it's a starchy kind of day

other than about 12 pop tarts for breakfast (well, three. but if i had 12 chocolate chip pop tarts, i would have eaten all of them by now. forget cigarettes; those things are like nicotine!) all i've eaten today are potatoes. i found a recipe for twice baked potato casserole on the internet, but didn't have all the right ingredients for it, so i winged it. here's the original recipe:

1 1/2 c peeled, cubed potatoes
3 c sour cream
1 c mozzarella
1 c cheddar cheese
12 strips bacon, fried and crumbled

this is my recipe:

1 1/2 c potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 c french onion dip (the kind that's in the fridge section, not a packet of it)
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of celery
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
some shredded hot pepper cheese that i didn't measure b/c it was in a block so i just shredded until i felt like i wouldn't catch on fire when i ate this.
8 slices bacon, fried and... somewhat mangled.

bake @350/375 until potatoes are tender.

so far i've had about 1/2 of the casserole, which i baked in a 9x13 dish. why had i never thought to use something like pre-made french onion/ranch dip for stuff like this? i mean, i consider myself a clever person (hence my hodge podge variation on the original recipe). why hadn't i ever tried this before? *sigh* i guess if all genius came to me at once, my head would explode all over the kitchen and that wouldn't be sanitary, so in an attempt at self-preservation my sub-conscious brain only lets these little secrets slip whenever it thinks my conscious brain can handle it.

ALL THAT TO SAY you should really try my recipe (preferably with more cheese, both kinds. at least a cup of each. regardless of how good my casserole tastes, it could always use more cheese).