Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Once again, my weakness...potatoes!  This was very simple too make and it added so much to these lovely spuds.  Great alone, great with gravy, and great for leftovers or to add to your next dish.  Potatoes are very versatile.  They are tough and durable, store well, and have an impressive nutritional content including being a rich source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C.  Like other fruits and vegetables, potatoes are a low calorie food and are free of fat, cholesterol, and sodium, now that is my potato!

1 garlic bulb, end removed
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil
10 potatoes, peeled and quartered
water for boiling
1/4 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Johnny's Seasoning salt

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Season the chopped off end of your garlic with salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle on olive oil.  Wrap bulb in foil and keep cut end up.  Bake for 30-45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  When cool enough remove garlic from it's skin.

2.  While garlic is cooking boil potatoes in enough water to cover them.  Boil for 30 minutes and drain. 

3. Melt butter in saucepan, add potatoes, garlic cloves, cream cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and Johnny's Seasoning salt.  Mix with hand held mixer until smooth.  Serve just as is or with gravy over the top for a great accompaniment to any meal, and as always, enjoy!

Bacon Cheddar & Chive Mashed Potatoes



Talk about mashed potato heaven...this was sooooo good last night with the Chicken Cordon Bleu we had.  They were creamy and dripped of flavor!  Kinda like a twice baked potato but even better. 

3 lb russet potatoes

5 slices bacon
4 oz cream cheese
1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 1⁄2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks.  Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.


2.  Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once.  Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.

3.  Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy.  Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth.  Add chives, 2 cups cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper.  Stir until well combined.

4.  Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately and enjoy immensely!

Photo and recipe addapted from Sippitysup.

Garlic Potato Fries

My husband agrees with me, these are the BEST fries ever!  Baked not fried, so I don't feel so bad eating them, and they use garlic infused olive oil. So yummy!  Definitely will be a most used recipe in my kitchen!  Hope you give it a try soon.

8 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges
3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
 
1. Preheat oven to 440° F.

2. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl, warming it until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to the baking dish, coating it well.

4. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the garlic mixture and toss to coat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, 3 to 6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.

5. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat.

6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.

7. Serve with ketchup, mayo or sour cream and enjoy!

Recipe and photo from The Purple Foodie.

Truffled Potato Gratin

Now if you are a lover of mushrooms...you will highly enjoy this dish!  I couldn't stop eating it!!!  The combination of potatoes, cream and mushrooms...is out of this world!  OK enough with the exclamation marks, just goes to show you how much I love this side dish!!!!!!  Ok really, I am done with them...I must say that when I say truffles, I don't mean the chocolate things you can never put down after just one, I mean those delectable fungi called truffles. You don't need a lot of them to make it thanks to another wonderful cheese called sottocenere.  If you can't find it at your local store in the specialty cheese section go to a cheese shop and if they don't have it, I am sure they can get some for you. Sottocenere cheese is a semi-soft cheese that is studded with the goodness of truffles.  Now if you want to use truffle mushrooms you can or any wild mushrooms like morel, porcini, chanterelle,  or lobster.  If you can't use those it will still be good with a regular supermarket mushroom.

2 tbsp butter, divided

1 tbsp olive oil
5 cups sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
5 medium russet potatoes, sliced thin
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
6 oz sottocenere cheese, grated
2 cups cream
1 cup chicken broth

1. Slice up your mushrooms.  Heat 1 tablespoon butter and your olive oil a large saute pan on medium high heat.  Saute mushrooms for 15-20 minutes until they are all nicely browned.

2. Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Slice your potatoes very thin, using a vegetable slicer if you have one, so they are of the same thickness.

3. In the bottom of your casserole dish spread with 1 tablespoon of butter and your clove of minced garlic.  Layer with 1/3 of the potatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme leaves, half your mushrooms, just about half of your cheese, save a little for the top, repeat with another layer, then top with potatoes.

4.  Poor in a cup of chicken stock and 2 cups of heavy cream.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and a bit more thyme.  Top with the remaining cheese.

5. Cover very loosely with foil making sure it is not touching the potatoes.  Bake for 45 minutes, remove foil and continue baking another 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.  Cool slightly before serving, and enjoy!

Please let me know what you thought of it! A few more exclamations are needed!!!!!

Recipe courtesy of Chef John from Food Wishes.

Aunt Ellie's Potato Salad

4 large potatoes
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dill relish
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Green onions to garnish

1. Scrub potatoes and boil till tender.  Drain and let cool. 

2.  Combine mayonnaise, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dill relish, and hot sauce in a large bowl.  Add potatoes and eggs to mixture and add more seasoning to taste if desired.  Top with green onions and refrigerate overnight.  Enjoy!

Twice Baked Potatoes

For a wonderful and tasty side dish I like to serve these along with some steak...

4 large baking potatoes

8 slices bacon

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

8 green onions, sliced, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4. When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
5. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Cheesy Potato Bake

On the menu for dinner tonight I am going to make this wonderful dish!  With some type of bread, not sure which though, maybe the Italian Bread with some Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes or maybe some fried green beans with garlic slivers...we will just have to see what sounds good then...

6 cups shredded potatoes
6 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of cheddar soup
1 can milk
1 24 oz tub sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter
(optional: chives, green onions, bacon bits, ham to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix potatoes, 4 cups cheese, cheddar soup, milk, sour cream, and melted butter in a large baking dish.  If desired add chives, green onions, bacon bits, or ham and mix well.
3. Top with remaining 2 cups of cheese and sprinkle with chives.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

A unique and exciting flavor! This dish is very easy to make and guaranteed to please even the picky eater! I will make these tonight along with the Simple Whole Roasted Chicken...My mouth is watering already.

4 lbs of unpeeled red potatoes, quartered

10 oz of butter, room temperature

1/4 lb Romano cheese, grated

4 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 35 minutes.

2. While potatoes are boiling, saute the garlic in the olive oil till browned.

3. Drain potatoes. Stir in butter, cheese, garlic, salt and oregano. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer. Serve hot and enjoy!