Yummy comfort food~Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I love potatoes! The've always been a comfort food and they are so versatile. This is my favorite way of making potatoes:

I always use red skin potatoes, they are a nice potato for boiling. Yukon Gold is a good potato, too. I'm not into peeling any potato so I just cut them into chunks. But, I do scrub them first. I'll cut enough potatoes to fill a medium sized sauce pan about 3/4 full. Add water to just cover the potatoes. To this I'll add 3 large cloves of garlic cut into small pieces and boil them together until the potatoes are soft.

Once they are drained I add black pepper, some butter and milk and beat with a hand mixer. I like Smart Balance for cooking and table use. Then the cheese goes in. I've tried a few different kinds and plain old American cheese seems to work pretty good in this. So, I add about 4-5 slices and whip it together well. Yum, yum.

Its just way too early for this!

The daffodils in my yard are starting to pop like crazy. Its only February! We're bound to have some more freezing temps, but they're pretty tough and they will probably make it through. I'm glad I caught these cheerful guys in bloom.

Across the street and 3 doors down

Ooops, these pics are in the wrong order. You really should start at the bottom and work your way up. Hey, I'm still new at this.

You really should see the view out back

A little bit of paint might do wonders for this place

There's probably some sugar in the cupboard

How 'bout a cup of coffee?

The bathroom's right over here

Its a bit warm today, isn't it?

There's plenty of room in the kitchen

Well, don't just stand there, c'mon in!

START HERE: Let's go see our neighbor

First Bloomer

 

This love little daffodil opened this morning. Since then a few more have joined in. A bright cheerful spot in the yard. Come on spring!!

The cat that inspired me to create

Colder then normal temperatures have kept me from doing much in my shop this week, its difficult to warm the room up to a comfortable level with a little space heater. I'm still working on some new cat face ornaments and since today may be a bit warmer than the last few days I should be able to get a few of them soldered.


I got inspired to start creating these little stained glass cat faces by a stray cat in my neighborhood. A neighbor had 4 cats that I would feed outside on his back porch while he was away at the hospital. Along with the 4 cats another kitty started hanging around to get a free meal. He's beautiful Siamese mix cat with stunning blue eyes.

About this same time while I was poking around in my back yard I came across a bunch of different colored glass globs. From the debris trail it appeared that someone had a jar full of these globs that for some reason they became disgusted with. Maybe it was a drug crazed guy that used to think that there were monkeys in trees out to get him. He's now gone along with the trash he left behind. It doesn't matter, I found a gold mine of supplies delivered to my back yard!

The neighbor moved and took his four kitties with him. I would continue to go over and feed the Siamese stray cat. One day while looking at this beautiful cat and his stunning blue eyes it hit me to go back home and create a cat face using the glass globs that I had found. The first stained glass cat face ornament was born!

Since that first kitty last year I've changed the pattern a few times and have used different colors of glass to create different color kitties. The Siamese stray still hangs out and I still feed him. Attempts to capture him to get him to the vet have failed. He's a tough old kitty that doesn't want to be messed with!

The cats are coming back!

I've designated the week of February 1 as the week of cats in my studio. Stained glass cat ornaments, that is.

These little guys are a lot of fun to make and they are so darn cute when they are done. The eyes are glass globs with hand painted pupils that really shine when light comes through them.

Look for new kitties coming to my Etsy shop soon.

Spring is in the air-new item to celebrate nature

Its happening! Spring is in the air! Its always my favorite time of the year-flowers begin to bloom, birds start singing and nature starts another life giving cycle.

To celebrate spring and its glory I've recently completed this stained glass suncatcher of three yellow and orange daffodils. I love using bright bold colors! This piece measures 13 1/2" diameter (34.5cm). The type of glass that I used for the blooms and foliage has a light ripply texture and the colors are strong enough to brighten even the grayest of days.

You can find this item in my Etsy shop. Mention that you saw this item on my blog and take $25.00 off the cost of the item. Simply key in 'blog' on the message to seller line and I will send a revised invoice with the corrected price. Or, if you have already checked out I will send a refund for the overage.