6-8 medium sized potatoes, peeled, washed and thinly sliced
2 parsnips, peeled, washed and thinly sliced
1 small onion, peeled, washed and minced
1 1/2 cup half and half (cream)
1/2 cup (1 whole stick) of real unsalted butter
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled, washed and minced
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper (I prefer white pepper)
2 cups shredded cheese (I use cheddar)

Into a slow cooker/crock pot toss the potatoes, the parsnips and the onion. Slice up the butter stick and mix it in with the veggies. Add the garlic and seasonings. Finally, pour the half and half on top. Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring once an hour or so. Once the potatoes are fully cooked (they will fall apart when pierced with a fork) remove the crock pot from its heating element and stir in the cheese.

My notes: This recipe is easily doubled, provided you have a big enough slow cooker. Left overs don't stay well, even in the freezer so don't make more than you absolutely need to. For variety, add a couple of handfuls of cooked, chopped ham into the cooker along with everything else.

1 1/2 cups of graham crumbs
4 tbsps dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 whole stick) of unsalted butter

Melt the butter and pour into the graham crumbs. Add the sugar and mix until it's crumbly. Using the back of a spoon press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a greased 9 inch springform pan and half way up the sides. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

24 oz (3 bricks) cream cheese (DO NOT USE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD), at room temperature
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup maple syrup (pancake, or table syrup works, too but I prefer the real thing)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecan pieces

In a large mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with an electric blender set on high. When the cream cheese starts looking like fluffy icing you want to add in your eggs one at a time, making sure you've fully blended in each egg before adding the next. Slowly integrate your sugar and beat the life out of your batter. Add the flour, the syrup and the extract and beat it again. Turn the beater onto low and add in the pecan pieces. Scrape your batter into your crust and bake at 350 for 55 minutes. After the 55 minutes is up turn off the heat to the oven and crack the oven door. Leave the cheesecake inside the oven until you can comfortably remove it with your bare hands. Keep the ring on the springform pan until right before you plan on serving the cheesecake.

My notes: Cheesecakes crack during baking. It doesn't affect the taste but large cracks can make for an ugly looking dessert. To combat this you can put 2 cups of water into an oven safe dish (like a casserole dish) and place that dish on the oven rack directly under the cheesecake. It adds extra moisture to the oven to keep cracking to a minimum but it also prevents the cheesecake from setting completely in the middle.

Make sure that you work with cream cheese from the brick and not from the tub (AKA cream cheese spreads). You're just asking for trouble if you do. And, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before you start beating it. Cold cream cheese is hell on electric mixers and it takes forever to get it creamed.

I usually top this cheesecake with maple syrup and and a handful or six of crushed pecan pieces.

1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
4 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup (1 whole stick) unsalted butter

Melt the butter and pour into the graham crumbs. Add the sugar and mix until it's crumbly. Using the back of a spoon press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a greased 9 inch springform pan and half way up the sides. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

24 oz (3 bricks) cream cheese (DO NOT USE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD), at room temperature
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 small can (mine reads 341 mL) pumpkin puree (AKA pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch of ground clove

In a large mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with an electric blender set on high. Add the eggs in one at a time, making sure each egg is fully integrated into the batter before moving on. Add in the sugar, vanilla and spices. Lastly, beat in the pumpkin. Pour your batter into the crust and bake at 350 for 65 minutes. Once the time is up turn off the heat to the oven and crack the door, allowing the cheesecake to sit in the oven until you can comfortably remove it without using oven mits.

My notes: Of the cheesecakes I make this one usually comes out the prettiest because it doesn't crack as bad as, say, my pecan or my apple ones do. There is a big danger, however, that this cheesecake won't settle in the middle if you use too much pumpkin in the batter. I usually don't top this cheesecake- instead, I buy whipped cream and let the people eating the cheesecake spoon delicious whipped cream on their own slices.