Family Foodies

My mother should have saved her breath when she kept telling me “stop playing with your food!” It never took.

One of the things that I enjoy about cooking is that I can make my own rules. Of course, there are common sense rules that most of us follow like not putting ground beef in apple pie or not adding a cup of sugar to your spaghetti sauce, but otherwise it’s an imagination fest.

I like to play with old standards and make something new but still familiar tasting. Chicken oven-fried in ranch dressing mix. Cheeseburger wraps. Baked mashed potato balls.

Use your imagination to play with some old favorites. It’s fun!

Sloppy Joe Pie with Baked Mashed Potato Balls

2 cans of large buttermilk biscuits (Like those Pillsbury ones you find in the refrigerated foods section)
1 lb hamburger
1 can sloppy Joe mix
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground beef in skillet, crumbling it well with the spatula. Drain the grease, then add the can of sloppy Joe mix and stir well.  Open one can of the buttermilk biscuit dough and press each biscuit down into a pie plate to make a bottom crust, pressing up against the sides. Brush with half the melted butter. Top with the sloppy Joe mixture, then top that with the biscuit dough from the other can, stretching each biscuit thin then laying it carefully over the top. Brush with the rest of the melted butter, then bake until the crust is a nice golden brown.

Baked Mashed Potato Balls

(Start preparing these earlier in the day because you need to refrigerate them for a while.)

4 cups mashed potatoes
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup melted butter
Salt and pepper

Make the mashed potatoes in your favorite way, put into a bowl and let cool. Beat together the softened cream cheese and eggs until well blended. Add the cream cheese mixture and the chopped onions to the mashed potatoes, along with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Refrigerate for an hour or more so the mixture can set.

When you take the mixture out of the refrigerator, preheat oven to 350 degrees then take a small amount of potato mixture at a time and form into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place each ball on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Brush the tops with melted butter. Bake for about 20 minutes to a half hour, or until the balls are a nice golden brown.

These two things should be able to bake at the same time. This is a sinfully delicious dinner, and loved by kids and adults.