Baked Potato in a Bowl Soup

This soup is unreal! It is so good, every time. I promise you that it is worth the work. My husband, Jon, has unhealthy addiction to potatoes. Joking, but potatoes seriously bring him joy no matter what form they are in. I've tried multiple recipes in search of one that we both thought was a keeper. This is it! Try it, you will not be disappointed! 

• 5 lg baking potatoes
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 1 qt half-and-half
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c butter or margarine
• 1/3 c all-purpose flour
• 3 c milk
• 1/8 tsp pepper

1. Prick each potato several times with a fork. Microwave @ High heat for 20 minutes, turning each over at the 10 minute mark. Let cool.
2. Peel with a knife, just pulling the skin off of the potato. Mash with a fork so that the potato will be coarsely mashed.
3. Melt 1/4 c butter in a Dutch oven-like pot @ Med heat, add onion and saute until softened.
4. Add flour and the rest of the butter until smoothly mixed.
5. Stir in potatoes, half-and-half, milk, salt and pepper; cook @ Low heat for 15 minutes.
6. Top with cheese; bacon and green onion (chopped) optional as toppings.

Crack aka Yum Yum

• two sleeves of Ritz crackers, crushed
• 2 sm boxes of vanilla instant pudding
• 1 1/2 qt vanilla ice cream, softened
• 8 oz Cool Whip
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1 stick of butter or margarine, melted

1. Mix crackers and butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish.
2. Mix pudding and milk. Add ice cream, mix well.
3. Spread over crumb crust. Spread Cool Whip over ice cream layer.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Seriously Good Salisbury Steak

• 2 lbs. ground turkey/beef
• 1 lg. egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 c of fine, dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• cooking spray
• 1/2 c of water
• 1 can French Onion Soup
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1. Combine first 5 ingredients, shape mixture into 1/2 inch patties.
2. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over med-high heat using the cooking spray. Add the patties; cook 3 minutes on each side. Remove patties from pan; drain pan.
3. Add 1/2 cup of water to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring to loosen browned bits from skillet. Add soup, paste, and W. sauce.
4. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes, reduce heat and return patties to skillet.
5. Cover, simmer 10 minutes. Enjoy!

When a recipe calls for 'cooked chicken' this is what we mean.

First let me say that in my opinion every kitchen needs to have multiple size glass baking dishes. You can't scratch them, can't beat it. Walmart sells a three pack of these dishes in different sizes for around five dollars. (You can buy the traditional clear glass or their pretty clear blue ones.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken (thawed), breasts or tenders, in the dish and set a chunk of butter/margarine right on top. Then sprinkle oregano, garlic powder and/or salt & pepper.

At the minimum the chicken needs to bake for 30 minutes. If you're baking 5-6 chicken breasts you'll need more like 45 minutes.

You can eat the chicken as is, and it is delicious, or shred, chop, or dice it for what your recipe calls for.