Soup #1 - Easy Potato-Corn Chowder

 The Year of Soup

Soup #1 - Easy Potato Corn Chowder

    So, this was a fun recipe. The recipe "Speedy Potato Chowder" is in the Favorite Recipes, Campbell's Creative Cooking With Soup (Over 8,000 Delicious Mix and Match Recipes. The recipe gives you four ingredients and then you select a liquid, canned vegetable and a meat from a chart. For the liquid, I chose milk. For the vegetable, I chose corn. And, for the meat, I chose to use diced potato in lieu of meat. I did also add salt, pepper and paprika to mine. 

   By the way, liquid options were beer & water, milk, milk & light cream and evaporated milk & water. Vegetable options were mixed vegetables, corn, Lima beans and diced carrots. The meat options were hotdogs, chicken, ham and tuna. 

      I'll write out the recipe how I made it. I really enjoyed this chowder. I hope you try it!

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced (feel free to use more)

1/2 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/2 of a medium onion)

2 1/2 cups milk (I used more liquid than the recipe suggests)

1 10 3/4 oz can condensed cream of potato soup

1 15oz can whole kernel corn (The original recipe suggests using an 8oz can; I used low salt)

1 medium russet potato, diced

2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley, plus more for decoration if you wish

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:

In a 3qt saucepan over medium heat, heat a tiny bit of oil and add bacon. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. You can drain the bacon drippings, reserving 1 tbsp. I did not, because I only had a little more than a tbsp. Add the chopped onion and diced potato to the drippings and cook until the potato is somewhat tender; you don't want it super tender, because you're going to keep cooking and that will make it tender. Add milk, corn with it's liquid, the bacon, parsley, salt, pepper and paprika. Cook on low-medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Makes 4 to 6 servings. 

Easy Potato-Corn Chowder

Easy Potato-Corn Chowder

Casserole #9 - Wild Rice Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #9 - Wild Rice Casserole

    Casseroles can be main dishes, but can also be great side dishes. This side dish casserole is from Noted Cookery - Favorite Recipes From Friends Of The Dallas Symphony Orchestra published in 1969. My copy of this cookbook is from the third printing in 1972. This recipe was submitted by Mrs. William R. Newsom III. I quite enjoyed this casserole. I enjoyed it as a side dish, but you could make this a main dish, by adding chicken to it. Seasoning can be adjusted to your taste; add more or less! One change I would make is to use a medium sized onion (I used most of a pretty large onion); I like onion, but a little less in this recipe would be fine. If you really like onion though, by all means, use a large onion. I would also drain any excess liquid you may have from cooking the rice and I would use about 1/4 cup less milk. I would guesstimate that you could get at least eight servings if used as a side dish (the original recipe says 6). Serve alongside chicken or other meat of your choice. My modifications are in italics. 

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup cooking oil (canola)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 cup parsley, finely chopped (I used stems and all, but go ahead and use just the leaves if you prefer

1 3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese (I used my favorite shredded Monterrey Jack)

1 box (4.3 oz) wild rice mix (I used Rice-A-Roni) or 1 1/2 cups wild rice, cooked

1 cup milk (Feel free to use just under a full cup)

salt to taste

chipotle pepper or your favorite seasoning, to taste

1 tbsp paprika

Directions:

Cook wild rice and allow to cool. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Chop onion and parsley. Combine onion and parsley in a bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl and gradually add oil while mixing. Mix in onion and parsley. Stir in cheese, cooled rice, milk, salt and whatever seasonings you desire. Thoroughly combine ingredients and pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, allowing to cool slightly and serve alongside chicken or other meat. 

Wild Rice Casserole 

Wild Rice Casserole

Charley the Muffin Man supervising picture taking of the Wild Rice Casserole. 

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce)

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce)

    I recently made Beef in Wine Gravy (delicious) from the same cookbook this recipe is from. That cookbook is Hellenic Cuisine copyrighted in 1957 by St. Helen's Philoptochos Society and Sts Constantine and Helen Parent-Teacher Association. I wasn't sure about the texture of the sauce, because it came out pretty foamy (not sure if it was supposed to be so foamy), but it tasted good. I had to buy mint, but the parsley I used was from my garden.  Yay!

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef or veal (I used ground turkey)

2 small onions, chopped finely (I used one large)

3 tbsps chopped parsley and mint leaves (This is for sprinkling over the dish when serving, so you can actually use more)

1/2 cup rice, cooked

2 tbsps butter or oil

1 tsp vegetable salt (I used a salt free table seasoning)

2 cups water

1/2 cup flour

salt and pepper, to taste

plus

2 eggs 

1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

in a large bowl, thoroughly mix the meat, onion, salt, pepper, rice and vegetable salt. Form into small meatballs (I laid out my meatballs in a 9x13 pan and it was completely filled when I was done making the balls). Sprinkle with flour. Bring a saucepan with water and a little salt, to boil. Add meat balls and butter or oil and simmer for 40 minutes.  When you have about ten minutes of cooking time left, make your sauce by separating eggs and beating the whites until they form soft peaks. Beat yolks with lemon juice and fold into the egg whites. Remove the pan from heat and drain any leftover water. Pour the sauce on top and stir to coat meat balls. Sprinkle with chopped mint and parsley. Serve over rice or even noodles if you'd like that better.  Serving size depends on how many meatballs each person gets.  

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce

Pie Number Three: Pork and Tater Pie

The Year of Pie

Pie #3 - Pork and Tater

     Pork and Tater Pie.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this recipe which comes from the Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Meats: Including Seafood and Poultry, published in 1967, but it turned out really well. This recipe was submitted to Southern Kitchens by Mrs. A. Tschoepe Jr, of San Antonio, Texas. I adjusted some of the seasoning, because I didn't have any "savory" seasoning and also because I wanted to. Also, I added nutmeg. It is a two crust pie and although I still struggle with making pretty circles when I roll out my dough, but overall, I am doing good with crusts.  I brushed melted butter on the top crust, before baking and it gave it a nice, golden brown color.  Modifications in italics. Note that the original recipe only calls for salt, savory (1/2 tsp), sage (1/4 tsp), cinnamon, cloves (1/8 tsp) and pepper. The original recipe does not include thyme, Italian seaoning or nutmeg. I really liked this pie. I served with a nice garden salad and it was perfect. So, try this pie!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour, sifted

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup shortening

1 lb ground pork, browned

2 cups diced potato, cooked

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt 

1/8 tsp oregano

1/8tsp thyme

1/8 tsp Italian seasoning

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp pepper

parsley (optional)

Directions:

Sift flour and salt together and cut in shortening until pea-size crumbles form. Sprinkle 6 or 7 tablespoons cold water over the pea-sized crumbles and mix until dough forms (I used my hands to form the dough ball after mixing with the fork). Separate dough into two halves. Roll out one half of dough until about 10 inches round. Loosely lay dough over a 9 inch round pie pan. Cook pork in skillet and drain off fat. Add seasonings and 1/2 cup water. Mix thoroughly until heated through. Pour the meat & potato mixture into the pie pan. Set aside and roll out the second half of dough. Place over the filling. Crimp top and bottom crust together and trim any excess dough. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush top crust with melted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with sprinkling of parsley flakes. The original recipe says four to six servings. You can get six to eight servings. 

Pork and Tater Pie

Pork and Tater Pie

Macaroni Ring

 Macaroni Ring

I came across this recipe while looking for the last Meat/Fish Entree for #FiftyTwoInTwentyTwo. It is from a 1933 Bond Bread Recipe Cookbook. I wanted to try this, because it sounded "unique" and, the finished product is definitely unique. It's like having macaroni squashed together with stuffing.  The recipe recommends serving with vegetables in the middle of the un-molded ring and/or serving with a mushroom or tomato sauce. I had cream of chicken soup, so I used that.  I have to say I am glad I tried it and I'm glad I got to use my Pyrex ring mold, because I've had it for years and years, and never gotten to use it. I do not plan to make it again. If I do, I would definitely serve with hot cream of mushroom/chicken soup, cheese sauce or gravy.  I recommend you do that also.  Give it a try, because you may like it.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups scaled milk

1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped pimiento

1/4 cup grated American cheese (I used finely shredded Monterrey Jack cheese)

2 eggs, well beaten

1 1/2 cups cooked macaroni

1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk and pour over bread crumbs. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except butter) one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the macaroni last. Add your mixture to a buttered ring mold. Dot bits of butter on top of the filled ring mold. Set in a pan of hot water and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Run a knife around the mold to loosen. Turn a plate on top of the mold; hold the plate tightly to the mold and flip over. Gently shake the mold to remove the macaroni ring. Fill the middle of the ring with vegetables if you wish. Serve with hot cream of mushroom/chicken soup, cheese sauce or gravy.

Macroni Ring Prior To Unmolding

Macaroni Ring Unmolded

Macaroni Ring Served With a Nice Salad

Week 29 - Q'parol aka Stuffed Shells

 Q'parol aka Stuffed Shells

Week 29 - of 52

Vegetarian Entree #4

    Yeah, so I'm a big fan of Star Trek. My favorite is Deep Space Nine (DS9), which aired from 1993 to 1999. I'd seen some Star Trek over the years. However, I had never gotten into following any of the series.  That changed only about 4 or 5 years ago. I watched both DS9 and Voyager for the first time, simultaneously. I have re-watched the Voyager series once. I have re-watched DS9 countless times. I have watched all of the series. I greatly enjoy the animated series Lower Decks, which has had two seasons so far and the newest series, Strange New Worlds, which just aired the final episode of it's first season, last week. 

    In my collection of cookbooks, I have the Star Trek Cookbook, published in 1999 and written by Ethan Phillips, Neelix of Voyager and William J. Birnes. The recipes are divided into sections related to each series, from the original Star Trek, Next Generation, Enterprise, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  This recipe is named as being one of Keiko O'Brien's favorite dishes. Keiko is the wife of Chief Miles O'Brien. Both appear on Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. 

    I bought Jumbo pasta shells and should have used only half the bag. I wished I'd found GIANT pasta shells, because this recipe seems to be for huge shells. I used about twenty or so and if I'd had the GIANT pasta shells, I probably would have only used eight. Because there was a lot of filling, I ended up topping off the stuffed shells with the extra filling. I used Italian seasoning in lieu of oregano and added some shredded white cheddar at the end, with some Parmesan.  

I did serve with a red sauce, which the recipe does not call for, because I wanted sauce, but I think this would be perfectly fine without sauce. Serve with a nice garlic bread and salad. Serves four.

Ingredients:

1 cup ricotta cheese (I used a 15oz container of ricotta)

1 16-oz package of large shells (Like I said, this seems like too much. Just cook them all and fill as many as you want until you run out of filling)

2 cups washed and finely chopped spinach (I used baby spinach)

1 egg, well beaten (Ooops, I forgot to beat the egg before adding, but it was fine)

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 6 cloves, because umm, it's garlic!)

2 teaspoons dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste 

grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, to taste (I used a little shredded white cheddar, along with the Parmesan)

chili pepper flakes, optional

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. While you're cooking your shells, mix up your filling. Mix together your ricotta cheese, feta cheese, olive oil, spinach, and egg until thoroughly combined. Crush garlic and fold into the filling, with 1 tablespoon of oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill your filling mixture, while your shells finish cooking. Spray the bottom of a baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease with olive oil (The original recipe calls for an 8x8 pan, but the only way that size would work, would be if using GIANT shells). I used a 9x13 pan. Fill your shells. As you fill a shell, set it in your pan and continue until you are out of filling (or space in the pan). Sprinkle the last tablespoon of oregano and the parsley, over top of the stuffed shells. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to ensure that the shells aren't burning. The shells should be a tiny bit crispy at the end of the 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with your Parmesan or Romano (or the cheese of your choice, because hey, it's your dish; make it yours). I stuck mine back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese more. Using a large spoon or spatula, serve shells on a plate and serve with garlic bread and salad, if you wish. If you would like to have sauce with your stuffed shells, you should heat your sauce with the shells are baking. Spoon as much sauce as you want over your shells. Sprinkle with chili pepper flakes if desired. 

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells)

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells) ready for the oven

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells) 

Week - 26 Cheesy Potato Casserole

 Cheesy Potato Casserole

Week 26 of 52

Side Dish #4

This week's recipe comes to us from Betty Crocker's Hostess Cookbook published in 1967. I wanted something simple to enjoy with some pork loin. I enjoyed this. It was easy to make and tasty. 

Ingredients:

8 servings mashed potatoes (use the directions on any brand of instant potatoes to make 8 servings) 

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon snipped parsley (I used dried parsley flakes and it was fine)

 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (I used Colby Jack)

1 1/2 cups Corn Flakes cereal, crushed

2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Prepare your mashed potatoes according to directions on package, except decrease salt to 1/2 teaspoon and add 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. Stir cheese and parsley into potatoes. Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and spoon the mashed potato mixture into the casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix the softened butter/margarine, crushed Corn Flakes, dry mustard and paprika until well combined and sprinkle over the potato mixture in the casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Serves 6. 

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Side View of the Cheesy Potato Cassrole

Cheesy Potato Casserole and Mexican Street Corn 
(It was a side dish kind of dinner)

Week 21 - Green Rice Casserole

 Green Rice Casserole

Recipe 21 of 52

Vegetarian Entree #3

This recipe is based on a recipe for a side dish called Green Rice in The Cookbook LIbrary's Casserole Cookbook published in 1962. I used riced cauliflower in lieu of rice. You could try it with brown rice or maybe even couscous. To make this more substantial, add one cup cubed, cooked tofu or paneer cheese. If you add the tofu/paneer cheese, you'll definitely want to use the larger 2-quart casserole dish, as the recipe below fits perfectly in the 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. I was rather surprised how much I liked this made with the cauliflower and would make this again. It would be easy to make this vegan, by using plant based cheese and vegan milk replacement. If you are a meat eater, add 1 cup cubed, cooked chicken and use that larger dish. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (I used a 12oz bag frozen, riced cauliflower; cooked )

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar (I used shredded colby-jack)

1 cup milk (I would use 1/2 cup if making this with riced cauliflower)

3/4 cup mixture of minced parsley/spinach/chives (I used a 12oz bag frozen, spinach; cooked and 1/4 cup chives)

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 onion chopped

salt to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon salt-free seasoning)

red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except 1/2 cup of cheese, in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the casserole. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes. Cool and serve with additional parsley as garnish if desired. Sprinkle with red chili flakes if desired. 

Green Rice Casserole

Week 7 - Golden Cheese Soup with Parsley Dumplings

 Golden Cheese Soup with Parsley Dumplings

Recipe 7 of 52 in 2022

Vegetarian Entree #1

    So, I can't tell you this week which cookbook I got this recipe from, because I put it somewhere and can't find it! Luckily, I almost always take a picture of the recipe and I had that to work from. I can tell you that this recipe is likely from a 1967ish era cookbook. It seems to be in a font which was used a lot in the cookbooks of the 60's. I will update this post, when I find the cookbook.  

    Week 6's category was Vegetarian Entree and I'm really glad I picked this recipe.  The only thing I'd really change, would be to add some salt, pepper or red pepper flakes at the table. I even had some of my leftovers with Sriracha sauce. If you are going to cook this on a weeknight, I'd suggest doing your prep work of grating the carrot, chopping celery and onion, the night before, so it is ready to go. I know dumplings can sometimes turn out like rocks, but I liked how mine turned out.  Cook your carrots, celery and onion in a soup pan; you'll add it to your large pot. You could certainly use a large pot, but I used a dutch oven, like the original recipe suggests.  I have a cast iron dutch oven I bought last year, which I love but have gotten to use much.  I'll give you the recipe and note any changes/additions in italics. 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup grated carrots

1/3 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped onion

3 tablespoons butter or margarine (I used butter)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk (I heated the milk before adding to the flour; because it helps it thicken quicker)

1 14-ounce can chicken broth (I used vegetable broth and I didn't have a can; I simply measured out that amount)

1 1/4 cups shredded sharp processed American cheese (I used regular sharp cheddar)

1 recipe Parsley Dumplings

    

Directions: 

    Cook carrots, celery and onion until tender in 1 cup of boiling salted water. Do not drain. Melt butter and blend in flour. Add warmed milk when the butter & flour mixture bubbles and stir constantly until thick. Stir in your broth and cheese and mix until smooth. Stir in your vegetables (remember not to drain the vegetables after cooking). Stir over low heat until the cheese melts. Leave on low heat while you mix your dumplings. Drop your dumplings by small kitchen dining spoons, onto the simmering soup. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. The original recipe says this serves six.  I would say it serves 3. I made 9 dumplings, so three dumplings per serving, would be perfect. Serve with bits of parsley as garnish. Add a salad to complete your meal.

Parsley Dumplings:

    1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

    2 teaspoons baking powder

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    2 tablespoons snipped parsley (I chopped my finely)

    1/2 cup milk

    2 tablespoons melted shortening (I melted mine in the microwave)

    Sift together dry ingredients and mix in parsley. The original recipe says to combine milk and melted shortening and add to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir until moistened. When I added the shortening to the milk, it instantly solidified, so maybe the next time I'd let the melted shortening cool a little longer. I just made sure to mix the dry and wet ingredients well (I maybe did a little more mixing than "just moistened"). Drop onto your soup and cook.

Golden Cheese Soup with Parsley Dumplings

A close-up of a dumpling.

Two of my "helpers" watching me take a photo of the parsley.

Zucchini Patties

 Zucchini Patties

    This recipe comes to us from The Jubilee "of our many blessings" Cookbook by the United Methodist Women of Highland Park United Methodist Church, printed in 1991. This church is located in Dallas, Texas. It is not my church, but I pass by quite often.  It is a beautiful building. 

    In my last poll, the contestants were carrots and zucchini.  Zucchini won with about 56% of the 16 votes.  When I do polls, I already have recipes picked out and I'm ready for whichever main ingredient is declared is the winner.  I usually will make the runner-up the following week; next week's recipe will be Sweet and Sour Carrots. The recipe for this week's winning ingredient, zucchini, was submitted by the cookbook committee, not an individual member.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (this was about 1 1/2 zucchinis)

2 tablespoons grated onion

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

    I used the smaller grate side of a cheese grater for my zucchini which I had washed, dried and removed the ends of.  I forgot to pat dry the zucchini between towels before I put the shreds in my mixing bowl, but I did pat the mound of shreds with paper towels to get as much moisture as possible.  After shredding the zucchini, I melted butter in a large skillet on medium-low, because I didn't want the butter to burn.  Into my bowl of zucchini shreds, I added the rest of the ingredients, except for the salt and pepper.  I didn't end up adding salt or pepper. I didn't have plain oregano, so I used Italian Seasoning.  I used powered Parmesan cheese, but you could used freshly grated Parmesan if you can find it. It was perfectly fine with the powdered kind. I used a brand of mayo called Duke's Mayonnaise, which I've never used, but seems to have quite a following, so I'd thought I would try it. Mix your ingredients until well mixed.

    The recipe says to shape the mixture into six patties and while I did end up with six decent sized patties, the batter is too soft to shape and lay into the skillet.  I dropped mounds of the batter in the skillet, which I then spread into patty shapes. Cook until browned on both sides and serve plain or with tomato sauce and grated cheese or with sour cream and chives.  I did sour cream this time and didn't have chives, so I sprinkled parsley flakes on top and it looked quite pretty and it tasted good.  

  The verdict? I liked this recipe.  It wasn't difficult and did not take too long to make.  As a time saver, you could prep your onion and zucchini the night before and then just combine the ingredients and cook the next night.  This recipe is vegetarian. I bet you could make it vegan, if you know of vegan substitutes for the dairy products. 

Let me know if you try this and what you think about it. 

Potatoes, Peasant Style

Potatoes, Peasant Style

    First things first.  I cannot for the life of me figure how this recipe got to be named "Potatoes, Peasant Style".  What I can tell you, is that this recipe is in the 1929 cookbook New Delineator Recipes. I googled "New Delineator Cookbook" and found an article by Linda Albert in The Daily Times from 05/14/2014. Ms. Albert is also interested in old books. She had been handed a copy which a colleague of hers had found in a free bin of books at a used book store in Knoxville.  I wanted to try and add a link to her article in case anyone would be interested in reading it, but I am not sure if that would be allowed.  So, just Google "New Delineator Cookbook" as I did, you will find it.  I actually did attempt emailing Ms. Albert at the email address listed in the article, but it was no longer valid.  I had figured it was a long shot, so I wasn't surprised.  (A little bit about The Delineator.  This was an American magazine for women which was around in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The magazine was produced by the Butterick Publishing Company. You can find more detail in Ms. Albert's article. Anyhow, I enjoyed the article and wanted you to know about it as well.)  

    So, it seems that I like picking recipes with "unusual", "funky", or "different" names and that trend continues with the "Potatoes, Peasant Style". The directions are to dice your potatoes, after washing and peeling them, fry them in the bacon grease until brown and remove from the pan. After removing the potatoes from the pan, you add the chopped garlic and parsley.  Cook the garlic and parsley in the fat , then add the flour, seasonings and milk and cook until thickened (the directions say that will be about 5 minutes). Add the potatoes to the sauce, stir to coat the potatoes while they re-heat and ta-da, you're done! 

    I prepped everything so it was ready when I came back from an outing with my Little Brother (I mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters). I measured the flour, paprika, salt and pepper and set that aside in a mini prep-cup. The recipe calls for parsley. I used dried parsley flakes (another mini prep-cup) and that worked out just fine. I cooked up bacon, so I'd have fresh bacon grease to fry the potatoes in. The recipe calls for 6 tbsp of bacon grease to fry the potatoes in. I didn't come up with 6 tbsp of grease, so I used 2 tbsp of vegetable shortening. Don't have bacon grease or you're a vegetarian? Use all vegetable shortening. 

    When I returned from my outing with my Little Brother, I diced up the potato and garlic, while melting the bacon grease and shortening. The recipe calls for three cups diced potato and that ended up being about 1 1/2 medium potatoes. I heated the grease while dicing the potatoes and then followed the directions as above. One thing I like to do when thickening a sauce, is to heat the milk before adding to my pan. It helps the sauce thicken quicker. When the dish was ready, I served myself a side of the potatoes with a chicken thigh and a bit of mashed sweet potato. 

    I really, liked this recipe. Would I make this again? 100%, yes!!!! Like garlic?  Use more than 2 cloves. Like Paprika? Do the same; add extra paprika. Options could be adding diced ham or crumbled bacon. Make this recipe and tell me how you like it.