I Can Do It, Yes I Can!

I made a pot-luck dish that was completely gone, and I got to take home an empty Pyrex! People, I made a pot-luck dish that got completely eaten. I am telling you the truth. Me. I did that.

How? you say, How? did I, Jocinda, the health nut, make a pot-luck dish that got completely eaten? Well, I will tell you. I googled "potluck dishes" and "casserole recipes." Yeah, dude, the Internet. I used it, and I used it well.

The problem with being a health nut is that most people do not prefer your food. Yes, you. Your food. It's too healthy, too good for you, too "green" (or brown, as the case may be). Food needs fat, salt, and sugar. Fat in the form of dairy (cheese + cream + butter), sugar in any form, and salt in any form, but mostly table salt. Have you ever eaten "Ambrosia Salad?" I rest my case. (BTW if you have never had Ambrosia Salad, then you have a cultural deficit.)

I don't make casseroles because they always have some form of lactose, and my DH is lactose intolerant. Pot-lucks, in general, can be a smorgasbord of lactose-laden foods. "That was super-lactosen," as DH would say. And then we go home with gas.

However, being stumped with how to provide for the pre-school co-op pot-luck last Wednesday, I googled and came up with this recipe. Which was, did I mention? ALL EATEN.

What's it called again? Oh, yeah...


CHEESY RANCH POTATO BAKE

4 lbs potatoes (I used 7 potatoes, because I couldn't stand the idea of only 4 potatoes swimming in the lactose)

1/2 t salt (totally unnecessary)

2 t chilli pepper - that's a lot!

6 T butter - what???!!! No! Don't do that!

8 oz pkg pre-shredded colby-jack cheese

8 oz bottle Ranch dressing


Sounds easy, right? It totally is! Okay, so, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cube the potatoes real small, like, 1/2 inch dice. And I love this direction: "Lightly grease a 9x13inch casserole dish." Lightly! Don't overdo it! Place potatoes, salt, and chilli powder in dish, dot with butter, cover with tin foil, and bake for 1 hour.

By now my mouth is totally watering from the fragrance of these chilli-bake potatoes. I swear to you, it felt like sacrilege adding the lactosen stuff. So next time, I am just going to eat these blessed potatoes by themselves. Anyway, you take out the dish and mix in the remaining ingredients, cook for 10 minutes. Oui La!

Link, you ask?

Bonus for readers: count the hyphens in this post and receive a special prize from me!