Parmesan Potatoes

Parmesan Potatoes - Lynne H.
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1-30 oz pkg frozen country-style hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, chives)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with Pam or grease with a little of the butter. In a large bowl mix thawed hash brown potatoes and chopped onion together. In a small bowl, whisk the cream, salt and pepper together, and quickly pour over the potato mixture. Gently but thoroughly mix until well incorporated. Spoon about a third of the mixture evenly into the pan, smoothing as necessary. Dot the surface with about 2 tablespoons of butter. Repeat with 2 more layers of potato mixture and butter. (be sure to scrape every bit of the cream from the sides of the bowl into the last layer!) Smooth mixture before topping last layer with butter. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top.

Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes, until the Parmesan cheese is golden. Sprinkle herbs on top just before serving.

*This recipe is a modified scalloped potato recipe. For scalloped potatoes, use 8 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick, and follow recipe as above.

Cherry-Almond Glazed Pork

CHERRY-ALMOND GLAZED PORK - Lynne H.

3-4 # boneless pork loin roast
12 oz. jar cherry preserves
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2-3 Tbsp. white vinegar
¼ teaspoon each salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
3 Tbsp. slivered almonds, toasted. (At the progressive dinner we left them out of the sauce)
Roast meat, seasoned with salt and pepper, in a shallow pan at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes per pound, approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. (meat should be
160-170 degrees internally.)
In a saucepan, combine all other ingredients except almonds (if you plan to use them) and heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Simmer 2 minutes. Brush some of the sauce over the roast the last 20-30 minutes. When serving pass the remaining warm sauce, stirring in almonds if you plan to use them.
NOTE: If you want to have a generous amount of sauce, you might want to 1 ½ times the recipe.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Spinach Strawberry Salad - Lynne H.

2 (6-oz.) pkgs. European ready-pac baby spinach
2 (12-oz) baskets medium size strawberries

Dressing:
¾ Wesson vegetable oil
6 T. apple cider vinegar
3 tsp. Finely chopped onion
6 T. sugar
1 ½ T. sesame seeds
1 ½ T. poppy seed
Scant ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Scant ½ tsp. Paprika

Salad:
Break stems off of spinach leaves and discard. Store spinach leaves in plastic bag in the refrigerator. Just before serving, wash and hull strawberries; cut them in halves. Toss spinach with dressing which you have shaken well, then add strawberries and toss again gently. If you like you can serve spinach on salad plates, then add a pretty arrangement of strawberries on top instead of tossing them with spinach.

Dressing:
Mix together all ingredients. Make several days ahead in a jar and keep refrigerated. Shake frequently.

Brownie Trifle

Brownie Trifle – Lynne H.

1 (19.8 oz) pkg. fudge brownie mix
(eggs and oil for brownie mix)
1 (3.9 oz) box chocolate fudge instant pudding
(milk for pudding mix)
1 (6 oz.) pkg. toffee chips
1 (12 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, THAWED
Fresh mint, for garnish (optional)
Semi-sweet chocolate curls, for garnish (optional)

• Prepare brownie mix and bake according to package directions in a 9 x 13 pan. Cool brownies. Crumble or cut brownies into small pieces.
• Prepare chocolate fudge pudding mix according to package directions, omitting chilling procedure.
• Place half of crumbled brownies in bottom of 3 qt. Trifle bowl, or other glass bowl
• Top crumbled brownies with half each of pudding, toffee chips, and whipped topping.
• Repeat layers with remaining half of crumbled brownies, pudding, toffee chips and whipped topping.
• Cover and chill at least 8 hours.
• Garnish with chocolate curls.

You can use chopped up heath bars, instead of toffee chips – to be extra decadent!
This was served at the MP2 Progressive dinner 2008. (also 2002) It looks beautiful, can be made ahead, feeds a crowd, and is scrumptious!