The BEST mashed potatoes

For the longest time I always thought mashed potatoes were just potatoes, milk, and butter.   WRONG!!   I stumbled upon this recipe last year and I have been making these for every holiday and they are always a huge hit.   Over Christmas I made an entire 5 pound bag of potatoes and there was almost none left.   

http://www.southernliving.com/food/how-to/how-to-make-perfect-mashed-potatoes

3 pounds yukon gold potatoes 

2 teaspoons salt, divided 

1/3 cup butter 

1/3 cup half and half 

4 oz cream cheese, softened 

3/4 teaspoon black pepper 

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 inch pieces.   Bring potatoes, 1teaspoon salt, and cold water to a boil in a medium size pan.   Reduce heat and cook 20 minutes or until fork tender.   Drain.   

Return potatoes to pan, add butter and remaining ingredients.   Beat until smooth.   DO NOT over beat.   

Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese

I usually do not try new recipes out on company but I needed another side dish for Christmas dinner and I really didn't have room in the oven for anything else so I headed over to Pinterest to try and find a crockpot macaroni and cheese recipe.  

http://iheartrecipes.com/best-slow-cooker-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe-how-to-make/


3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded colby cheese
3 tablespoons butter
2 3/4 cup of half and half
15oz can Campbell's cheddar cheese condensed soup
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Combine the half and half with the cheddar cheese soup and mix until nice and smooth.  

Sprinkle in the paprika and black pepper, mix well.

Pour the macaroni into crockpot and then add the cheese soup mixture.   Then add 1/2 of the shredded cheddar and colby and the butter.

Mix well

Top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Cook on low for 4 hours.  


**I used cooking spray on the insides of the crockpot and it made cleanup very easy**

Holiday Breakfast Strata

What does your family have for Christmas breakfast?    We always have the same breakfast casserole and we all look forward to it because it is so good!   What makes it even better is that you make it the day before and just put it in the oven and you have an easy no mess breakfast.

Sausage Strata 

1 pound ground pork sausage 

6 slices buttered bread, cubed (white bread works best)

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

6 eggs

2 cups milk 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

Place sausage in a large, deep skillet.   Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown.   Drain and set aside.

Sprinkle the cubed bread into a 7X11 baking dish.   In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt, and mustard.   Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes in the baking dish.   Cover well and refrigerate overnight.  

Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to begin cooking it

Bake at 350 degrees for 75 minutes.

Cheese Spread

With the holidays coming we always do appetizers for lunch on Thanksgiving and Christmas.    One of my husband's favorites is his grandmother's cheese spread recipe.   It is definitely an indulgence and why we only have twice a year.

Grandma Brown's Cheese Spread

1 - 8oz cream cheese (softened)
1 jar cheese spread (softened) -I usually use the Kaukauna brand
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix everything together really well using a mixer.   Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.   This tastes best when you make it beforehand and let it sit in the fridge at least 24 hours (which is a huge help at the holidays).   We usually serve this with some sort of bread or crackers.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Mitochondrial Disease

If you are like most people when you read that our son has Mitochondrial disease you paused and thought to yourself, what is that, I have never heard of that.   Don't worry your definitely not alone with not knowing what Mitochondrial Disease is.  

http://www.umdf.org/what-is-mitochondrial-disease/

^^This is a great site to really explore mitochondrial disease and all the complex things that go with this disease.   To keep it simple though, what it really means is that when Benjamin eats his body doesn't convert food into energy well at all.   Picture a battery and that battery draining in power that is basically what is happening to Benjamin's body.   Benjamin is nonverbal and cannot walk without help, he can walk while holding your hand and while using his walker.   Even though he doesn't talk he lets us know his needs/wants in his own way and almost always understand what he wants and needs.   

With mitochondrial disease Benjamin also experiences seizures, thankfully we have been seizure free for over a year thanks to Keppra!   He also has other medical issues such as chronic constipation, cerebral palsy, reflux, decreased bone density and neutropenia.   We are very thankful that the is doing really well and we have had minimal setbacks recently.   

I hope this helps you understand Mitochondrial Disease a bit more.

Marsh Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a touchy subject in our family, everyone of course thinks they make the best.   Here is my recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

For the meatloaf:
1 pound hamburger meat (I use the leanest one)
2 eggs
14 Ritz Crackers, crushed
1/3 cup Ketchup
2 dashes of Worchestershire Sauce
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 tablespoon of water
Salt & Pepper (couple of dashes each)

Mix all ingredients together well - the mixture will be wetter than what you are probably used to.

For the Sauce (you could always double this part if your family likes the topping, I know mine love this part):
1/3 cup Ketchup
1 teaspoon Mustard
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

Mix all ingredients for the sauce together.


Split the meat mixture into half and put half on one side of a large pan (with rack) and the other half on the other side.   Pour sauce over top evening.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Introduction

Hello there!   I am new to blogging and I thought I would just jump right in.   My name is Kerri and I am 35 years old, married almost 13 years to an amazing man and we have 8 year old boy/girl twins.   Our twins are Benjamin and Katelyn.   Benjamin has mitochondrial disease and his sister is a typical developing 8 year old.   This blog is going to encompass our life and more including cooking, family, cleaning and more!   Thanks for reading.