Recipes # 7, 8 and 9

The Menu (June 17, 2010):

Tater Tot Casserole- pg 77

Creamed Spinach- pg 104

Crock Pot Corn- pg 105

Corn Bread

Tonight's meal was Veggie night! I had already invited my dad over for dinner, since my mom was out of town for the week, before he decided to come last minute the night before.  I'm not complaining! Two nights in a row with my dad, I'll take it any day!  My dad loves vegetables and corn bread, so I thought that would be perfect, and I'd say so because he seemed pretty excited when I told him what was on the menu for the night!

The tater tot casserole is a recipe from Tricia Hardin.  Tricia was my small group leader on a church retreat one year in high school.  Over the years, we stayed in touch, and three years ago she began helping me lead our D-group.  She was a huge help to me during PT school and such a blessing and addition to our d-group! Tricia is a great role model, has a huge heart for the Lord and His Word and such an example of a Godly wife and mother that I hope to one day be! Also, she and her husband, Tommy, are both huge State fans, always a plus!  Anyways, back to the recipe... She told me when she gave it to me that she wanted to give me a recipe that was easy, but delicious.  Boy was she right!!  It was so good, and probably the biggest hit of the meal!  The creamed spinach is Ruth's Chris' recipe.  Surprisingly, it wasn't very difficult!  It doesn't take long at all to make, but you do have to sit right there with it and stir continuously.  Now, it didn't taste near as good as it does at Ruth's Chris, but if I don't say so myself, it turned out pretty well!  Dad and Daniel agreed, too (although, this could have been because they are my dad and husband and have to say that.  But, I'm going to pretend that it really did turn out well :) ) The crock pot corn is a recipe from Linda "Stokes" Windhorst, one of my mom's longest and dearest friends from Fulton.  Stokes was also a huge help in the last minute details of the wedding week and weekend! Without her and my mom, the wedding would have been a complete flop!  Thank you, Linda, for all your help and going above and beyond! Lane, my sister-in-law on Daniel's side, had told me she had made this recipe a few weeks earlier and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to try it! And I'm going to agree with Lane, it was really good! Although, it was the first time I used my crock pot, and I realized mine has three settings and not just two.  I managed to burn a few of the kernels, and will keep in mind from now on that my "high" setting should actually say "really high"!  I had wanted to make home-made cornbread from the cookbook, but decided against it this time.  So, I just bought a mix from the grocery and followed the instructions, and it was really yummy!  

All in all, it was a really good veggie night, and I think my favorite men were happy and full by the end of it.  I even managed to have it all ready and cleaned up earlier than the night before!  Maybe this is getting a little easier...  Thank you Tricia and Linda for great recipes!

Happy Cooking!