Dinner and Dance

I don't think there's a day that goes by that I don't think about food. This morning, while sitting at work at 8am or so, I got this mad craving for party potatoes. It's definitely a comfort food that I haven't really had since leaving the Midwest. I even talked myself into making it (with a little persuasion from a co-worker or two). I took a recipe that I've made before, one that I got from my sis-in-law, who got it from a friend, who got it from their mom. This recipe is my favorite! So good, it's worth sharing!

Party Potatoes:

1 cup sour cream

8 oz chive cream cheese

2 cups cream of celery (2 cans of your favorite cream soup is fine)

2 lbs. frozen hash browns (small cubes works best)

1 cup diced onion

2 lbs shredded cheddar cheese

garlic powder, salt and pepper

4 slices of bacon (I use a whole pound of bacon)

butter (about 1 stick)

1 cup corn flakes

In a greased (rub butter on pan to form a thin layer) 9x13 in. pan, put a layer of the potatoes. About a half pound, also make sure the potatoes are still frozen. Then lightly season with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and crumbled pieces of bacon. Then in a separate bowl, combine sour cream, chive cream cheese, soup, onion, and 1.5 lb of cheddar cheese. Stir until well mixed. Then add the rest of the potatoes. Again, mix well and add any seasoning then (salt&pepper). Pour that on top of the potatoes in the pan and spread out. In another small bowl put about 1/4 cup butter. Microwave until melted. Pour that over the Corn Flakes and mix until the flakes are coated. Spread over the top of the mixture along with the restof the cheese. Bake covered for about 1/2hour then1/2hour uncovered or until everything is hot in the center and the cheese on top and corn flakes are golden brown. Delish!

Too bad my pictures don't do it any justice. (Also, I used about 1 1/2 lbs of cheese total and it was still gooey. But according to my family, you can never have too much cheese)

On another note, Sydney's first performance is coming up this weekend. Saturday is going to be a very long day for this little trooper. She'll be up at 4:30 in the am to start getting ready. The Gilbert Days Parade begins at 9:00, and she'll be dancing her happy little self down Gilbert Rd for about 2.5 miles. Then she'll have time to get a bite to eat before the stage show, which begins at 2:30. She's going to have a friend spend the night, I hope she can stay up past 5pm!

I did a quick braid of the hair to make sure I could do it the way I'm supposed to, and here are a couple pics of her costumes that she'll be wearing on Saturday. You'll have to wait until after Saturday to see what she looks like in them.

Parade Practice

The braid... I think I did ok.

This year's DE costume. It's pretty bright.

This year's KnockOut costume, sassy!

I can't wait to see how this weekend goes! I'll have more pictures to share. : )