Lovin' From the Oven

Funeral Potatoes

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Have you ever heard of Funeral Potatoes? Apparently they’re a big thing in the Mormon world and I’ve never heard about them until now. How is that possible?

It’s basically all of the things that you shouldn’t eat too much of in one dish. It has loads of butter, cheese, potatoes, sour cream, and potato chips (as if the rest weren’t enough).

This dish is heavy. There was no way our family of four could even put a dent in it. You need like 20 people to help you eat this dish. Keep the servings small and you’ll enjoy it more.

If you serve this, definitely serve it with a ton of veggies on the side because your body is going to need something to balance itself out.

Recipe from Ree Drummond on The Food Network.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

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I am such a weakling when it comes to cold weather. It dropped down to 65 degrees F last week in Los Angeles, and I was busting out all of the blankets to put on the couch. My feet were freezing and I was wearing ponchos in the house. My DH thought I was crazy.

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Still, I’d take cold weather over scorching hot ones any day. I love staying in and cuddling with a cup of tea. Throw in a bowl of soup and I’m done for. Soup is actually one of the dishes that I feel comfortable cooking (and that’s saying a lot!). It’s lot a crockpot on the stove. Throw the ingredients together and let the soup simmer for a couple of minutes. Done.

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This was a warm and hearty soup. The lemon flavor truly shines through and meshes wonderfully with the orzo and chicken. Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

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Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dried onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 cups (2 cans) chicken stock
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 8 oz (1.5 cups) orzo pasta
  • 2 chicken breasts, cubed
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, dried basil, and garlic powder and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the shredded chicken and orzo to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes, until the orzo is tender.
  4. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

https://lovintheoven.com/lemon-chicken-orzo-soup/

Beef Empanadas

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IMG_7426 As promised, here is the empanada recipe that I tried! I do have one confession, though. This recipe uses pie crust as the dough rather than making it from scratch. It was quick and easy to work with, but it definitely didn’t taste right. Don’t get me wrong, it was still good… just a little off. Empanadas aren’t that doughy. The crust was too thick and either not soft or crispy enough. IMG_7435 These would be great for a party appetizer, though. Just label them as miniature meat pies rather than empanadas, deal? IMG_7415 IMG_7405 Even though these empanadas had a huge shortcut by using store bought dough, they still required a lot of work. Each one had to be rolled out, shaped, pinched, and then brushed with an egg wash. How Abuela makes a hundred of these for a party is beyond me. My abuela makes them 1/4 the size of these ones and the dough is from scratch! Talk about passion. IMG_7407 Out of the twelve that I made, I could use maybe four for photos. The rest burst at the seam (as pictured above), didn’t quite get the right color, or the dough ripped somewhere. That’s a 33.3% success rate. Hey, I have to start somewhere, right? IMG_7443 The more that I think about it, the more I am in awe of Abuela. She’s amazing. IMG_7447 The meat mixture tasted right, though. I kept it simple and solely used ground beef, but I’d definitely add some hard boiled eggs and olives in my next batch. IMG_7454 Do you have a tried and true empanada recipe? I’d love to give it another try! Recipe adapted from The Food Network.

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Beef Empanadas

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound ground beef steak
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 package store-bought pie crust or your favorite pie crust recipe
  • 1 egg

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a medium-sized skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the beef, onion, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly so that the ingredients are well blended. Set aside and let the filling cool.
  3. Roll out the pie crust dough and cut out rounds using a 3-inch cutter.
  4. Put 1 tablespoon of filling on half of the round. Fold the other half of the round over and using a fork, press down on the edge of the dough making sure it is sealed all the way around.
  5. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Brush the top of each empanada with the egg wash.
  6. Arrange the empanadas on a nonstick sheet pan and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer the empanadas to a serving platter and serve.

https://lovintheoven.com/beef-empanadas/

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