Quick and Easy Dinner Amidst the Christmas Bustle

Today was the Christmas concert at school.  A very special Santa showed up to greet all of the children with a candy cane at the end of their performances.  SWEET!  "Santa" is actually Papa to Alexander, so he had to keep it on the down low in case any of the other 3rd graders in his class are still "true believers". 

Forgot the zoom lens but you can kinda see Santa back there!

Alexander with his Papa...er...I mean Santa

Sometimes, on a busy day like this, it's nice to have some savory food that doesn't take an entire evening to make. Tonight I made Sirloin steak on the Forman Grill, tossed salad, and some EASY microwave scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin.   And I mean easy.  You can use a food processor to slice the potatoes ~ but I just got out my hand grater/slicer and sliced them up nice and quick.  Just be careful, you don't want to lose any skin in this process!  When it's a small job like this, it seems like it's more work than it's worth to clean the food processor. 

So for those of you who haven't tried microwave scalloped potatoes here's a recipe to try.


MICROWAVE SCALLOPED POTATOES AU GRATIN  
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. milk, scalded
2 tbsp. butter
paprika

Arrange 1/2 of the potatoes in the bottom of a shallow, 1-1/2 quart, heat-resistant, non-metallic baking dish.

Combine flour and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle 1/2 of the mixture over Potatoes. Sprinkle half of the cheese over potatoes. Repeat with remaining potatoes; flour mixture and cheese. Pour scalded milk over last cheese layer. Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika.

Heat, uncovered, in Microwave Oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cheese is melted. (I have a little microwave  so I needed the entire 14 minutes.)

Small microwave for a small kitchen

Just 12 - 14 minutes total

The cheese is all melty and the potatoes should be nice and soft

You may need to stir them up a bit...then serve!  See, that's easy.

Servings: 4

In the meantime, the boys were busy baking chocolate chip cookies.  Sorry, this is Grandmas secret recipe!  Here are some shots of them baking up a chocolate storm though!

Loads of chocolate chips

This is my handsome handy man, Scott!

And his little sidekick, Alexander!

Funny how warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven, chocolate chip cookies can bring a big smile to their faces!

I hope you are able to fit in some family fun time during this busy holiday season.  Some days are just not long enough to fit in all that's on our TO-DO lists, right!?  Or is it just me?  I do what I can, at least what I NEED to do, to get by.  I try not to beat myself up if I need to let a few extras slide.   Maybe even ask for help if I really need it.  HELP...that feels like a dirty word sometimes.   But we don't have to do it all alone.  And the walls will not come crashing in on us if we have leftovers or canned soup for dinner every now and then.  Just Sayin'.  ;)


And there's always chocolate chip cookes!!

Have a good night,
Sherry