Hello everyone! Happy February! I personally love the month of February. I love the weather, Valentine's Day, and it's the birthday month of my hubby, and baby girl. (It will be her first birthday...sniff...sniff) Ok...Ok...enough about me...
February is Snack Food Month, Grapefruit Month, Potato Lovers Month, and my personal favorite...CHOCOLATE MONTH! Yummy. I have included a couple of great chocolate recipes on our Holiday page for Valentine's Day. There is a link below for all of you chocolate fans. :) We have highlighted three notable days in February; Valentine's Day, The Super Bowl, and Black History Month. To read more about these, and to get some great recipes visit: http://www.therecipefinder.com/holidays.html
February also has a lot of interesting food holidays. Here are just a few; National Stuffed Mushroom Day, Baked Alaska Day, Cherry Pie Day, Pancake Day, and much more. If you visit our calandar page you'll find the full list as well as some delicious recipes. Paste link to your browser: http://www.therecipefinder.com/page/page/1542172/2005-02.htm
I would like to announce a couple of new features for February..."Featured Food" is a biweekly article and will be updated the first and third Mondays of each month. We will showcase different foods. We will include the health benefits, history, fun facts, recipes,etc. We had a fantastic guest author, Ginger Hill, write our debut article. Ginger wrote about pizza. She wrote a very informative and entertaining bit. Here is the link: http://www.therecipefinder.com/Archives.html Our current feature is garlic. http://www.therecipefinder.com/FeaturedFood.html
Another new feature is "Cooking School." This is a work in progress. It is one of those things that will never be completed. There will always be new ideas and information to add. This month we have the cooking terms completed. http://www.therecipefinder.com/cookingschool.html
To celebrate "Potato Month" I have included a couple of delishious recipes below...
HUMOR: Here are a couple of cute potato jokes my daughter wanted me to tell...
Why did the potato cross the road? He saw a fork up ahead.
Why wouldn't the reporter leave the mashed potatoes alone? He desperately wanted a scoop.
February's monthly prize drawing winner is: Barbara!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Well, that's all for this month. Have a great month. Talk to you soon. -Lara :)
CHEESY MASHED POTATOES
4 large baking potatoes, about 2 pounds, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 1 cup warm milk 2 Tblsp butter, room temperature 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese 4 oz shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp paprika dash of red pepper
Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain well. Put potatoes back in saucepan; stir over low heat until dry, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mash, adding about 1/2 cup milk and butter. Add cheese and seasonings. Mix well, adding remaining milk until desired consistency is reached.
AU GRATIN POTATOES
1 to 1 1/2 lb.Baking Potatoes 2 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. flour 1 small shallot, minced 1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese 1 tsp. salt 1 c milk pepper to taste Boil potatoes until tender. In small saucepan, saute shallots in melted butter until soft. Add flour and salt and pepper. Stir over low heat until mixture thickens. Add milk slowly, stirring continuously until it has thickened. Add cheese, stirring until it has melted. Drain cooked potatoes and place in baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
