My hearty potato soup is very simple to make. This recipe produces about 6 servings. And it's filling enough to eat for dinner! Only 5 ingredients - 2 of which are salt and pepper. It really doesn't get any simpler than that. My family enjoys this on a cold winter's day. But if you aren't feeling well and just need something simple and filling to eat then this should satisfy your needs. The potatoes are the "meat" of this soup . The cream of celery makes it creamy, while the evaporated milk makes the soup. You can use the print button at the bottom of this post to save or print the recipe. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family and I do. Ingredients     4 cups of washed, peeled, diced potatoes     (2) 10.5 cans cream of celery soup     12 oz. can evaporated milk       salt and pepper Garnishment or Side     Cornbread if desired Directions        Boil washed, peeled, diced potatoes until soft...

Homemade Ground Beef and Bean Chili Chili is another one of my favorite cold, winter's day dump dishes. This dish also serves up to 8 people and can be used as leftovers for a family of 3 to 4.  It's very filling and tasty with just enough heat so it is pleasing and not overpowering to the tastebuds. image courtesy of  Campbell's Kitchen via All Recipes.com Ingredients 1 lb. ground beef, browned and placed in paper towel to remove excess oil 1 large green pepper, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 2 teaspoons chili powder ¼ teaspoon black pepper 3-4 cups tomato juice (from 46 oz. bottle or can) 16 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 16 oz. can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes Garnishments Sour cream Shredded cheddar cheese Optional Side Cornbread  Directions After cooking the ground beef and rinsing the beans, put all ingredients into a stock pot Cook on high and stir frequently until contents begin to ...

Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup Soup is one of my favorite dump dishes, especially on a cold, winter day. My hearty and filling homemade vegetable beef soup serves up to 8 people. For families of 3 or 4, this is a great leftover meal , saving both time and money. Prepped and ready in under an hour. Enjoy!  Pat's homemade vegetable beef soup Ingredients 46 oz. bottle or can of tomato juice 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (drained) 11 oz. can of corn (drained) 14.5 oz. can of green beans (drained) 2 cups of washed, peeled, diced potatoes 1 lb. ground beef Salt for flavor Optional Side Cornbread if desired Directions Boil washed, peeled, diced potatoes until soft  Add a couple of shakes of salt as you stir from time to time Drain potatoes Brown and drain the ground beef (browning should be done simultaneously while boiling the potatoes) Pat off excess grease with paper towels Add all ingredients into a stock pot Pour in the 46 oz. of tomato juice In stockpot, cook on high until conte...

Easy Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches It's time for another recipe. And today , I'm going to share my crockpot recipe for a very Mild Pulled Pork Barbecue sandwich. And it's very simple to make. This sandwich feeds up to 6 people and can easily be served as a stand-alone dish. You will have the option to print the recipe without pictures at the bottom of the page. I like this recipe because I can add as much barbecue sauce and slaw, as layers, to the sandwich as each person wants. Or those ingredients can simply be omitted for those who don't like either. The slaw can also be eaten as a side dish instead of or in addition to eating it on the sandwich. So simple! Win-win for all who have gathered at the table. Ingredients 1.5 to 2 lb. thick pork chops (excess fat removed and meat cubed) ¼ cup lt. brown sugar 1 tsp. chili powder 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. Mesquite liquid smoke 12 oz. of Coke Pepperjack cheese slices BBQ sauce Bag of Coleslaw Coleslaw dressing Hamburger bu...

Grilled Beef Kebabs AKA Kababs or Kabobs As I've already mentioned, grilling is my newest hobby . I call it a hobby; otherwise, I wouldn't do it because a lot of time is required to prep. Grilling is meant to get me outdoors more, so yes, it is a hobby. Some people recently told me that they enjoy grilling because it's so much easier and there is less cleanup. I'm not sure how that can be unless they simply add something onto the grill without prepping it with flavor. Gas grilling may be slightly easier since no prepping is needed to heat it up as with a charcoal grill. However, I'm not 100% sure about that. And honestly, I use more dishes for grilling than I normally would for cooking on my kitchen stove. But the flavors and connecting with nature are so worth it. Directions for these beef kebabs are for the charcoal grill.   But they can also be made in the oven or on a gas grill as well, using your own judgment for cooking times. This cook involves open-fire cook...

Homemade Potato Salad Recipe I hope you like today's potato salad recipe . It's another one of my family's favorite side dishes. I now have many of my side dish recipes on the site. Once again, this is great for holidays, picnics or a picnic meal (just cold sides as a meal) or snacking. Make ahead for a refrigerated dish. Let's dig in! Ingredients salt pepper paprika 4 cups of diced potatoes mayo mustard (may be omitted if you don't want a sour potato salad) 3 to 4 boiled eggs diced onion dill pickle relish (may substitute with sweet relish) Directions Peel and dice 4 cups of potatoes. Place them in a pot with water. Add salt. Boil the potatoes until soft (test with a fork from time to time). Salt occasionally as they boil. Boil 3 or 4 eggs while potatoes are boiling. I set a timer for 25 minutes as soon as I turn on the stove eye to start boiling.  Remove from stove eye after boiling is complete and peel the eggs. See my secret for perfectly peeled boiled eggs in...

Homemade Deviled Eggs This weekend , let's make some homemade deviled eggs. Deviled eggs are great to eat with almost anything. I make them for our holiday meals, but they're also good with picnic meals as well. We often will eat them with other "side dishes" such as homemade potato salad, cornbread salad , and pasta salad as a meal in themselves. Oh! And great as a snack too! The best news is I do NOT use vinegar in my recipe. Ingredients 6 large eggs mayonnaise dill pickle relish (may be substituted with sweet pickle relish) yellow mustard salt pepper paprika Directions Let's start by hard boiling the eggs. After boiling, rinse the eggs under cold water and let cool for a couple of minutes before peeling ( secret : don't allow to cool longer than a couple of minutes; eggs that are too hot or too cold will not peel easily; if eggs are too hot after 1st cold rinse and wait period, run under cold water for a few seconds more just before peeling each egg). Cut t...

This weekend , I want to share another family favorite side dish in our house - homemade cornbread salad. This is a cold dish, so make it ahead of time to allow it to chill before the meal it will be served with. Great to eat with holiday meals, for picnics, or as part of a cold summer meal. My family enjoys eating cold meals in the summer - tossed chef salad, homemade cornbread salad, pasta salad , homemade potato salad, and homemade deviled eggs . I'll have recipes for the potato salad and deviled eggs soon. Ingredients Martha White buttermilk cornbread mix 2/3 cup milk of your choice (doesn't have to be buttermilk [gross!]) 2 medium tomatoes (diced) 1 small onion (diced) 1 large cucumber (outer flesh diced if you don't want the seeds in your salad)  OR 1 small cucumber (diced with the seeds) 1 16 oz. bottle of Kraft peppercorn ranch dressing Directions Combine the cornbread mix and milk and bake according to the instructions on the package. Let cool for a few minutes; ...