Homemade Potato Birds Nest Food

CHOCOLATE BIRDS' NESTS

Steps:

• Melt 8 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir in 2 cups canned potato sticks. Coat a 6-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and scoop some of the chocolate mixture into the cups; make an indentation in each to form nests. Chill until set, at least 3 hours. Fill with marcona almonds.

BIRD'S NEST BREAKFAST CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups.
• Mix hash brown potatoes, salt, black pepper, olive oil, and 2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese in a bowl. Divide mixture between prepared muffin cups and use your fingers to shape potato mixture into nests with hollows in the middle.
• Bake in the preheated oven until hash browns are browned on the edges and cheese has melted, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove hash brown nests.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk eggs and water in a bowl until thoroughly combined; season with salt and black pepper. Pour equal amount of egg mixture into each nest; sprinkle with bacon crumbles and 1 teaspoon Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the oven until eggs are set, 13 to 16 minutes. Let cool in pans and remove by sliding a knife between potato crust and muffin cup.

POTATO NESTS WITH PEAS, HAM AND CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Position two racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup and a 24-cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
• Cut the ham into small matchsticks similar in size to the hash browns. Set aside and reserve 1/3 cup of the ham. Mix the remaining ham, hash browns, 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper in a large bowl. Divide the mixture evenly among the sprayed cups, using about 1 rounded tablespoon each. Press the mixture in a thin layer across the bottom and up the sides of each cup to make a nest, leaving the edges uneven and jagged.
• Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the nests are dark brown around the tips and golden and crisp on the outside, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, lemon zest, milk 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some pepper together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Scrape the mixture into a resealable plastic bag, cut off the tip and set aside.
• When the nests are ready, remove them from the oven and let sit until they are cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift the nests out of the tins using a small offset spatula or butter knife and transfer to a cookie sheet. Pipe the filling evenly among the nests. This may be done ahead; the nests can be set aside at room temperature until ready to serve, up to two hours.
• When ready to serve, heat the filled nests until the cream cheese is warm and the potatoes are crisp, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the frozen peas and cook until they are warm but not shriveled, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the peas in a colander, shaking to remove excess water.
• Transfer the nests to a serving platter. Top each with 1/4 teaspoon of the reserved ham, 3 peas and about 1/4 teaspoon chopped chives. Sprinkle with paprika and serve immediately.

BUTTERSCOTCH BIRD NESTS

Steps:

• Heat a large, dry saute pan over medium heat. Add the almond slivers and toast, shaking the pan every minute, until they are fragrant and begin to darken in areas, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt the almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl according to package instructions. Stir in the butterscotch chips. Microwave another 30 seconds, and then stir until smooth.
• Stir in the almonds, pretzels and coconut, coating evenly. Drop the mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, onto the prepared baking sheets. Nestle in 1 or 2 of the mini eggs. If the mixture starts to cool and become too firm to work with, microwave for 30 seconds and stir gently. Let the nests cool at room temperature until solid.

BIRD NESTS

Steps:

• In a large metal bowl over simmering water, melt baking chips; stir until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup melted chips for decorations; keep warm., Add pretzel sticks to remaining chips; stir to coat evenly. Drop mixture into 24 mounds on waxed paper; shape into bird nests using 2 forks., Dip bottoms of Peeps in reserved chips; place in nests. Attach eggs with remaining chips. Let stand until set.

BIRD NESTS

Steps:

• Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions. Remove from the stove and let cool slightly while making the meat mixture as follows:.
• In a large frying pan, cook each slice of bacon on both sides until crispy. Remove from the pan, place on a paper towel and let cool, Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan. Next, brown and crumble the ground turkey or beef in the bacon fat until no longer pink. Drain off the liquid and add the following to the meat: the 1/2 cup water, 1 package taco seasoning mix - minus 1 tablespoon, and 1 cup shredded carrots. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, cover and let cook approximately 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Drain all of the liquid from the pan, then add 1/2 of the crumbled bacon, the drained sundried tomotoes and 3/4 cup each of the cheddar and goat cheese. Mix well. Set on the lowest heat to keep mixture warm and proceed to make the nests.
• To Make the Bird Nests: On 2 cookie sheets, place 4 six-inch squares of foil on each cookie sheet. Using a paper towel, grease each foil piece lightly with the olive oil drained from the sundried tomotoes. Fill a gallon-sized ZipLoc bag with half of the prepared Simply Potatoes Traditional Mashed Potatoes, close and seal the bag while removing as much air from the bag as possible. Cut off one lower corner of the bag to leave an opening of approximately 1/2" and squeeze the mashed potatoes onto each piece of foil in a spiral - starting in the center - to create a base of potatoes about 4" in diameter. Add one more outer circle of potatoes to create an outer wall for each nest. Repeat with the second batch of mashed potatoes to create a total of 8 nests. Lightly sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of taco mix on top of each potato nest with your fingers. Spoon the meat mixture into the center of each nest and top each nest with some of the reserved cheddar cheese, goat cheese and remaining crumbled bacon. Remove each nest from the baking sheet using a spatula placed under each piece of foil. Serve with a green salad and enjoy!

POTATO NESTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450.
• Combine potatoes and egg in a large bowl.
• Use hands to mix well.
• Coat regular muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of potato mixture into each muffin cup.
• Use fingers and back of spoon to press mixture firmly on bottom and sides of muffin cup.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown.
• Sprinkle cheese into each potato nest and bake for 2 minutes or until cheese melts.
• Wait 5 minutes before removing from pan.
• Top with sour cream and bacon and serve.