Auntie Kynda's Easy Scalloped Potatoes

Two days of cooking in a row...not bad! I'm really starting to like this cooking/baking thing. I get home from work, and I just start cooking. I used to get home from work, check Facebook, turn on the TV, check Facebook, eat dinner (usually something microwavable or from a drive-thru), check Facebook, watch more TV, check Facebook, talk to my mom and Victor, check Facebook...well, you get the idea. And now, I still watch TV and check Facebook, but a lot less often (which is good)! And the way my living room/kitchen is set up makes it easy to catch up on my TV and cook at the same time. It's great! :) AND I'm doing something productive at the same time.

I've decided to start freezing some of the leftover food that I've been ending up with. My Mom-O (grandmother) and my Mom both helped me come up with some ideas on how to freeze the food, so what I've come up with is that I'm going to freeze the leftovers in portion sizes and then I can easily grab something to eat when I'm in a hurry or too tired to cook. Or Victor can have some when he comes home to visit. :) It's really too bad I came up with this idea while he's not here to enjoy it, but I'm sure he'll reap the benefits when we do finally get to live together. Now all I have to do is refrain from gaining weight with all this yummy food around me all the time!

Tonight I made my Auntie Kynda's "Easy Scalloped Potatoes." And they live up to their name...they're easy! And really yummy too! This was a good recipe to make for this evening, as we are currently under a "Winter Storm Warning." No, I didn't make a mistake. The entire Rio Grande Valley is under a "Winter Storm Warning"...not a "Winter Storm Watch," but a "Winter Storm Warning!" For those of you who don't know the difference between these two terms, here are the official http://www.weather.com/ definitions: "Winter Storm Watch" refers to "A significant winter weather (i.e., heavy snow, heavy sleet, significant freezing rain, or a combination of events) is expected, but not imminent, for the watch area; provides 12 to 36 hours notice of the possibility of severe winter weather"; "Winter Storm Warning" refers to "A significant winter storm or hazardous winter weather is occurring, imminent, or likely, and is a threat to life and property." See? Totally different! I'm ecstatic! I just hope I don't miss it...it's one of those rare things that if you blink at just the wrong moment, you'll miss the whole thing.

Enough about the weather...let's talk about food. Here are the potatoes...

And the recipe...

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Auntie Kynda's Easy Scalloped Potatoes
from the kitchen of Kynda Lemiere (via my mom)

2 lb pkg frozen cubed hash browns
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cans cream of potato soup
1/2 pint (1 cup) sour cream
chopped onion (optional)
grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread frozen hash browns evenly in a 9x13 pan. Heat soups, sour cream, and onion on the stove. Spread over potatoes and mix slightly until all potatoes are moistened. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours. Take cover off during last 15 minutes of baking to brown the top a bit. You can add more cheese at this point if you desire.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe, and I now have potatoes to last me at least a week (or even longer in the freezer). This is a great dish to make if you're expecting company, or around the holidays. I did choose to incorporate the onion, but I only used about 1/4 of a large yellow onion. My mom doesn't usually add the onion, and says it's still just as good without it. I guess you could also use cream of mushroom soup instead of the cream of potato, but I went with both cans of the cream of potato. So that's about it! Try it next time you have a family get together.

Next: Deviled Eggs!

"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." Genesis 9:3