"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
Mother Teresa

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Reading and mashed potatoes

I love to read.  I have always been a reader.  I remember riding my bike to the library as a child and coming home with a pile of books.  Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, biographies of famous people.  I think I read just about every book in the juvenile fiction section.
I raised 2 children who like to read.  Now I am working on another generation.



This is Hayley and Marley reading together.  Marley is in kindergarten this year and reading at 1st grade level right now.  It seems the "light bulb" went off and she is trying to read everything.

I take Hayley to the library toddler storytime every Tuesday morning. She loves to play with the toys in the children's corner and we always bring home a stack of books.  It can be a challenge to get her to leave though.  The very first time we went I finally had to pick her up and carry her out of the library.....with her yelling "help me!" all the way out!  I was mortified but they have allowed us to come back, thankfully.

In my last post I mentioned making crockpot mashed potatoes for Easter. I didn't include the recipe so here it is.

CROCKPOT MASHED POTATOES

5 lb. Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes 
1 stick of butter, divided in half
3 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 8oz. block of cream cheese, softened
Milk, amount needed for desired consistency

Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch chunks, then rinse with cold water
Lightly grease inside of crockpot with cooking spray
Place potatoes in crockpot and pour in water
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Slice half of the butter into small slices and dot on top of potatoes
Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, until fork tender
Drain off all the water
Add cream cheese and rest of butter and mash with potato masher.
Add small amounts of milk until you get desired consistency.
You can keep potatoes warm in crockpot until ready to serve.

This made enough potatoes to feed 14 with some leftover.
You could also add garlic or sour cream....whatever your favorite mashed potato recipe.

It is a rainy day here....a perfect day to curl up with a good book.  I recently finished the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and I feel like I need to find another big saga type series to read.  Any suggestions?

'Til next time,
Peace

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for visiting my my blog, Marilyn! I agree, it's wonderful to watch/help your GK become lifelong readers. One of our youngest ones loves to even "read" magazines. Have you read Ken Follet's series that begins with Fall of Giants? It's historical fiction, and I loved it. (each book is long though....)

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    1. Judy, thank you for the suggestion. I have not read anything by Ken Follett and I like big fat books!

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  2. I am a huge reader myself, but did not raise readers but I sure did try. Nancy Drew was the best! I am trying again with Little Buddy, he loves books I hope that stays with him.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. All you can do is try. My son went through a stage where he didn't read much so maybe your boys will pick it up more as they get older.

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  3. Hi, Marilyn ! I have always been a voracious reader but my daughter hates it. Maybe, I'll get luckier if I have grandchildren too one day ! xxx

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