If you have too many potatoes on hand, you need to figure out what you’re going to do with all of them. You need to decide if you want to store them, cook them, or freeze them.

How to Store Potatoes

To store your potatoes at room temperature, place them in a dark, dry area. They will stay good for a couple of weeks.

If you’re wanting your potatoes stored for longer, there are a couple of other options.

How to freeze chopped potatoes

You can freeze chopped potatoes that have not been cooked in an airtight container, or a sealed plastic bag. The potatoes will turn brown in the freezer, but they will retain most of their flavor. Thaw your frozen chopped potatoes in the fridge overnight and cook them up for hash browns.

How to freeze cooked potatoes

You can freeze cooked potatoes by baking them in the oven and then letting them cool. Next, you can grate, slice, or chop your potatoes. Grating your cooking potatoes is the easiest way. You don’t have to worry about the size as your grating. It’s much simpler than making sure your slices or chopped potatoes are all of similar sizes. Frozen grated cooked potatoes are a great additive for making soup, curry, stew, breakfast casseroles, and hash browns.

How to freeze shredded potatoes

Once you have your potatoes shredded, place them in an airtight container and freeze them. To thaw your frozen shredded potatoes, place them in the fridge overnight and use them the following day for your recipe.

How to keep potatoes fresh after peeling

To keep potatoes fresh after you’ve finished peeling them, place them in a bowl of cold water. They will not go brown, since they are not exposed to air. Therefore, oxidation will not take place. The potatoes will keep fresh after peeling them and putting them in water for a couple of hours.

What to do with potatoes before they go bad

• hash browns
• roasted potatoes with parmesan
• scalloped potatoes
• smashed potatoes
• parmesan garlic potato wedges
• potato casserole
• baked potato rounds
• mashed potatoes
• broccoli and cheddar potatoes
• twice baked potatoes
• potato latkes
• Greek lemon potatoes
• Breakfast hash brown and bacon casserole
• potato pancakes
• potato bread
• French fries

What can you make with potatoes for dinner

• potato soup with Italian sausage
• potato salad
• twice baked potato casserole
• onion and cheddar mashed potato cakes
• Buffalo potatoes
• potato nachos
• chickpea and potato curry

Macarons are one of the most difficult, finicky, delicate desserts to master at home. When you get the hang of making your own macarons, you can move on to making designs on top of your macarons to take them to the next level.

How to make designs on macarons

How to Draw on Macarons

One of the easiest ways to make designs on macarons is by simply drawing your design onto your macaron using an edible marker. You can write names, draw pictures, anything you want that will make your macaron very customizable. Be careful when you’re pressing the pen onto the macaron. The macaron shell is very delicate, so you will want to press lightly when you’re drawing your design onto your macarons. Typically people only draw on one side of the macarons. You can draw on your macarons after you have filled them to give them that final touch of beauty.

How to Brush Color onto Macarons

To brush color onto macarons you can use powdered food coloring and a bit of almond extract. Mix the two together in a small bowl. Paint the color onto the macaron using a food grade paint brush. You can use anything from a small tipped paint brush for fine details, or a large paint brush to give them a gold shimmer. To get that glittery gold look onto your macarons you can brush the macarons with gold dust with a bit of almond extract.

Another way to paint on macarons is by using melted chocolate. You don’t need much melted chocolate, it usually goes a long way when painting. When you have your melted chocolate, dip your food grade paint brush and make small brush strokes onto your macaron. Since chocolate is quite thick, it will give a bit of a ridge to the chocolate when it dries – giving the macaron a textured look. It looks quite beautiful when you paint chocolate into a flower with the petals having a bit of texture to them.

How to make Multicolored Macarons

Create you macaron batter with your colors and get ready to pipe. Pipe your initial color onto your macaron mat. This will be the circle portion, or if you’re making a different shape of macaron, this will be the base. Pipe your first color onto your template. Next, add your smaller detailed colors. This could be the ears of an animal – pipe small circles so they touch the round macaron to create the ears. You could be making a truck macaron – pipe the small circles to create the tires. If you’re wanting a layered macaron – could be a bears nose – pipe the color directly onto your circle macaron that you initially piped. You’ll want to pipe it ~15 min after you’ve piped the first color. This allows the first color to dry a bit, and can hold the next color adequately so it sits on top of the initial colored macaron. Let it dry for another 15 min until it forms a skin on it. Bake the macarons as you normal. Let the shells cool, and then fill them. Now you’re to draw on any extra decoration you want for your macarons.

There are many foods you can make with bagels. Bagels are dense, chewy and very filling.

If you’re struggling with what to do with your bagels, here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Breakfast sandwich (eggs, bacon, sausage, etc.)
• Toasted with peanut butter
• Toasted with butter
• Toasted with cream cheese
• Cream cheese and cucumber
• Avocado
• Pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, toasted
• Ham and cheese sandwich
• Tuna melt
• Cream cheese, mixed with chopped up bacon, cheese, and green onions
• Peanut butter and banana slices
• Cream cheese with fruit – blueberries/strawberries
• Peanut butter and honey
• Brie, basil, fig jam and balsamic vinegar
• Cream cheese, smoked salmon, arugula, red onion slices
• Cinnamon and sugar
• Cream cheese and cinnamon
• Olive oil or pesto, tomato slices, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves
• BLT
• Turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and mayonnaise
• Hazelnut spread

How to make your own homemade bagel toppings

Make your own homemade bagel toppings by infusing cream cheese with foods you have at home.

Herb and Garlic Cream Cheese

You can make your own homemade herbed cream cheese by adding butter, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, dried oregano, dried parsley, thyme, basil, and pepper. If you don’t have all the spices available at home, just pick the ones you do have and try making it. 

Strawberry Cream Cheese

Create homemade strawberry cream cheese by using a hand mixer to mix together cream cheese, icing sugar, and fresh strawberries. You can use strawberry jam and cream cheese together too if you don’t have fresh strawberries available.

Peanut Butter

Using a food processor, grind together dry roasted peanuts and a bit of honey or sugar until it remembers a paste, and then a liquid. Using your freshly made peanut butter, you can use your homemade bagel topping for a few days at room temperature. If you would like your homemade peanut butter to last a bit longer, keep it in the fridge. 

What are the best bagel toppings to add with cream cheese

The best bagel toppings with cream cheese are smoked salmon, cucumber, cinnamon, or strawberries.

What are some sweet bagel toppings

A few sweet bagel toppings to try on your bagels in the morning are hazelnut spread, honey, or strawberry cream cheese.

Do you toast bagels

Yes you can if you want to. Typically you cut a bagel in half, and then toast both sides. You’ll need to toast a bagel for longer than you do with bread. Bagels take longer to toast than bread because they are thicker and more dense than bread.

17 Bagel cream cheese flavors

There are a ton of bagel cream cheese flavors to try! If you can’t find them in your local grocery store, try making your own cream cheese spread at home for your bagels.

• Smoked salmon cream cheese
• Chive and onion cream cheese
• Herb and garlic cream cheese
• Dill pickle cream cheese
• Garden vegetable cream cheese
• Mixed berry cream cheese
• Strawberry cream cheese
• Jalapeno cream cheese
• Birthday cake cream cheese
• Chipotle avocado cream cheese
• Cookies and cream, cream cheese
• Pumpkin spice cream cheese
• Blueberry cream cheese
• Cranberry cream cheese
• Pesto cream cheese
• Garlic cream cheese
• Cherry cream cheese

What do you put on a cinnamon raisin bagel

You can put peanut butter, hazelnut spread, or butter on top of a cinnamon raisin bagel.

What makes a good bagel

There are a few key items that makes a good bagel including:

• Barely crispy on the outside, just crispy on the edges
• The outside should be shiny and have bubbles – the bubbles are from boiling the bagels
• Dense center – it should bounce back after you touch it with your finger
• Chewy when you bite into it
• Shouldn’t need to be toasted
• Fresh – eaten within a couple of hours

What do bagels taste like

Bagels taste similar to bread, but the texture is much different. Bagels are dense and chewy with a crispy outer layer. There are many different flavors of bagels, so it depends which flavor you are eating for a bagels specific taste.

What are the most popular bagel toppings

The most popular bagel toppings are the simple easy go to toppings.

• Butter
• Cream cheese
• Peanut butter

Creating a charcuterie board takes a lot of preparation and a long shopping list. Make sure you give yourself enough time for all of your preparation before your guests arrive. Creating a charcuterie board is a ton of fun and lets your creative self takeover.

How to plate a charcuterie board

Plating a charcuterie board involves getting a large enough serving platter for all of your items. Depending on how many people your serving for, you might need something larger than you think. There are many items that need to fit on a plate for charcuterie including many tiny bowls, cheese, meet, and fruit.

Select your food serving board:

• Marble
• Wooden
• Porcelain
• Slate

Things to keep in mind for plating a charcuterie board

Height: Vary the heights of your cheeses. Place your Brie, Boursin, Blue Cheese in large pie shaped pieces standing up. Lie flat with the other cheeses that you plan to slice. 

Color: Green/red grapes, mint leaves. Fruit slices – red skins for apples, green skins for pears. Brown nuts. Light colored cheeses.

Texture: Textured whole seed mustard. Smooth honey. Soft and hard cheeses. Soft and hard cured meats.

Shopping List for Charcuterie

Select your own cheeses, meats, condiments, and plating foods that fit best for you. Pick condiments that you have at home to make it easy on yourself. Pick only a couple to maybe a few of the cheeses and meats. You don’t need more than 3 of each for your guests.

Charcuterie Cheese List

• Brie
• Gorgonzola
• Aged cheddar
• Aged smoked cheddar
• Parmesan
• Camembert
• Goat
• Burrata
• Boursin

Charcuterie meats list

• Salami
• Prosciutto
• Capicola
• chorizo
• Ham
• Foie Gras

Condiments for charcuterie board

• Mustard
• Red pepper jelly
• Honey
• Fig jam
• Pomegranate jelly
• Dried cranberries
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Cashews
• Sliced pickles – pickles for cheese board are typically dill pickles
• Olives
• Sliced apples
• Sliced pears

Breads & Crackers for Charcuterie Board

• Crackers
• Raincoast Crisps
• Pita chips
• Baguette

Foods for Plating a Charcuterie Board

• grapes
• stick Pretzels
• rosemary sprigs
• mint sprig
• raspberries
• strawberries
• blueberries
• basil leaves
• pineapple cubes

What’s the difference between charcuterie and cheese board

The difference between charcuterie and a cheese board is charcuterie has both cheese and cured meats on the board. A cheese board would be a no meat charcuterie board which can be just as delicious as regular charcuterie. If you’re going with a no meat charcuterie board, pick a few more cheeses (5-7 cheeses) and a couple more condiments for the added variety,

What kind of mustard do you use for a charcuterie board

Typically whole grain mustard is used for a charcuterie board. Whole grain mustard has the seeds still visible in the mustard, giving it a textured coarse look.

How to put together a charcuterie board

1. Place all of your condiments into small bowls, or directly onto the charcuterie board. Group them into sections. Try to vary the textures and colors when placing them onto the board.
2. Put your cheeses onto the board next. Keep in the mind the heights of the cheese, and fan out the flat cheese for a tasteful look.
3. Roll up the meats that are long pieces up so they look presentable. Fan out the other meats that are cut into disks.
4. Place your breads and crackers onto the board. Try to fan out the bread pieces and stack the crackers or fan them out if your have the room. If you don’t have enough room on your food serving board, you can place them on a separate dish.
5. Last but not least, the plating items. These are the items that dress up the board like fruit, or fresh herbs. If you’re putting sticks of pretzels onto your board, you can either lie them flat, or place them in a tall glass so they add the height variation to the charcuterie board.
6. Serve your plated charcuterie board immediately. If you’re not serving it right away, place it in the fridge with some plastic wrap while your waiting.

How to transport a charcuterie board

To transport a charcuterie board, you’ll want to find something you can put the entire plate in, that has high sides. This could be a reusable grocery box, a cardboard box, or a plastic bin. Find one that it fits snugly in. Keep your charcuterie board covered during transport with plastic wrap.

Charcuterie board themes

Christmas Charcuterie Board: add decorative cranberries or small cedar branches to your charcuterie board

Halloween Charcuterie Board: add small gourds to your charcuterie board, or some spooky decorations like fake spiders or skeleton bones

Valentines Charcuterie Board: add a bowl of cinnamon hearts to your charcuterie board or some chocolate dipped strawberries

Dessert Charcuterie Board: All different types of desserts – cakes, chocolates, jams and fruit. Learn how to make your own dessert charcuterie board.

Making a dessert charcuterie board is a great idea for your next dinner party. It takes a lot of preparation, but the end result of how beautiful your dessert charcuterie board looks will all be worth it!

45 ideas for making a dessert charcuterie board

• Chocolate covered pretzels
• Plain pretzels
• Rice krispie squares
• Sugar cookies
• Tarts
• Raspberry thumbprint cookies
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Marshmallows
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Wafer cookies
• Strawberries
• Brownies
• Peanut butter
• Cookies and cream chocolate bar
• Truffles
• Graham crackers
• Mendiants
• Gingersnap
• Grapes
• Raspberry jam
• Strawberry jam
• Macaron
• Peanut butter cup
• Chocolate covered raisins
• Chocolate covered almonds
• Kiwi
• Grapes
• Watermelon
• Pocky
• Cashews
• Shortbread
• Oreos
• Mandarin orange slices
• Melted chocolate for dipping
• Apple slices
• Lemon loaf
• Banana bread
• Caramel sauce
• Peanut butter cookies
• Caramelized popcorn
• Vanilla cake slice
• Carrot cake slice
• Cinnamon roll
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate dipped strawberries

How to make a dessert board

To make a dessert charcuterie board, gather your items:

• Large wooden board/cutting board
• Several small bowls
• A few small knives/spoons for sauces
• Melting chocolate (optional)
• Food for your dessert charcuterie board

1. Prepare your foods – slice fruit, cake, loaves, into bite sized pieces.
2. Place your sauces on the charcuterie board – jam, peanut butter, etc. Only place the ones that will hold their space directly onto the wooden board. You can put them on the board with a knife or spoon, just put a heaping spoonful amount onto the board in random places. Place your other liquid sauces that need to be contained in small bowls – caramel sauce, melted chocolate.
3. Place your fruit, cake, loaves, nuts, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies in random spots on the dessert board. Try to fan out the fruit, slices of cake, cookies, etc. so it looks presentable and eye catching.
4. Add your cutlery to the sauces as needed.
5. Serve immediately. If you’re preparing ahead of time, melt the chocolate for dipping right before serving. You can cover your board with plastic wrap to ensure your cakes don’t dry out before serving.

How to make a mini dessert charcuterie board

You’ll need 

• 1-2 types of fruit 
• 1 cake
• 1 cookie
• jam/sauce (optional)
• melting chocolate (optional)

Prepare your food by slicing your fruit, and cutting your cake into bite sized pieces. Depending on how big your cookies are, you might want to break them in half before placing on your mini dessert charcuterie board. Put your jam/sauces/melted chocolate into tiny bowls. Put the bowls in the center of your mini dessert charcuterie board. Consider putting the jam directly onto your charcuterie board to save space. Arrange your cookies, cakes, and fruit around the board in sections that look tasteful. Creating a mini dessert charcuterie board is enough for 2 people to have dessert comfortably.

How to make a chocolate dessert board

To make a chocolate dessert board, you’ll need between 4-7 different types of chocolate:

• White chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Milk chocolate
• Flavored milk chocolate, ex. Mint, orange, fruit & nut, etc.
• Truffles
• Wafer filled chocolate
• Chocolate covered almonds
• Chocolate covered raisins or cranberries
• Chocolate covered pretzels
• Chocolate covered cookies

Select your chocolate for your chocolate dessert board. Break the chocolate into 2-3 piece sections. Arrange the different kinds of chocolate items randomly on the chocolate board. You could consider putting a couple of types of fruits – raspberries/strawberries or some peanut butter on the chocolate dessert board as well to give it a bit of variety.

How to make a cookie charcuterie board

To make a cookie charcuterie board, you’ll need 3-5 different types of cookies:

• Chocolate chip cookies
• Wafer cookies
• Raspberry thumb cookies
• Peanut butter cookies
• Shortbread cookies
• Oatmeal raisin cookies
• Gingersnaps
• Sugar cookies
• Chocolate kiss cookies
• Biscotti
• Macarons
• Macadamia nut cookies
• Oreos 

Select your cookies for your cookie charcuterie board. Consider breaking the cookies into 2 halves if they are large. Place the cookies onto the cookie charcuterie board by fanning them out in different sections of the board. Add peanut butter, melting chocolate for dipping, and marshmallows on the cookie charcuterie board as well to give it a bit of variety for dipping or for making s’mores with.

How to make a pretzel charcuterie board

To make a pretzel charcuterie board, you’ll need 3-5 different types of pretzels plus 1-2 dipping sauces:

• Plain pretzels
• Milk chocolate covered pretzels
• Dark chocolate covered pretzels 
• White chocolate covered pretzels 
• Stick shaped pretzels
• Raspberry jam 
• Strawberry jam 
• Blueberry jam
• Blackberry jam
• Melting chocolate for dipping
• Peanut butter
• Caramel sauce
• Honey

Pretzels are very versatile so you can add a lot of different items to make a pretzel charcuterie board. You can add a selection of jams and sauces to accompany your array of pretzels. Place the sauces into small bowls with cutlery to go with them. Put the small bowls in the center of the board. You can place the jams directly on the board to save space. Put the pretzels onto the pretzel charcuterie board in different sections so it looks eye catching.

How to make a birthday dessert board

To make a birthday dessert board, you’ll need to include at least a few items with sprinkles. You could include a bowl of sprinkles on your birthday dessert board. Your guests can dip fruit into the melting chocolate, and then put a few sprinkles on the chocolate to make it extra special. For a birthday dessert board, put a small slice of birthday cake in the center. When you’re ready to serve your birthday dessert board, place a lit candle in the birthday cake so you can still sing the person “Happy Birthday!”

Creating dessert charcuterie boards are so fun to prepare for your guests and family. It’s all in the preparation and presentation to have it stun your guests. They will love the attention to detail and the variety of dessert available to them!

If you’re struggling to decide what to put on your waffles for breakfast, there are countless foods you serve on your waffles that your family will love!

27 Things to put on waffles for breakfast

• syrup
• whipping cream
• blueberry sauce
• raspberry-strawberry sauce
• strawberry sauce
• blackberry sauce
• freshly sliced strawberries and whipped cream
• syrup and icing sugar
• hazelnut spread
• peanut butter
• eggs benedict (waffles substituted for English muffins)
• sliced bananas
• fruit and honey
• caramel sauce
• chocolate sauce and chocolate chips
• cinnamon and sugar
• butter
• yogurt
• sliced apples
• raspberries
• vanilla custard
• peaches and cream
• cream cheese
• fried chicken
• pumpkin spice infused whipped cream
• maple glaze
• fried egg, maple infused cream sauce, bacon, and sliced avocado

You could also consider creating a waffle bar for your family breakfast or for your next brunch.

How to make your own waffle bar at home

You’ll need a few small bowls for your waffle bar items to be in.

Try to include 3-5 items for your waffle bar including: variety of fruit, syrup, fruit sauce, freshly sliced fruit, and butter.

Your family and guests will love dressing up their waffle with an array of toppings. The presentation is everything when it comes to a waffle bar.

Include a selection of juices, mimosas, coffee, and teas alongside your waffle bar. This will make your guests ooh and ahh over your incredible hosting skills!

How to keep waffles warm without getting soggy

To keep waffles warm without getting soggy, heat your oven to 200 degrees F and keep your cooked waffles warm in the oven until you’re ready to serve them. Place your cooked waffles in a glass oven safe dish in the oven. The waffles will keep well in there for up to 1 hour. This way, you can cook the waffles prior to your guests arriving and have them all ready to serve at the same time.

How to store waffles

Store your cooked waffles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Store your waffles for longer in the freezer in an airtight container. In between each layer of waffles, place a piece of parchment paper. This will prevent the waffles from freezing together.

How to reheat frozen waffles

Reheat frozen waffles by placing them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15 min on an oven safe pan. They will crisp up nicely.

How to make your own Halloween candy delivery system using a bucket and pulley. This is a self serve Halloween candy system where you would refill the bucket as needed. We recommend only filling the bucket as much as you need to, and then refill it. Halloween can be difficult if you’re planning on going touchless this year. Here is one of example of how to deliver candy safely for Halloween in 2020.

What you’ll need to make your own Halloween candy delivery system:

• rope
• bucket
• lights
• duct tape
• candy treats
• decorations

Gather your materials.

Begin by measuring and cutting your rope accordingly. Tie the rope to your bucket so it’s nice and secure.

Measure where your decoration will need to be placed on the rope so it will hang just about the handle of the bucket. Tape it with duct tape or another tape that will hold up even in the rain.

Decorate your bucket with webbing or caution tape.

Tape the battery box for your lights to the bottom of the bucket. Make sure you don’t tape the button for the lights.

Wrap the wired lights around the rope. Once you reach the end of the wire, wrap it the opposite way to secure the end.

Now you’re ready to use your self serve Halloween candy bucket and pulley system! Place your Halloween treats in the bucket, and deliver them to your trick or treaters. Pull the bucket back towards you to refill the bucket.