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The Only Thing Better Than These Mashed Potatoes Is… 😉

Oh my! I wonder what you thought I was referring to? It might be a good idea to keep it a secret! But whatever you thought it was, these sinfully creamy mashed potatoes are right there, fighting for the 1st place. And I guarantee none of the recipes you’ve tried over the years will come even close to this one. I know – I didn’t believe it either when my friend told me that.

She said this recipe was so delightful that she had ditched the entree and just eaten two massive servings of these taters. I still didn’t believe her, but she wouldn’t give up so I promised her I’d give the recipe a shot.

I almost forgot about the whole thing until Easter, when we had special guests coming over for dinner. I thought, ok – if these mashed potatoes are really as good as my friend said they were, I’m going to try and wow our guests with these.

But I had no idea I would almost knock myself unconscious with this amazing flavor! I swear I was the first one at the table to say “these are AWESOME”, and I didn’t even think how silly that must have sounded coming from the cook herself!

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Quick Tip: Do yourself a favor and make a double batch!

Make This Amazing Dessert (Works Really Well As Breakfast, Too…)

Over the years I’ve tried quite a bunch of dessert recipes – as well as breakfast ones, especially when it comes to the holidays. We’ve had so many cranberry cakes, pies and pastries that my husband threatened to move into the garage if we were having cranberry-anything this year… So I gave in and decided to try something totally different.

There are no cranberries, or any berries, involved in this recipe. I think it’s refreshing, even though some of you may feel gingerbread is kind of a “safe” flavor for the holidays, too. However, I thought this cheesecake looked adorable with those little gingerbread men on top, so I decided to give it a test run.

I have to say, I don’t miss the cranberries at all! This cake turned out super flavorful and yummy, and I am SO having this for breakfast on Christmas morning! I might even make this my regular breakfast dish… but don’t tell the kids I said that. And who says you can only make this for Christmas? Not, I!

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Quick Tip: If you’d like to make this look “less Christmassy”, leave out the gingerbread men.

These cookies are almost too pretty to eat.

I can remember my mother having a huge batch of cookie dough waiting for my sisters and I to cut into holiday shapes every year during the holiday season. We would get off the bus each day in December and wonder if today was going to be the day! Mom would have a place for each one of us at the table with cookie cutters, frosting, and a ton of cookie decorating candies. It was such fun! Each one of use would compete with each other to see who could make the best snowman, Santa, and Christmas tree cookie. We’d also add a bit more frosting to some cookies and stash them away on the plate so that we could devour it later. Such fond childhood memories!

This recipe for winter snowflakes sugar cookies is quite simple and very good. You can make these delicate cookies for Christmas or you can make them as a winter dessert. They are a bit daintier than other cookies but they are still fun to make and even more fun to eat. Plus, they make adorable food gifts.

I like to place mine in cellophane food bags and tie them up with raffia. Oh, are the ever pretty! You are going to have so much fun making these lovely little cookies.

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Quick Tip: Using clean tweezers helps to carefully place the candy pearls. Before storing the cookies in an airtight container, allow the decorated cookies to set on the counter for about an hour, so the frosting can set.

Creamy, dreamy, and seasoned just right!

When it’s winter, I always want something hot on my table. I love the coldness of winter better than the steamy summer days, but love won’t prevent you from turning into a huge walking block of ice if you don’t do anything about it. It’s during these times that I don’t want my soup to be just piping hot; I want it to have that extra flavor that will add heat to it. The boyfriend always takes advantage of this temporary moment of weakness and adds a lot of spices to our winter soup. I always allow him, if it means I don’t get to die of hypothermia. Spiciness really do help in heating up the body.

This chicken wild rice soup recipe reminds me of those cold nights; not because of the super spicy things that the boyfriend loves to add, but rather because of the presence of different flavors in one dish.

This soup has that creamy mild taste, but it was made a little wild by the onslaught of not-so-hot-but-really-flavorful spices. Surprisingly, despite all of these essences in the dish, it tastes just right. Just right that you wouldn’t be able to say no to a second serving.

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Quick Tip:  Serve with fresh bread or biscuits.

Corn casserole makes the PERFECT holiday side dish.

My husband absolutely loves corn. It is his favorite veggie to enjoy. Although not particularly the healthiest, it is the one he loves to eat with every meal. He loves broccoli, cauliflower and green beans, sure. But nothing quite beats the taste of a nice pile of corn over his mashed potatoes and gravy. He will even make these weird combinations, like pasta and meatballs with corn, or rice and beans. It definitely baffles me the way he is able to enjoy it with anything!

Recently, my good friend and neighbor Anne brought me a delicious treat she had made on an afternoon off. She knew that my husband Mikey loves corn so she made him a cornbread casserole unlike any other we had tried. Then, on top of it all, she made some tasty honey butter to go with it.

It became like a little soft mush over it that was gooey and delicious and to top it all off, she drizzled it with a little more honey. It was a perfectly sweet and salty treat that in my husband’s opinion, matches with every meal I could possibly make. I think this cornbread recipe is one that will be sticking around for a while.

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Quick Tip: Use regular butter if you do not have honey butter.

Moist and delicious this bread is more like cake!

I love enjoying a sweet afternoon treat. There is something about a sweet pick me up that I just love and really makes me enjoy my afternoons that much more. Most of the time, when I am being healthy, I just eat an apple or banana, but these days, I am not really feeling that. I want something richer, yummier and honestly, more substance. Something sweet is what I crave in the afternoons, so I figured I would make it happen.

This afternoon I wanted that perfect afternoon treat again. I did not know what to eat or what to prepare for myself, so I decided to check out my sweets board on Pinterest and see what I could find. Well, after a bit of searching, I came across bread. I thought that would be fun, but then I decided to get a little more adventurous, so I searched for sweet bread and found this cranberry sweet bread with a light glaze over the top that looks delightful.

It seems so amazing to me that I am able to really enjoy a yummy treat of cranberry bread and that I would actually like it. I am normally picky, but this was just too good to be picky about.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Eat, Drink, Love.

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Quick Tip: Add orange zest if you want a little extra citrus freshness.

Nothing goes better together than cold weather and hot soup.

I can remember being a little girl and my mother always making pot after pot of hot soup for us to enjoy on those cold Michigan winter days. I always loved coming in the house after playing in the snow all afternoon to a hot lunch of soup and fresh bread. Oh, how yummy!

The following recipe for minestrone soup that I found over on the Simply southern Mom blog is absolutely delicious. You won’t believe how easy it is to make! I literally spent 10 minute son the prep, if that. I adore this yummy recipe.

I’m super excited that I came across this recipe over on the Simply Southern Mom Blog! If you’d like to get the details on how to make this wonderful recipe please hop on over to the next page for a complete list of ingredients and instructions. Enjoy!

Recipe and image courtesy of Simply Southern Mom.

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Quick Tip: Add a little fresh basil to the top of your bowl for a lovely garnish.