Marshmallow Cream Fruit Dip

INGREDIENTS

• 8oz cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 small container marshmallow fluff
• 1 7oz. tub cool whip (or 1 cup heavy cream, whipped)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat room temp cream cheese (if you forgot to get it out early, soften it in the microwave 35 seconds) with sugar and vanilla until well combined. Add cool whip and marshmallow fluff.
2. Place in a bowl and chill for 20+ minutes.
3. Enjoy! 

Adapted from Lil' Luna

Julie's Rice Pilaf

Cook 2+ cups of rice in 1/2 cube butter
Add 1 medium to large minced onion with 1/2 tsp. salt
Add 1 cup finely chopped celery
Add 5-6 cups hot chicken broth with 1/4 tsp. saffron
Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes until tender
Add 1/2 cup chopped parsley and 1/2 cup slivered almonds just before serving.
Toss lightly

*You can also include some broken up vermicelli with onions, carrot, mushrooms or peas.

Grandma Edith's Funeral Potatoes

6 large cooked and grated potatoes. (Use frozen hash browns if you are in a hurry. Do not thaw).
1 pint sour cream. 10 oz.
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 bunch green onions chopped (or ½ onion)
3 T. milk
1 t. salt
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup 

Mix all ingredients and top with 2 T melted butter in ½ c. bread crumbs. (Dixie sprinkles corn flake crumbs w/out butter).

Bake 350 for 50 min.

Fresh Fruit Dip

Mix:
1 large jar of marshmallow cream
8 oz cream cheese

Add:
1 orange rind and juice

Serve with platter of fresh bite sized fruit and toothpicks.

Lipton Potatoes

1/3 cup oil
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Potatoes, cut into chunks

shake together in a plastic bag

bake at 350 for 40 minutes on a foil-lined cookie sheet

Pioneer Woman's Mashed Potatoes

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 1/2 cups Butter
• 1/2 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• ½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
• ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water (Bryan W. uses milk) to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.
Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.
Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.
For the gravy I used the drippings from the pan and added about a cup of rue. I brought it to a soft boil stirring continually and added s & p to taste!

Cafe Rio Sides - cilantro lime rice and black beans

These copycat Cafe Rio side dishes are verbatim from this blog.


CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.


BLACK BEANS

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**NOTE** We add a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")

The BEST Sweet Potato Casserole

This sweet potato casserole is also leftover from Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I haven't eaten it in four years, but I loved it more than any other sweet potato dish I've ever eaten.

6-8 cooked yams
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cube butter
2 eggs
beat and whip in 2 qt casserole dish

topping:
1 c. finely chopped pecans
1 c. powder sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. butter

combine & put on yams
cook at 350 for 30 mins

Day Before Mashed Potatoes

9 potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 oz cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 t. onion powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T. butter

Bring large pot salted water to boil. Cook potatoes til tender but firm (about 15 minutes). In a large bowl, mash until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven and grease a medium baking dish. Spread mixture into dish and bake in preheated oven 30 minutes.
Makes 8 servings

Courtesy of Julie T