Potato Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole - Photo: Flickr

Here’s a slight twist on the traditional taco casserole recipe. The cheesy potatoes add another level of flavor to the tasty beef and seasoned cheese. Run for the border indeed!

½ pound ground beef

1 package au gratin potatoes

2 ¼ cups boiling water

2/3 cup milk

1 cup shredded taco-seasoned cheese

1 cup coarsely broken tortilla chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (F)

Cook beef in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.

Mix uncooked potatoes, sauce mix, boiling water and milk in ungreased 2-quart round casserole. Stir in beef and ½ cup of cheese.

Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until top is light golden brown. Sprinkle chips over casserole; sprinkle remaining cheese over chips.

Bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.

Author: Donna Monday

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The Humble Potato May be the Solution to the World Food Crisis

Photo: Pixabay

A rise in food prices has affected the entire world, especially third world countries like Egypt and Haiti, where the high cost of food has already lead to rioting and violence. 

A variety of factors have been blamed for the global food crisis, including the rise in fuel and energy prices and increased demand in countries with suddenly booming economies, like India and China, as well as climate changes wreaking havoc on crops. Many farmers are changing their crops from food to fuel, speculating on the interest in alternative fuels. The solution then would be a crop that is not being used as an alternative fuel, like the potato. To focus attention on this, the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a "hidden treasure." 

Potatoes are native to Peru and can be grown at almost any elevation or climate: from the barren, frigid slopes of the Andes Mountains to the tropical flatlands of Asia. They require very little water, mature in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice. The humble tuber is less expensive than wheat or rice and provides excellent nutrition in the hungry world. 

Some discount potatoes for being carb-heavy, but they have a lot of nutrition, including being just 110 calories. Potatoes have nearly half of the Daily Value of vitamin C and are one of the best sources of potassium and fiber. Potatoes also have more protein than corn and nearly twice the calcium when boiled. 

Interest in alternative fuel sources has led many of the world's farmers to speculate on their crops, using their fields for biofuel crops like corn and wheat, rather than food crops, which has been part of the food crisis. The potato is now being investigated to help with food security. 

In Peru, the government has implemented a program encouraging bakers to use potato flour, rather than wheat flour in an effort to bypass the high cost of wheat. Potato bread is being used to feed everyone from school children to prisoners and the military in the hope the trend will catch on. 

Although potatoes originated in Peru, Peruvians eat significantly fewer potatoes than European countries. The developing world is where most new potato crops are being planted, and as consumption rises, poor farmers have a chance to earn more money. 

Potatoes do not have a lot of speculative interest in the global economy because they are difficult to transport without getting blight. But thanks to experiments in German engineering, virus-free potatoes are on the way, making transport and the sale of potatoes on the global food market a real possibility and a potential solution to the problems the food crisis has brought about.

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German Potato Macaroni Dish

Several years ago my wife worked with a very nice woman from Germany. The nice lady often brought homemade foods to work for lunch and often shared with everyone in the office. One day she brought a dish she called potato macaroni and it was so good everyone asked for the recipe. So, here it is for you to try:

Ingredients

2 large or 4 medium potatoes

1 package elbow macaroni

1 dash of salt

1 dash of pepper

1 onion

fresh chives cut into small pieces

1/2 package of swiss cheese or several slices

1 slice of mozzarella cheese (optional)

2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine

Sour cream (optional)

2 slices of bacon, turkey bacon or ham (optional)

Wash, Peel (optional) and cut up potatoes into small pieces. Bring potatoes to a boil over high heat.

Add a pinch of salt to the water. Boil potatoes for approximately 15 minutes. Add macaroni to water and continue to boil for about 8 to 10 minutes. In a separate skillet, Add butter or cooking oil and cook the onions until browned. Add the chives and continue to cook for a few minutes. Drain the potatoes and macaroni. Return the potatoes and macaroni to the pan. Stir in the chives, onions, swiss cheese, bacon and sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Author: David Jones

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Give Me French Fries with that Shake

French Fries - Photo: Flickr

What goes better with a juicy hamburger and a delicious milkshake than a plate of crispy French fries?

Nothing, that’s what. I bet you’ve had countless meals, especially hamburgers, with a side of fries. Now you’re looking to find some recipes that show’s you exactly how to make those tasty diners and fast food restaurant style French fries.

Well, you’re in luck because you can easily find out online how to make fast food French fries – like McDonald’s French fries, curly French fries, sweet potato French fries, oven baked French fries, or baked homemade French fries.

Cooking French fries the traditional way involves grease and you want to be sure to use low-fat cooking oil to cut down on the fat content. There are places online to find French fries makers where you can deep fry them at home in just a few minutes.

Many people enjoy the recipes for seasoned French fries that are baked in an oven and not a frying pan. Cooking seasoned French fries in the oven eliminates most of the extra fat and calories, without sacrificing that delicious French fries taste.

Making French fries to eat at home that tastes the same or better than the ones you have when you eat out is easy and fun with the right recipe, potatoes, oil, and seasonings. 

Author: Donna Monday

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Related articles

• 14 American foods that aren't actually American - and where they really come from(businessinsider.com)

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A Hymn to Baked POTATOES

Backed Potatoes - Photo: Max Pixel

What better on a cold winter’s night, than to come home to a supper of crisp-skinned baked potato, piping hot, a knob of butter soaking into the fluffy center. Perfect for days when you get home in good time but have a million things to do and cooking supper is last on the list. 

All you have to do is get the oven hot (200C), fling them in, (with a cross scored on the top, so they don’t burst and coat your oven with an irremovable patina of flaked potato) and leave them there for at least an hour, better an hour and a half. You can get on with everything else, secure in the knowledge that supper is cooking without you and then put together a few fillings at the last minute.

One of my favorite toppings is tuna. Just open the tin, drain, season with salt and pepper and some lemon juice (feel free to add mayonnaise if you like it but we don’t). Other hassle-free accompaniments are baked beans, grated cheese, left-over juices from last night’s stew. Any of these makes a tasty, nutritious meal with no fuss and best of all, one that most kids will eat...an enormous plus point for mothers everywhere.

A microwave hastens the process but leaves you with thin-skinned potatoes that might do as an accompaniment to something else but lose the crisp appeal of the true oven baked article. If you are in a hurry, cook pasta instead and save your jacket or baked potatoes for a day when you remember to switch the oven on in time.

A variation to try with smaller potatoes: after washing, drying and scoring the potatoes, rub the skins with a little butter, then season with salt and pepper before baking to give you extra crispy, tasty skins that everyone will eat. 

Another thing to try if you want to get fancy: once the potatoes are cooked, halve them, scoop out the insides, mix with a beaten egg, grated cheese, salt, and pepper, heap the mixture back into the skins and return to the oven for another 15 minutes until the tops are golden brown. A meal in itself!

Cheap, filling, nutritious with the right toppings and needing the minimum investment of labor, the baked potato is every busy mother’s ideal supper!

Copyright 2006 Kit Heathcock

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