We have always gotten together Christmas day with my Dad and Mom's family. Sometimes it involves travel, sometimes it simply involves scheduling issues, but we have always done it Christmas day. The kids hated leaving their new gifts behind, but the anticipation of opening new ones was always an attraction. Last year Mom's health had declined to the point where she could not make it, so we went to her. This year she is no longer with us. Kindly my second daughter offered her new home as a gathering place for Christmas. She and my baby sister organized everything. My daughter's home is made for entertaining...a great open plan where the kitchen/dining/living spaces combine so everyone can gather and mingle together while they eat and then open gifts and play games. This year we were 22 people, with one home ill and 2 almost 300 miles away, with another 4 out of state. It was a potluck affair with everyone doing what they wanted to do and it was wonderful! So much food and such a great variety. I chose to do 2 favorites and a snack. Let me start with the one that I considered the least successful.
Funeral Potatoes:
This potato casserole is so named because it is easily served and inexpensive to make, and so is served to friends and relatives following funeral services in many Mormon communities. This is also known as cheesy potato casserole and of course, need not be served at funerals alone. Let me tell you what I did, and what I did WRONG!
I like potatoes. I fix them often, but I had never tried funeral potatoes, but I had bought a pre-packaged dehydrated mix that promised they were potatoes to die for.
They were NOT! The company that produces them specializes in food storage products. These tasted terrible, which you might have guessed, but I am forever experimenting and this one failed. Unfortunately
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| Don't Buy These! |
it failed too close to my deadline to back out entirely. I
had to make them work! What I basically did is make a small batch of REAL funeral potatoes and added them to dehydrated potatoes I made. It turned out so good that my grandboy asked to take home the leftovers and that is a good as a glowing endorsement. There are many good recipes for funeral potatoes out there. I will link to the ones I considered best.
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What I did to fix mine:
- Added 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes I partially cooked in the microwave and shredded, about 2 minutes for the 3 potatoes.
- Added a FULL stick of butter
- Added a cup of sour cream
- Added a can of cream of celery soup
- Topped with shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
- Topped with Panko bread crumbs mixed with diced bacon.
I mixed the previously prepared potatoes with the newly prepared potatoes and mixed the soup, sour cream and butter into all. I added the toppings and let it cook in the oven longer. I topped it with the cheese and breadcrumbs at the end to allow the cheese to melt and the breadcrumbs to brown. I could have made any one of the good recipes linked below with less effort, time, and worry....well next time.
Below is a link to 2 recipes, one from a cookbook and one from Cook's Country Magazine. Both of these I would trust to be good. It is an article from a local newspaper from 2011.
Click Below to open the recipe
2 recipes for Funeral Potatoes
Next Earl Cooks Baked Beans for Christmas
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