Restaurant-Style Mashed Potatoes

I have always struggled with making mashed potatoes from scratch. I usually mash the potatoes and mix it with milk and tons of seasoning and it always tastes incredibly bland. So I hunted for a recipe to try, and these potatoes were amazing and super easy to make!

Ingredients
5 red potatoes (about 1.5 lbs)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened

The Best Fudgy Brownies

When we make brownies for dessert, Hubby always suggests we just eat the batter. And I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm really tempted to do that! Sometimes my brownies come out too cakey and not very fudgy.

Well, look no further for fudgy, melty, gooey brownies!! This recipe is the secret to your brownie problems. I attempted this three times to make sure it was perfect because I was determined to get the exact art as shown in the Tasty video, and I did it. It is possible, folks. Let me share my secrets with you.

Ingredients

8 ounces good-quality chocolate

¾ cup butter, melted

1¼ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

dash of salt

Roast Beef, Funeral Potatoes, Bread Crumb Green Beans

I know I've been quiet lately, and to all of you who read my blog, I apologize! Baby's nighttime sleeping difficulties have gotten out of control, and this sleep-deprived mama barely has time or energy to make a sandwich, let alone find a new recipe to make!

To make it up to you, I have a triple recipe post for today! This was a special meal we were planning around Easter, but due to various circumstances, we didn't get to it until this past week. Hubby helped with this one - he has a talent with the green beans!

I know the funeral potatoes are more of a western thing, but I fell in love with them the first time I had them and I can't stay away from good food, no matter where it's popular!

Chicken and Noodles

So I'm breaking the norm a little bit since this recipe is pretty time-consuming. It also isn't as cheap as my other recipes, but it feeds a lot more, so it evens out.

This is a recipe I attempted to recreate from what my grandmother used to make me and my sisters when we were kids. She loved to work all day to make this meal and feed her constantly hungry grandkids. We could seriously eat this stuff all day (and we did). It was especially important to me that I try to make this exactly like she did. It's been seven years since she passed away, and it made me feel closer to her. 

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
1 package of No Yolks extra broad egg noodles
2 celery stalks
3 carrots
1/4 onion
3 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Christmas Cookies

'Tis the season for holiday baking! Every year we make plates and plates of sugar cookies to give to friends, neighbors, and families from church so I thought I'd share the recipe. Please note, this recipe is not for the faint of heart. It involves a little more effort than the easy, simple recipes I try to provide on my blog, but since it's only once a year that I have to put in some extra effort, I think it's worth it ☺

Ingredients

2 sticks butter or margarine
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour

Other items needed:

wax paper
rolling pin
cookie cutters
vanilla frosting
sprinkles
food coloring (if you want to go all out for this. I just stuck with normal white frosting because I'm boring)

Fried Chicken

Hey there! Sorry it's been a long time, but holiday madness is here in full swing!

This was a spontaneous attempt on my part. We're trying to save as much money as we can to give ourselves a little cushion for the new year, so I didn't do any meal planning. But we had chicken, eggs, flour, and bread crumbs, so I thought I'd give this recipe a shot!

There are many different ways to make fried chicken. Obviously this isn't going to be the "finger-licking" fried chicken you can get from fast food or anything, but it sure is delicious!

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp butter
1 lemon cut into wedges (I omitted this. I think lemon with chicken is gross)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Tis the season... for pumpkin recipes!

I'm trying to instill fun Fall traditions with our family that I didn't really get to do growing up. First, I carved my first Jack-O-Lantern. Next, I made my first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! I thought I would share with you, since they were a great success!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 can pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Combine ingredients

Preheat oven to 375.

Normally I throw caution to the wind and just throw the ingredients together unceremoniously. But there is a benefit to separating them, and that's what I did with this recipe. It makes the flour especially more manageable.