by using different flavors of instant potatoes.  This dish is a winner for a quick after work, in a hurry dish!  Bet this would be good with a little broccoli added before baking.  If you decide to make this using real potatoes, eliminate the cup of water and mix your potatoes with the evaporated milk and sour cream using an electric mixer until creamy.

Potato Pancakes

1 pkg. instant potatoes
3 tbsp flour
3 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup milk (more if needed)
1 tbsp grated onion
4 tbsp oil for frying
Sour cream, optional

In a med. size bowl combine everything but oil.  Heat oil in a heavy frying pan. Drop heaping tablespoons of potato mixture into hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Serve warm with sour cream.

Comment:  This is a revised recipe from one that was featured in the Montreal Gazette on January 31, 1939.  It originally called for 6 med. potatoes, grated.  I changed it to the pkg. of instant potatoes.  I also increased the flour from 2 to 3 Tbsp.  Due to the potatoes being dry I increased the milk from 2 Tbsp. to 1/2 cup.  And I added 1 egg.  The mixture needs to be the consistency of pancake mix so more milk may be needed depending on how the instant potatoes absorbs it.  You can change the flavor of these by using flavored potatoes such as Ranch, cheese, etc.  These turned out so good.  The sour cream made them even better.  You could also add salsa along with the sour cream or even apple sauce.

Comments from Food Tester Carol:  I've had too many potato pancakes in my life that were either too heavy or too bland and whenever I make them, they fell apart so I cut them out of my life for years.  But one day, Martha brought over some crispy edged, perfect looking potato pancakes and said "I've been experimenting."  I tried them and I think her brilliance shows in this "experiment!"  These pancakes have a hint of cheese and onion and have a flavor that you want more of.  They are light too.  

Cheese and Tuna (Recipe from 1974)

12 oz. Swiss cheese, cut into small thin slices (I cut mine into thin chunks)
1 can (7 oz.) solid packed tuna, drained and flaked (I used 2 4 oz. cans)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 hard cooked eggs, sliced (I chopped mine)
4 potatoes, cooked, peeled and sliced (I cut mine into chunks)
desired salad dressing (I used mayo)
salad greens, bite-size pieces (I made a bed of lettuce leaves)
pitted black and green olives (I sliced black olives)

Mix cheese, tuna, garlic, eggs, potatoes and salad dressing.  Arrange salad greens on a platter.  Pile salad in center and garnish with olives.

Comment:  This recipe is from a 1974 edition of a booklet "From Switzerland the Natural Cheese Country - Cheese Salads."  When I decided to give this recipe a try I wasn't sure about the taste the tuna might add.  Turns out that even though I used 2 drained cans, it doesn't have a strong tuna taste.  There is a taste that comes from the combination of the tuna, eggs and potatoes but it isn't what I expected.  Don't get me wrong.  This dish is delicious.  It's one I will be making again and again.  The point I'm trying to get across is that if you don't care that much for the tuna taste you don't have to worry... it isn't there.  Not only is this dish delicious it's also pretty.  I didn't use the green olives but have no doubt that they would have been a great addition.  When I added the mayo I had the thought of using Ranch Dressing but it was too late.  I think a little chopped dill would be another good addition.  This dish is one that you can simply play with as you Think With Your Taste Buds.

Comments from Food Tester Carol:  This is a very mild dish based on Martha's potato salad recipe.  There are members of my family who will not eat tuna but who love this dish because the briny flavor of the tuna seems neutralized and brings a "something extra" to the potato salad.  It is similar to what happens in a tuna melt:  the tuna merges with the other ingredients and somehow enhances them.  This is what happens in this magic recipe!