Potatoes are not only one of my favorite side dishes, they’re also at the top of my list of favorite foods in general. There are so many things you can do with them, and so many different varieties available that, around my house at least, you won’t hear “potatoes again??” coming from anyone at dinner time!

One of my favorite ways to “dress up” mashed potatoes is with some easy additions. I add the usual milk and butter and depending on what we’re having I like to put in about a teaspoon or so of granulated garlic powder (I’ve tried adding …read more

A simple yet delicious twist or addition, however you want to call it, to the classic mashed potatoes side dish is cream cheese. There’s nothing too complicated about it really. It’s very basic.
INGREDIENTS :
5-6 white potatoes, peeled and quartered
water for boiling
sprinkle of garlic powder
2 spoonfuls of butter
salt & pepper
less of 1/2 block of cream cheese
a squirt of milk
Boil the potatoes until soft. Drain the water.
Transfer the softened potatoes in a mixing bowl, add milk, butter, garlic powder, cream cheese, milk, salt and pepper.
Mash everything together with a potato masher until smooth and creamy. Don’t mash too much and don’t add …read more

While looking through this month’s Quick & Easy recipe magazine, I came across a recipe for a pull apart bread with a surprise inside. This reminded of a similar one I made years ago, and I decided to make one for breakfast yesterday for my twins’ birthday.
Surprise Pull Apart Bread
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 (1 stick) melted butter
1/3 c maple syrup
1 tube (14 oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
Sprinkle pecans into a greased 10-inch bundt cake pan. In a small bowl, mix 2 Tb butter and maple syrup until well blended, pour over pecans …read more

I actually made the strawberry cheesecake above for my husband’s birthday last month, but we enjoy it so much that I’m surprising the family with it again for Valentine’s Day! It works really well with cherries, too.

Strawberry Cheesecake
crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 Tb melted butter
filling
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c strawberry jam or pie filling
Heat oven to 325. Grease a 9″ springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Put the graham cracker crumbs in a medium bowl and add butter. Mix with a fork …read more