A Family Secret

Mashed Potatoes


Mashed potatoes have become a staple in our house, my mom rarely asks for my opinion on a side dish because my answer is almost always mashed potatoes!


When I asked my mom how to make them she said they are super easy but the secret is the potatoes have to be yukon gold.


I'm a sucker for any kind of mashed potatoes but the yukon golds really do make all the difference


Ingredients

• Yukon gold potatoes (I used 3 and it was enough for about 2 or 3 servings)
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter 
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream

1. Peel and slice potatoes

2. Boil until potatoes are cooked (tender and golden)

3. Drain

4. Add sour cream and butter

5. Mix with hand mixer until smooth

I served mine with grilled chicken and cheesy broccoli

and I know its bad that I dont make my own gravy but I really think that the heinz gravy in a jar is perfectly delicious

Raspberry Marble Individual Cheesecakes

I have always loved cheesecake. Any kind that comes from the Cheesecake Factory is pretty much magical! I recently went to a holiday party and was served an individual cheesecake in a cupcake liner...what a great idea not only to serve at a party but in general because it could keep me from eating the entire cheesecake!  Because lets face it, cheesecake is not the best thing one can put into their mouths (but the calories are def worth it to me!).  Putting the cheesecakes in cupcake liners makes them really easy to eat, serve and store...so pretty much its a win win!


So I immediately went in search of an individual cheesecake recipe and found one on one of my favorite blogs Annies Eats!  She mentions how the original recipe she used called for using a cold water bath but she didnt do it, obviously I didnt either and like she said mine turned out perfectly!


The recipe calls for enough to make 32 cheesecakes so I cut it in half and it ended up making about 14.


The raspberry puree really adds a pop of color and makes these look really fancy.  I thought I had totally messed this up when I used the toothpick and it looked nothing like the picture I was following but they ended up looking great after I baked them!


Also I FINALLY got a new camera so hopefully my pics are better now because Im no longer using the Iphone!!

 Ingredients:


for crust:

• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used a plastic baggie and the hammer from our tool kit to crush mine!)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

for raspberry swirl:

• 3 oz fresh raspberries
• 1 tablespoon sugar

for filling:

• 1 lb (16 oz) cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

1. preheat oven to 375 and line cupcake pan with liners

2. Stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter together with fork until well blended

3. Press a tablespoon of the crust mixture into each liner.

4. Bake until just set for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool

5. To make the raspberry puree, put raspberries and sugar into food processor or blender and run until smooth.

*It says to put through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds but I didn't do that and it tasted just fine!

6.To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer on medium until fluffy.

7. Blend in sugar and salt until smooth.

8. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well mixed

9. Spoon cheesecake mixture onto graham cracker crust

10. Add 3 dots of raspberry puree

11. Use a toothpick to swirl puree.

12.  Bake for 22 minutes

13. Let cool for several hours before serving

* we got a little over excited and ate some right after they came out of the oven, they were hard to eat but still delicious but definitely better if you wait for them to cool!

And In The Mornin I'm Makin Waffles

Belgian Waffles


Waffles are one of my favorite breakfast foods.  I prefer to go to Waffle House for my waffle fix however ocassionally I'll make them at home.  If you have ever lived in an apartment then you know that a large majority of your appliances come in the form of hand me downs from parents, so I inherited a great belgian waffle maker from my mom that I wish I used more often but dont.

This recipe is really simple (its the one from the side of the bisquick box!) but you can find it here.

Ingredients

• 2 cups bisquick
• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

the most important part of making waffles is getting to know your waffle maker, I made 7 waffles and only 4 were edible and the rest were burned (OOPS)! Mine took about 3 and a half minutes but they all vary

add butter and syrup!

Pepperoni Pizza Bites

Lets face it, we are in college and are always looking for a quick easy option for everything to homework to food.  The frozen food aisle is usually the best place to grab a meal that is not only cheap but usually super easy to prepare.  We are all guilty of buying everything from frozen chicken nuggets to at least 5 or 6 variations of frozen pizza.  

I know amongst my friends pizza rolls are always top of the list from the frozen aisle.  We all know they are terrible for you but they are cheap and delicious so most of us eat them any ways. 

So when I saw this recipe for pizza bites, it was an obvious choice for our New Years Eve potluck!

Ingredients

• can of Pillsbury pizza dough
• pepperoni
• mozzarella cheese (I used fresh but you could also probably use shredded)
• marinara sauce for dipping

1. preheat oven to 400 and grease a pie plate.

2. tear off pieces of the dough and place a pepperoni and a cube of cheese on top then ball up and seal

3. place each pizze bite into pie plate 

4. The recipe didnt call for this but I sprinkled mine with some garlic powder for taste

5. bake for 20 minutes (until dough looks cooked)

6. serve with marinara!