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Hash Brown Casserole – A Thanksgiving requirement

Hash Brown Casserole - A Thanksgiving Requirement
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It doesn’t matter if you are eating it fresh from the oven on Thanksgiving evening, or cold from the fridge on the day after, this Hash Brown Casserole will not disappoint! You can eat it the way it is, put it on a leftovers sandwich, mix turkey in, or cover it in hot sauce. There are very few things that don’t work with this dish.

All of our Thanksgivings recipes are favorites. Hash Brown Casserole, however, is always near the top of the list. The cheddar, sour cream, and Cream of Potato Soup mix together in ways that really surprised me. The hash browns soak up a bit of the soup mixture and blend the whole dish together. This is usually the first casserole dish that is empty.

If you would like to make an easy adjustment to this recipe, you can substitute in most “cream of” soups for the Cream of Potato Soup. We have tried it with Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Chicken and both were really good. The basic of Cream of Potato, however, is still the favorite.

This is a casserole that you can make a couple of days before hand and just reheat it when you need it. If you do, make sure that you cover it with aluminum foil before putting it in the oven to reheat and heat it until the cheese and soup mix is bubbling.

Keep in mind, this dish is made two times to feed over 100 people. If you cut everything in half then you will have what you need for one casserole. Having a backup casserole already done might be nice to have though!

As always, let me know what you think of the recipe. To do that you can either rate it, leave a comment, or do both! I really appreciate the feedback and can’t wait to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Hash Brown Casserole - A Thanksgiving Requirement
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Hash Brown Casserole

Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Total Time55 mins
CourseMain Course
CuisineAmerican
KeywordThanksgiving
Servings: 2 Casseroles
Author: Mom Adkins

Ingredients

Auflaufmasse

  • 2,7 kg Frozen Hashbrowns thawed
  • 345 g Butter melted
  • 3 Dosen Cream of potato Soup
  • 690 g Sour Cream or half Schmand, half Creme fraiche
  • 675 g Shredded Cheddar
  • 3 TL Salt
  • ¾ TL Pepper

Topping

  • 165 g Cornflakes crumbled
  • 165 g Butter melted

Instructions

  • Break up the hashbrowns into tiny pieces.
  • Mix with the butter, soup, sour cream, cheddar, salt and pepper. Put it all in a casserole form.
  • Sauté the cornflakes in the butter and pour on top of the potatoes in the casserole.
  • Back in the oven at 175 degrees for ca. 30-40 minutes.
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Cheese Ball – The Perfect Thanksgiving Appetizer

Cheese Ball
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Granted, Thanksgiving is all about the main course with the desserts following as a close second. This Cheese Ball, however, really puts the appetizers back in the running. It is super easy to make. It can be made on the day before. This is really is a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving repertoire!

We celebrate Thanksgiving in Germany so it has grown to a massive event over the years. We are usually right around 100 people each year and there are usually some that we have to leave out because we don’t have room. For this reason, we needed an appetizer that people could eat while waiting for everyone to show up. Cheese Ball to the rescue!

On the day before, or even a couple of days before hand, you can quickly mix this together and leave it in the fridge. One year I even made it 3 days in advance. The only problem was that I had to keep my husband and kids away from it! Those are the types of problems that tell you a recipe is a good one.

Naturally, if you are celebrating with less people you can cut the recipe down fairly easily. Salt and pepper are just added to taste and the walnuts are the topping. As long as you reduce the cream cheese and cheddar proportionately you will be good to go.

As always, let me know what you think of the recipe. To do that you can either rate it, leave a comment, or do both! I really appreciate the feedback and can’t wait to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Cheese Ball
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Cheese ball

Even though the appetizer tends to get forgotten on Thanksgiving, this Cheese Ball will have you adding it back in in a hurry!
Prep Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins
CourseSide Dish
CuisineAmerican
KeywordVegetarian
Servings: 1 Cheeseball
Author: Mom Adkins

Equipment

  • Handmixer

Ingredients

  • 800 g Cream Cheese
  • 450 g Shredded Cheddar
  • some Salt to taste
  • some Pepper to taste
  • a bit chopped Walnut

Instructions

  • Soften the Cream Cheese with the hand mixer.
  • Add the cheddar, salt, and pepper and mix very well.
  • Form the cheese into a ball, wrap it in saran wrap and put it in the fridge over night.
  • Roll the ball in the chopped walnuts and it is ready to serve.

Notes

It is best if it is in the fridge over night, but as long as the cream cheese is fairly solid you are good to go.
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Tortilla Soup – Soup for the soul, spice for life

Tortilla Soup – Soup for the soul, spice for life
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The smell of this cooking all day makes it hard to concentrate. When I first made Tortilla Soup, all 3 kids came in at separate times asking what I was making. It was like in the old cartoons where they came floating in on the smell. The same thing also happened the last several times I made it.

The simple ingredients don’t seem to offer much. Sure, chili flakes, but why Maple Syrup. Sometimes you just have to try it out though. This one was sitting around for quite a while but it kept on coming up. Should we or shouldn’t we? That is the question.

Then I decided to pull a Nike and Just Do It! Without a second though I tossed everything in the slow cooker, even the maple syrup, and waited to see what would come out. Since then we have been having it about once a week. The kids can’t get enough and neither can I!

When I make it for the family, my kids add a mild mustard based hot sauce on it. I put a hotter curry based hot sauce. My husband, however, adds a hot hot sauce and some chilis from our yard. This base makes it easy for everyone to spice it to the levels that they want. Even if you don’t kick up the intensity this Tortilla Soup is still delicious, though!

As always, let me know what you think of the recipe. To do that you can either rate it, leave a comment, or do both! I really appreciate the feedback and can’t wait to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Tortilla Soup – Soup for the soul, spice for life
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Tortilla Soup

Doesn't matter if you are eating it as a soup, using it as a dip, or drinking it from a cup, this Mexican inspired soup will become a main stay on your dinner table.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time6 hrs
Total Time6 hrs 20 mins
CourseSoup
CuisineMexican
KeywordVegan
Servings: 8 people
Author: Mom Adkins

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Onion
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Red Pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Chili Flakes
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1 can Kidney Beans
  • 1 can Corn

Salsa

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Onion
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 140 g Carrots
  • 1 dash Salt
  • 1 dash Pepper
  • 500 g Tomato Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
  • 1 Chili
  • 80 ml Vegetable Broth
  • 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin

Instructions

  • Fry the onion, garlic, and red pepper in a pan with oil.
  • Make the Salsa (see below)
  • Put all ingredients in the slow cooker.
  • Cook for 6 hours on low heat.
  • Top with Avocado, tortilla chips, creme fraiche (vegan creme fraiche works as well), and cumin. Serve & Enjoy!

Salsa

  • Fry the onion, garlic, and carrots in a pan with oil.
  • Add the rest of the Salsa ingredients.
  • Cook until the carrots are soft.
  • Puree.
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Cauliflower Curry – Delicious and Vegan

Cauliflower Curry – Delicious and Vegan
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Normally we make curry with ground beef, or possibly chicken. Cauliflower Curry is a great vegan alternative, however, and is something the entire family can get on board with.

There are a lot of spices going into this dish. Each family, and even each person, has their own personal preference when it comes to how much to use. I would recommend starting with this recipe as is and seeing how it tastes. The more you make Cauliflower Curry the more you will get the spices adjusted to exactly how you like them.

We add a bit more curry powder than what it says and also add in some fresh ground chili. We also eat a bit spicier than some people do.

Another thing that can sometimes use a bit of mom touch is onions. Some like them glassy, some like the lightly browned, some like the caramelized, and some like them borderline burned. Since you won’t be pureeing this you can make them however you and your family enjoy them.

Other than that, you just mix everything in your slow cooker and wait for it to be done. These slow cooker meals are really a lifesaver on busy days. 20 minutes in the morning and by the time everyone gets home you have a meal hot and waiting for you. I don’t think it gets much better than that!

A great dessert to go with Cauliflower Curry, and keep with the vegan theme of the meal, is my Vegan Banana Cookies recipe. You might notice that you are eating vegan, but I don’t think you will care too much.

As always, let me know what you think of the recipe. To do that you can either rate it, leave a comment, or do both! I really appreciate the feedback and can’t wait to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Curry – Delicious and Vegan
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Cauliflower Curry

A great supper to warm you up with a touch of spice to keep Cauliflower from being too boring.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time8 hrs
Total Time8 hrs 20 mins
CourseMain Course
CuisineIndian
KeywordVegan
Servings: 8 people
Author: Mom Adkins

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Frozen Cauliflower thawed and diced
  • 1 can Green Beans
  • 1 can Corn
  • 4 Carrots
  • 1 cup Frozen Peas
  • 1 Onion
  • 4 Cloves Garlic
  • 2 cans coconut cream
  • 1 splash almond milk
  • 2 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp Garam Marsala
  • 1 tbsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp ground almond

Instructions

  • Brown the onions and garlic in olive oil in a sauce pan.
  • Put the cauliflower, corn, carrots, and peas in the slow cooker. Add the onion and garlic on top.
  • Add all the spices and the almonds.
  • Add coconut cream and almond milk and mix well.
  • Cook for 8 hours on low heat or for 5 hours on high heat.