Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Why do work and life have to get in the way of my fun? I have been busy creating and crafting in the little spare time I have had.  You will get to see some of those projects today.  I am making up for lost time with this post.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies. These cookies are as impressive as cutout cookies without the rolling and decorating.  These are a great fall treat. You can use your favorite recipe just tint your dough and layer in a loaf pan, refrigerate, slice, and bake.

Beer tasting.  I hosted a beer tasting and invited my friends to bring a six pack of beer (light, dark, favorite, something you would like to try).  We had a great time tasting all those beverages.

Halloween Costumes.  Spaghetti and Meatballs and The Bride of Frankenstein. Inexpensive costumes using things that we had around the house.  The wig was purchased, but all other items were found in our home.

Trunk or Treat.  This was my car's costume for Trunk or Treat at my daughter's school.  I turned my car into a toaster. Previous years costumes have included a spider and a mad scientist lab.

Cakes.  This is one of the cakes I made for a 50th wedding anniversary party.  It was my first time assembling a 3 tier cake. Scary and fun.  I love a challenge.

Thanksgiving dinner.  My parents were the hosts, but I did the cooking. I guess this is the new normal with Mom's health issues.  Hosting in my own home would be ideal, but my kitchen and it's "Easy Bake Oven" just can not make that happen. Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes, sausage stuffing, and cranberry salad were on the menu.  Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes are fantastic!  You can serve these potatoes right away, refrigerate for several days or freeze.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

5 pounds baking potatoes
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sour cream*
8 ounces cream cheese softened*
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

*you can use reduced fat versions and these potatoes will still taste great

Peel and rinse potatoes, and cut into 2-inch pieces.  Place them in a large stockpot and cover with water.  Boil until fork tender, approximately 18-20 minutes.

Drain potatoes and add remaining ingredients.  Mash and mix well.  To throughly mix you may want to use a hand or stand mixer.  Taste and adjust salt, if necessary.

Transfer mashed potatoes to a shallow baking dish and cover with foil.. Potatoes can be kept warm in the oven, refrigerated or frozen.  Makes 10-12 servings. 

Make-ahead tip:  These can be made several days ahead and kept in the refrigerator.  Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until hot. If freezing, defrost in refrigerator overnight then bake.

Pumpkin Waffles

I hope you have missed my posts as much as I have missed posting. My schedule has not allowed much spare time lately.  I am very thankful for my readers!  This Thanksgiving holiday has given me some time to catch up on posting and all things domestic.

I have been making pumpkin everything this weekend.  It may have something to do with the 16 cups of pumpkin puree in my refrigerator. The eight pie pumpkins that had been decorating the outside of my home this fall, were roasted and pureed.  Please don't think that I have gone all Martha on you.  I decided to be resourceful and not wasteful.  It was very easy to make the pumpkin puree.  Just slice the pumpkins in half (save the seeds to roast) and place the cut side down on a baking sheet.  Bake the pumpkin for 1 hour at 375degrees or until tender. When the pumpkin is done, you scoop out the flesh  and place it in the food processor and puree until smooth. You could be really resourceful and efficient and roast the pumpkin seeds at the same time. I now have pumpkin muffins and pumpkin waffles in the freezer and at least 8 cups of pumpkin puree left.

I served the pumpkin waffles with honey butter and freshly whipped cream.  It was a delicious post Thanksgiving breakfast.

PUMPKIN WAFFLES

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 t baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 t salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 2/3 cups milk
1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl.
2. Beat egg whites until fluffy in a small bowl.
3. Combine egg yolks, sugar, pumpkin, milk, and butter; beat well.
4. Fold in egg whites and flour mixture.
5. Cook according to your waffle iron directions.

Fiesta Chicken Soup

Soup season is upon us, well technically not today since it is 73 degrees outside.  I enjoy quick, easy, and delicious food and the following recipe is one that 75% of my family will eat. The food critic of the family is not a fan of beans.  The soup can be prepared using leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, which makes it even simpler.  It is also a great crock pot recipe, you can just add everything to the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours and have a delicious meal to come home to in the evening. This recipe makes 8 generous servings.

Fiesta Chicken Soup
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 salt
1 T olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2  green pepper, diced
1/2  red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies
32 ounces, chicken stock or broth
3 T tomato paste
4 cups water
1 cup of frozen corn
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
3 T cornmeal (stirred into a paste with 1 T water)

Garnishes
Sour Cream
Diced Avocado
Diced Red Onion
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
Cilantro
Tortilla Chips or Strips

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat.  Add onions, peppers and garlic.  Stir and begin cooking, then add spices.  Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Add tomatoes, broth, tomato pate water, corn, and beans.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer 45 minutes uncovered. 

Mix cornmeal with water.  Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Check seasonings, adding more if needed.  Turn off heat and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.  Ladle into bowls and garnish.

Another Use For Baking Soda and Vinegar

As you may know, I love finding other uses for everyday products.  Nothing makes me happier than being able to fix a problem, without a trip to the store.  It's not that I hate going to the store, it's just that I have to make a special trip because I forgot to put something I need on the list. I know you have probably had this happen to you, and if it has never happened to you, it will eventually happen.  I'm showering and to my surprise the water gradually builds up to bath level. I noticed the drain was running slow weeks ago, but somehow the problem escapes my memory until my next shower. Slow running drains can be a problem caused by soap and shampoo residue.  My remedy will not unclog a drain, but it will clear a slow moving drain. 

1. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain, try to sweep as much of it down the drain as you can.

2.   Pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the drain and let it foam.

3.  After the foaming stops, pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. 

This is a quick inexpensive fix that is environmentally friendly.  If it still seems slow try this a second time.  It has never let me down.

Costumes of Halloween Past

Let me start by saying that I own a sewing a machine, but I do not know how to thread it. I can do some hand stitching, if absolutely necessary.  I just do not have the desire to actually sew.  The costumes you are about to see are held together with hot glue, iron-on tape, safety pins or a hand stitch or two. These costumes are simple. I found these  easy costume ideas online, it is amazing what you can find.  Many of the ideas came from http://www.familyfun.go.com/ or http://www.marthastewart.com.  I probably saw them while waiting in a dentist or pediatrician's office.

Just because I made these costumes does not mean I saved money.  It probably would have been more cost effective to buy the "Made in China" costume that everyone else was wearing, but we were making memories and you can not put a price on that.  Can you? These are some of my favorite costumes that I  have made.

It looks like we had a bird flu theme in 2005 with the chicken costume.  This was a white hoodie, a white feather boa and orange fleece pants.

We have had a jelly fish.  This was made with a child's sombrero from the dollar store, fabric to cover, ribbon and sweats. Ice cream cones made with a sweatshirt, nylon tights stuffed with fiber fill, vinyl, foam and straws for sprinkles.

A bag of groceries made from a leaf bag and some of our recyclables and a plastic apple.

Get those creative juice flowing.  It really is fun to make your costume or your child's costume.  I'm going to be working on mine soon.  I can't wait to see your costumes this year.

Jet Pack

The birthday season is officially over at our house.  I can officially sit down, breathe and finish the open bottle of wine from the birthday party and enjoy some leftover cake.  The house is still clean, but the washer continues to operate 24 hours a day. I decided to find out why I could not post photos to my blog and to my surprise, the problem had fixed itself. 

I did want to share something I created. My niece had a Jet Pack on her birthday list.  A real jet pack was a little out of my budget, so I decided to look on Pinterest to see what I could find.  I found one and decided to give it a try.  It was very simple.  You need two empty 2-liter bottles, plastic spray primer in gray, cardboard, ribbon and a hot glue gun.

1. Spray the bottles and cardboard with the primer.
2. When the bottles and cardboard are dry, attach the bottles next to each other on the cardboard to secure. 
3. Attach ribbon to the cardboard (like a back pack)
4. Fold together strips of red, orange and yellow ribbon and secure inside the bottle opening with glue. 
5. Strap on your Jet Pack and enjoy the ride.

This should provide hours of fun.  It may also be helpful for a Halloween costume.  That reminds me that I need to get to work on developing some costumes.

Halloween Face Paint

                     I recently found this recipe to make your own Halloween make-up. Rather than take a chance with something made in China, which will probably be recalled for lead contamination on November 1, why not give this a try. How fun is it to have custom colors? Your children will probably enjoy making their own.  

FACE PAINT

½ teaspoon all natural diaper rash cream, such as the California Baby brand

1 to 2 drops natural / organic food coloring

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Optional:  ½ teaspoon water, if needed

In a small bowl combine diaper rash cream and food coloring; add in cornstarch.   

Warning:   Excess water may cause oil-and-water separation issues among ingredients.