Conra's Funeral Potatoes

1 bag of frozen shredded potatoes

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup

1 cube butter

1 regular size sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Corn flakes (or Plenco... Plenko? I can't remember bread crumbs!)

Mix in a large bowl (seriously, a large bowl): softened cube of butter, sour cream, 2 cans of soup and mix thoroughly (confession: I did like ... more juice stuff. I added about a 1/2 cup of milk, maybe a 1/4 - 1/2 cup more of sour cream, and a half can more of soup... but I like 'em juicy). Gently fold in cheddar cheese (as much as you want, really) and frozen potatoes. Pour into 9x11 inch pan and top with crushed corn flakes mixed with a couple of "pats" of butter (which turned into about 2+ TBSP when I mixed it with the bread crumbs, and then I added a few shavings of butter on top). Bake in oven at 350* for 45 minutes to an hour.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Josh's sweet mother sent me this recipe so I could make it for my birthday last year. Yum! It was sooo good. I kept her notes in the recipe so you can all learn from her wisdom. :)

Note: This makes a LOT of food. Half the recipe is more than enough.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Cook, rinse and drain:

2 12 oz. pkg. Penne Rigate Noodles

Heat to sizzling:

2 Tb. Olive oil

1 Tb. Butter

Add:

5 boneless chicken breasts, sliced and patted dry. Saute until tender, season lightly with salt & pepper.

Heat in saucepan:

3 15 oz. bottles of Alfredo Sauce (whichever kind you like--I think we used Bertolli brand)

2/3 cup apple juice

1 cup milk

Add pasta and cooked chicken to sauce. Pour into greased 9 X 13 pan AND 8 X 8 pan.

Top with:

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

4 chopped onions (optional)

1 ½ cups cooked, crumbled bacon ( I usually use less, maybe 3/4 cup)

Bake at 450* until heated through. (It only takes about 10 – 15 minutes if sauce and chicken were still hot before baking, if you are making it ahead of time and putting it in the fridge before baking, I would maybe turn the heat down and bake it a little longer)

Lasagna

1 pkg (8oz) Lasagna

1 lb ground beef

2 cups spaghetti sauce

1-3/4 cups (15 oz) ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)

2 cups of shredded mozzarella

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 tsp dried parsley flakes

Salt and ground pepper to taste

(Dad adds teragon, too)

Cook pasta. Lay flat on foil to cool. Heat oven to 350. Cook meet until brown. Add spaghetti sauce. In medium bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, egg, and seasonings. In 13x9 inch baking dish, spread 1/2 c. meat sauce, 3 pasta pieces, half ricotta mix, 1 cup meat, repeat. Top with remaining pasta, meat sauce, and moz. cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 30 mins; remove foil. Bake 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.