potato casserole — Cooking During Stolen Moments

Irish Potato Casserole

I love St. Patrick’s Day. When I was a kid, I relished the sliced corned beef, potato pancakes and rye bread that my mom would pick up from a special deli/butcher. I still love all those foods. And even though I now make a corned beef brisket twice a year (once for Eric’s birthday and once for St. Patrick’s Day), I can still taste those goodies my mom would get and still long for them.

Okay, anyhow…our usual St. Patrick’s Day dinner consists of corned beef brisket with boiled cabbage and carrots. We also always have rye bread and potatoes of some kind. Crashed potatoes have been our potato of choice with this meal the past couple years, but when I saw this recipe in an old church cookbook, I just knew we’d all love it and that it would be the perfect accompaniment for this year’s dinner. I made a few changes (I just can’t resist) and ended up with a dish that we all loved. These potatoes are creamy, cheesy, rich and delicious!

Irish Potato Casserole

6 – 8 medium Russet potatoes
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. paprika
1 c. shredded cheese

1. Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes. Add to a large pot of boiling water. Boil for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, sour cream, melted butter and seasonings and stir until thoroughly combined. Stir in cooked, drained potatoes. Transfer to a casserole dish. (You can refrigerate at this point until baking, if desired.)

3. Cover potatoes with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is completely melted.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

Sometimes I really appreciate the fact that I tend to be lazy. Honestly, I work hard in the kitchen only so that I can take a few days off! And beyond that, my laziness tends to feed my creativity. Which is what happened today. I really wanted to serve twice-baked potatoes with our meatloaf cup dinner. However, I could not find my motivation for getting involved in that whole process. Hence…Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

2 lbs. potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
4 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream or 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 c. Ranch dressing
4-5 slices chopped bacon, cooked
2 c. cheese
2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1 t. garlic powder

!. Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain and return to pot. Slightly mash potatoes before adding any other ingredients.
2. Add cream cheese, sour cream (or sour cream and ranch), bacon, 1 c. cheese and the seasonings to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.
3. Transfer the potato mixture to a small casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese. Refrigerate or bake immediately at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.*If I had had some green onions on hand, I definitely would have added those too!