Two more nights until vacation.  Two more meals to try to create from my quickly dwindling pantry and refrigerator supplies.   We are surprising our son with the vacation so every time he asks, “Why don’t you just go to the store and get x or y?”  I have to tell him that it’s not pay day or it’s too cold.

It has been incredibly cold again.  Or is it still?  We have just finished our 7th Snow/Cold Day of the year and our 6th for the month of January.  The kids both liked the time off but by yesterday they were even asking me to home school them again.  They must be bored!

So, last nights dinner was a creation of bits and pieces I still had left in my refrigerator and freezer.

Verdict:

Very tasty.  My daughter did not like the onion bits and thought they were a bit undercooked.  My son thought the overall taste was good but it looked a bit like dog food when served so I needed to work on the presentation.  Yes, I am raising two foodies by doing this experiment.

The taste was good and rich.  The dish did lack in the presentation category but was a perfect, homey comfort food on this -20 degree night.

I served this meal with a plate of pepper strips and baby carrots.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Italian Sausage, removed from casings
• 1 lb. diced frozen potatoes, thawed in refrigerator
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 (8 oz) block Cream Cheese
• 2 tsp. Morton Season Salt
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray.
2. In a large glass bowl place block of cream cheese.   Place bowl in microwave for 45 seconds to melt cream cheese.  Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.
3. Add potatoes, onion soup mix, sour cream and season salt to bowl and stir until well blended. Set bowl aside.
4. In a skillet over medium heat cook Italian sausage until browned through.  Break sausage into small pieces with the back of a spoon while cooking.
5. Once sausage is cooked through removed with a slotted spoon to a plate covered with 3 paper towels to soak up some of the grease.
6. Remove all but 2 TBSP of grease from frying pan.  Cook onions and peppers over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.  Onions should be turning translucent and browning at the edges.  Remove pan from heat.
7. Place 2/3 of the potato mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish.  Press potatoes into bottom of bowl.  Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese over the potatoes.  Layer all of the sausage, onions and peppers over the cheese.  Then layer the rest of the potatoes over the meat mixture.  Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese over the top.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes until warmed through.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.