Potatoes are one of the most common side dishes, and it's
no wonder why! Potatoes offer a solid source of starch, but
they are also a very versatile vegetable. You can have
potatoes as a side dish every night and never prepare them
the same way twice in one week. That would explain why it's
the fourth most important crop in the world! This article
is going to talk about four common and tasty ways to cook
potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are an excellent side that you can do a lot
with! Although they are traditionally served with brown or
white pepper gravy, you can add any number of meat or
vegetables to your "mash."

4 cups Cubed Potatoes
1/2 cup - 1 cup of Milk (dependent upon your preferred
consistency)
3 tablespoons Butter or Margarine
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot, fill about half-full with water and bring
to a boil. Throw in the potatoes and reduce to a low heat.
Place a lid on and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes.
After making sure that the potatoes are fully cooked, drain
them in a colander and return them to the pan. Use a potato
masher to mash the potatoes. Add the butter in first so it
can have a chance to melt. Add the milk as you stir the
potatoes. They should take on a creamy, fluffy texture. Top
with gravy and enjoy!

Potato Casserole

This recipe is for cheese and chive potato casserole and
makes an excellent main dish OR side. Feel free to mess
around with the recipe to suit your own tastes

4 cups Cubed Potatoes
1 cup Milk
1 package of Softened Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon Chopped Chives
1/2 teaspoon Dried Onions
Paprika, Salt, and Pepper to taste

Fill a large pot about half-full and bring to a boil. Pop
the cubed potatoes in and continue to boil for about 15
minutes, or until the potatoes become tender. After making
sure that the potatoes are fully cooked, drain them in a
colander and place them in a greased casserole dish. In a
saucepan, heat the milk and cream cheese until it has
melted together. Add chives, onion, salt, and pepper, then
pour this evenly over the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees F
for 30 minutes. When the casserole is finished, sprinkle
the top with paprika and serve!

Potato Salad

Potato salad is usually linked to summer weather and
barbeques, but it can be enjoyed at any time of the year
either as a side dish or on its own as a snack. It's easy
to make and can be stored in an air-tight container in the
fridge to finish off later

5 Potatoes
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
3 Boiled Eggs
1 tablespoon Mustard
1 cup Chopped Celery
1/2 cup Pickle Relish
1/2 cup Chopped Onion
1/4 cup Celery Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in a pot of water for about 15 minutes.
You don't want them to become too soft or they will turn
the salad into mush! When they are tender, drain them and
let them cool. Peel and chop them into bite-sized cubes. In
a large bowl, combine the potatoes and the rest of the
ingredients and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for a few hours
and serve chilled.

Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are one of the ultimate potato dishes in
terms of versatility. Baked potatoes can be topped with
sour cream, onions, ham or bacon, corn,
spinach—practically anything you want! The following
recipe is for "Twice Baked Potatoes," which I'm sure you
will find particularly delicious!

1 Large Baking Potato
1 tablespoon Butter
Any Toppings Desired

Stab a few fork-holes in the top of your potato and place
on a baking tray. Cook at 350 degrees F for about an hour
(or until potato is soft inside). Cut just the top part of
the skin off so that you can scoop out the "meat" of the
potato, leaving only the skin shell. In a bowl, mix the
scooped-out part of the potato with your toppings: butter,
sour cream, chives, salt, pepper—whatever you like!
Once mixed, place the potato mixture back inside the skin
shell and top with cheese. Put it back in the oven for an
additional 20 minutes. Serve hot.

I hope you've enjoyed reading these recipes and that you
are eager to give them a try! Whether you're short on food
or just want something tasty, these potato dishes are easy
to make and add a delightful twist to a traditional
"filler."

----------------------------------------------------
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Wow, the year has flown by and in just a few days
Thanksgiving will be here. We keep hearing about the
economy not being as strong as it used to be, so what I
thought I would do is suggest some entertaining ideas and
Thanksgiving table decorations that are low-cost and that
you can add to your holiday party ideas portfolio.

Let's start with a centerpiece of colorful Thanksgiving
flowers that you can pick up at the market. Use a color
scheme of orange, yellow, red, rust, white and green tones
and pick up sunflowers, dahlias, Gerber daisies and
hydrangeas that are readily available at the market or
flower shop. One of the entertaining ideas I suggest is to
take these Thanksgiving flowers and arrange them in items
you already own like glass vases or water pitchers. Other
holiday party ideas for Thanksgiving include taking natural
elements such as a pumpkin, hallowing out the center and
then using the pumpkin as a vase for your Thanksgiving
table decorations.

An interesting twist on Thanksgiving table decorations is
to take a sunflower or Gerber daisy, cut the majority of
the stem off leaving a couple of inches and then use rocks
or glass stones to anchor the stem down at the bottom of a
low glass vase and fill it with water. Add a floating
candle if you wish and there you have a stylish, low-cost
arrangement using a selection of Thanksgiving flowers.
What I also like about this arrangement is that you can
recycle the elements for other occasions as well.

Another one of the entertaining ideas discussed in Budget
Bash is to use candles. The more the merrier and they
really set a nice mood to any event. Instead of using
glass votives, why not as part of your Thanksgiving table
decorations use mini-pumpkins or green acorn squash, hallow
out the center and then place a votive candle inside. Now
you have a creative twist and a conversation starter on
your dinner table or buffet.

Holiday party ideas for Thanksgiving include complimenting
these vegetable votives with magnolia leaf table place
cards. Simply pick up from a florist a bunch of magnolia
leaves and use a gold metallic pen to write your guest's
name on the leaf. You can also use maple leaves as well
for these place cards. In fact, why not use a combination
of maple leaves, silk and real Thanksgiving flowers as part
of your Thanksgiving table decorations. You can also save
money on Thanksgiving flowers by just clustering or
grouping different flowers on the table for the evening or
purchasing some rose petals and placing them on the table
for extra color as well.

One of my favorite entertaining ideas for Thanksgiving is a
dairy-free pumpkin pie. Just substitute cornstarch for the
eggs and soy milk for the evaporated milk.

I hope you found these entertaining ideas for Thanksgiving
table decorations helpful. Until next time, remember the
Budget Bash mantra; make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun
& economical to all!

----------------------------------------------------
Andrea Wyn is a special event planner with over 15 years of
industry experience. She has been the Awards Event
Supervisor for the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) since
2000. Her book, Budget Bash-Simply Fabulous Events on a
Budget, is available at http://www.budgetbashbook.com . She
has an MBA from the University of Chicago & a BA from UCLA.
To learn more about Budget Bash & events go to
http://www.awynningevent.com

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Breakfast is well known as the most important meal of the
day. That being said, you may not have that thought in mind
when you stumble from bed on a cold winter's morning. It
can sometimes be tough to resist the lazy impulse to simply
pop some bread in the toaster and settle for buttered
toast, rather than cook up something hardy and filling. For
mornings like this, you need something warm that doesn't
require a great deal of preparation (especially important
for the non-early bird types!). This article has some great
breakfast recipes that are tasty whether you prepare them
fresh in the morning or the day before.

Fruit Scones

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Sugar
1 Egg
8 tablespoons Crisco (or frozen butter)
1/2 cup Raisins, Sultanas, Dates, Cherries—whatever
you like
1/2 cup Sour Cream

In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking
powder and soda, salt, sugar). When this is mixed, grate
the frozen butter or drop small clumps of Crisco into the
mixture. Start working it in with your fingers until the
mix resembles coarse meal. Add raisins/fruit. In another
bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg together. Add sour cream
mixture to the "meal" and blend with a fork—this will
make the mixture clump up. Using your fingers as a cup,
scoop a bit of the mixture and knead it against the bowl
until the moisture spreads through the dough ball. On a
floured surface, mold the mass into the desired shape
(round, triangular, rectangular, etc.). Do the same with
the rest of the mixture, placing the scones on a cookie
sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave about an inch of
room between scones. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15
minutes. Let them cool slightly before serving, or place in
an air-tight container to be enjoyed the following morning.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

1 can of ready-to-bake Biscuits
1 cup Maple-Flavored Ground Sausage
White Pepper Gravy (as thick or thin as you usually make it)

This one is super-easy! Pre-heat the oven to the
temperature directed on the biscuits package and put the
biscuits in the oven. In a skillet, fully cook the sausage
meat, adding salt and pepper if desired. Drain the excess
grease from the meat. Make the white pepper gravy per the
instructions on the package (make any necessary adjustments
to obtain your preferred thickness). Add the sausage to the
gravy. When the biscuits are done, serve open-faced with a
nice ladle-full of gravy. Enjoy!

Fruit Oatmeal a La Crock Pot

2 cups Raw Oats
2 cups Chopped Apple
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup Almonds (slivered works best)
1 tablespoon Cinnamon (ground)
1 teaspoon Allspice
1 cup Milk
3 cups Water
2 teaspoons Butter

Mix all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and set it on
"low" heat. Let it cook for a minimum of eight
hours—overnight is best!

All of these recipes can easily be prepared the day before
and are ready to eat (re-heated or not) in the morning. So
you see you don't have to settle for toast when you can
have something toasty warm and long-lasting to jump start
your energy. You may even find that a nice morning meal can
work wonders in helping you brave the wintry season!

----------------------------------------------------
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The Platinum Recipes Collection:
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The Platinum Recipes Collection is the Internet's Most
Comprehensive Recipes Collection.

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