Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Loaded Potato Casserole

This is a recipe from my friend Lori ... she gave it to me before Christmas and we have been preparing this dish ever since! Her brother created this recipe on a camping trip ... I'm not sure what he officially named it ... but we call it Loaded Potato Casserole! It is so yummy! The good thing about it is ... you can add more of one item or not add as much of another and make it pleasing to your palate. And usually when I make it, I don't measure anything ... and my amounts vary each time ... and ... you can do the same. Thanks Lori for sharing!


Loaded Potato Casserole

ingredients:

red new potatoes
butter
bacon
Ranch dressing
Cheddar Cheese
salt and pepper



directions:

1. wash and cut red new potatoes into 1/4's - smaller cuts if potatoes are larger ... (the amount varies according to how many I'm serving. I usually allow a couple of potatoes per person)

2. boil potatoes with salt, pepper and a pat of butter (I always put a little butter in mainly so it doesn't boil over). Cook until soft and tender.



3. fry bacon ... I use 1/2 lb to 1 lb - according to how many potatoes I'm using.



4. preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I usually do this first ... but oven is hot way before the prep of the dish is ready)

5. drain potatoes.

6. pour potatoes into a casserole type dish


7. add salt

8. add pepper

5. cut up (usually a stick) of butter on top of potatoes (I shred my butter if it's not quite soft enough)



6. crumble bacon and spread over dish



7. add Ranch Dressing over the entire dish (amount is your preference) (I accidentally started adding my cheese before the Ranch - if you see it in the pic)


8. cover entire dish with cheddar cheese (normally I use the cheddar, but I used Mexican 4 cheese because that's all I had this evening)





9. bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I lay a piece of foil across the dish for about 15 minutes and remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of baking time)







comments: YUM city! When I first starting making this I had too much Ranch dressing in the dish ... but after making it several times we got it just right for our palates. This is a very tasty dish that goes well with many main entrees ... we've had it with steak, bbq chicken and tonight it was with hamburger steak! Our family really enjoys this version of potato casserole!

rating: 4.5

2 comments:

Renee Camacho said...

I will testify that it's yummy and such a GREAT diet food, lol!

Anonymous said...

Might as well just add it to my butt.