Mushroom Ranch Potatoes – Slow Cooked Potatoes Exploding With Flavor!!!

Tags

Cheese, cream of mushroom, crockpot, onion, potatoes, ranch dressing, slow cooker, southern hasbrowns

Life has been a little crazy lately, so I was looking to make a fairly easy dinner for the family last night. These Mushroom Ranch Potatoes filled the bill! It was as simple as chopping a little onion and dumping my ingredients in the slow cooker! The pay out was great tasting potatoes though! The cream of mushroom soup and cheese gave it creamyness and the ranch dressing mix and onion gave it wonderful savory flavor. This was good enough to serve as a holiday side dish and would be easy to increase for a crowd. It would also be good topped with some panko or bread crumbs!

I served these with a Beer Butt Chicken (Yes, you read this right!) and some local, organic corn on the cob. Mmmm! It was a delicious dinner!

Mushroom Ranch Potatoes

1 – 32 oz bag of frozen southern hash brown potatoes

1 – 14 oz can low-fat cream of mushroom soup

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Before opening the bag, break up the potatoes by throwing down bag or using a meat tenderizer to pound the bag. You want to be able to stir the potatoes with all the other ingredients. Spray a slow cooker pot with non-stick spray. Add all ingredients and stir until mixed. Cook for 5-6 hours on low.

Enjoy!

Healthy Hash – Spicy, Hearty and Healthy!

Tags

Carrots, Cooking, ground turkey, Hash, healthy, potatoes, ranch dressing, recipe, spicy

  

It was one of those nights, where I didn’t have a specific plan for dinner other than using stuff I had on hand that needed to be eaten! I hate wasting food, so this used some fresh veggies I had on hand and the ground turkey that needed to be used. It turned out to be a delicious, hearty dinner that had a nice amount of spice to it. It would be a great meal for a chilly evening. As tasty as it is, the ingredients are pretty basic, so chances are you’ll have them on hand and most people will enjoy this dish. You can always dial the spice up or down depending on your tastes.

Hearty Hash

4 russet potatoes, diced

2 carrots, peeled & diced

1/2 medium white onion, diced

1 pound ground turkey

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 – 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1 – 6 oz can tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (These could be left out to dial back the spice quite a bit.)

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Pour diced potatoes into pan and spread In single layer. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.

Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray, brown ground turkey with onions and carrots. One the meat is cooked through, add ranch dressing mix, tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, paprika, parsley and potatoes. Stir and cook until veggies are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Ranch Chicken with Beans and Rice – A Super Easy, Delicious Dinner!

Tags

beans, casserole, Chicken, Cooking, Easy, Food, ranch dressing, recipe, Rice

  

Who doesn’t love ranch dressing?!? There is just something about the combination of spices in that dressing that is delicious. So if you love these flavors you really should try cooking with the ranch dressing mix packets. You get the spices without the creamy dressing, so you can get the wonderful flavor and still keep the fat and calories down on your dishes. I used this tasty ingredient the other night when I made Ranch Chicken with Beans and Rice. My family devoured this dish!

While the ranch mix packet provided its wonderful seasoning, it wasn’t overpowering. It added just the right amount of flavor while still letting the fresh ingredients shine through.

I did get the inspiration for this dish from a Hidden Valley Ranch TV commercial, but they did not share exact ingredients and measurements. I took their basic suggestion and expanded upon it and was very happy with how this turned out. I would definitely make this dish again! It was both easy to make and delicious!

Ranch Chicken with Beans and Rice

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

½ white onion, diced

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (Rinsing your beans is a good way to remove some of the sodium, if you’re watching your salt intake)

1 cup quick cooking brown rice

1 ½ cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth

½ cup cilantro, diced

1 packet ranch dressing mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients together and then spread in casserole dish. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 45 minutes stirring once or twice to make sure the rice is getting moistened.

Optional: Top with shredded cheese. I used a little fat free shredded cheddar.

Enjoy!