Vinegar Smashed Potatoes

Potatoes are always an inexpensive option when deciding on what to make for a side dish, and mashed or baked aren't the only options out there. Small potatoes are great when they're roasted, they're even better when they're smashed and roasted even longer to get nice and crispy. When they come out of the oven and are still nice and hot, malt or red wine vinegar is splashed on top. It's very reminiscent of British chips without being fried.

One Year Ago: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Two Years Ago: Slow Cooker Ribs

What You Need:

2 lbs fingerling potatoes*
1 tbs veg oil
1 tbs red wine vinegar or malt vinegar
salt and pepper

What To Do:

Toss the whole fingerling potatoes with the oil, salt and pepper. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put into a preheated 400 degree oven. Roast them for about 45 minutes or until soft. Remove from the oven and carefully "smush" them using a spatula or the back of a large spoon. You're just looking to split their skins and flatten them a little bit. Put back into the oven for 10 minutes. Remove, carefully flip them over and put them back in for another 10 minutes. Once they're brown and crispy, place on a serving platter and sprinkle them with some extra salt and the vinegar.

*Note: You can use the small red potatoes but they might need to be par-boiled before roasting to assure that they are cooked through.

Potato Tortilla

Here we are, the first recipe of the new year. As the first, it should be something for the first and most important meal of the day right? Tortilla is a Spanish dish made with eggs. Think of it as very similar to an Italian frittata. This one, takes about a cup of diced potatoes along with some garlic and onion to make a very yummy and pretty easy breakfast. My kids loved it, especially my daughter who only seems to eat carbs these days.

You can pretty much anything to these. It’s a very simple dish to modify to your liking.

What You Need:

1 c diced potatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbs veg oil
6 eggs
1/2 c 2%  milk
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

What To Do:

In a 10-12 inch skillet, over medium heat, cook the potatoes and onions until browned and soft. Use a lid to trap steam and help the cook the potatoes through a bit faster. Season with salt and pepper, add in the thyme and garlic.


Whisk together the eggs and milk and pour over the potatoes and onions. Turn heat to medium low, top with the shredded cheddar cheese and cook until the eggs are set. Again you can use a lid to trap steam and help it along.

Nutritional Info (makes 4 servings)
Please remember that I am not a dietician. These numbers are what I get from imputing this recipe into the My Fitness Pal Website and are per serving.
Calories: 290
Carbs: 23
Protein: 16
Fat: 16
Fiber: 2
Sugar: 3

Warm Potato Salad

When you need a quick and very easy meal, turn to this. By the time the potatoes are cooked, you’re read to eat dinner. Kielbasa is sliced thin and sautéed in a pan until slightly crispy and cooked through. It then gets mixed with creamy baby red new potatoes and this delicious Dijon dressing.  There are some nice flavors in this dish and they all compliment each other very well. The kielbasa is smoky, the potatoes are creamy and the dressing is tangy.

What You Need

1 1/2 lbs red new potatoes
1 lb kielbasa (1 ring)
2 tbs Dijon mustard
1 bunch scallion, chopped
1 handful parsley, finely chopped
1 tbs veg or olive oil
1 tbs red wine or apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

What To Do:

In a large pot, cover the potatoes (keep them whole unless you get a big one or two) with water and bring to a boil. These potatoes should be the small red ones, small enough that when you cut them in half or in quarters they become bite size. Once the water boil, add some salt and cook until fork tender, 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together the Dijon, vinegar and oil. Stir in the scallions and some salt and pepper. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Slice your kielbasa into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick. Place in your heated sauté pan and cook until heated through and browned on both sides. Once the potatoes are cooked through, drain and let cool slightly. Slice the potatoes in half or into quarters depending on their size and toss with the dressing. Add in the kielbasa and the parsley and stir again. Serve.

Au Gratin Potatoes and Ham

Who has leftover ham from Easter? I do! Well not from Easter exactly. I made a ham the week before, but we still had leftover ham. It's one of those things where there is always leftovers and it's some times hard to find out what to do with them. My dad's favorite, besides ham salad, is Au gratin potatoes and ham casserole. Casserole? Yeah I guess it could be called that. Basically it's a nice thick cheese sauce that covers and intermingles with sliced potatoes and some chopped up ham. I was actually surprised when my picky 2 year old decided to try it. Really though, is there anything that doesn't taste good covered in cheese? This version is lightened up as it uses 2% milk, instead of cream and only a few ounces of cheese. I also use thyme when I make this dish. I love the way it pairs with potatoes. So yummy!


What You Need:

1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes (about 3)
1lb left over ham, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 c flour
2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
3 ounces cheddar cheese
3 ounces Gruyère cheese
salt and pepper

What To Do:

Wash and slice the potatoes into 1/8 inch slices. Place in a bowl of cold water to help remove some of the starch while you make the sauce.
In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the milk, flour, garlic powder, thyme, and some salt and pepper. Place over medium high heat and stir or whisk often until it thickens. Usually once it starts to boil it's super thick and thats what you want. Turn off the heat and stir in only 2 ounces of cheddar and 2 ounces of Gruyère until melted.
Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Drain all the water from the potatoes and place half of them in the bottom of the dish. They don't need to be in any fancy design or anything, just make sure they are all separated from one another. Then add in the ham, and cover with about 1/2 the cheese sauce. Layer on the rest of the potatoes, again any way you want is fine.

Top with the remaining cheese sauce, cover with foil and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes. After those 30 minutes, remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and continue baking for another 30 minutes. The cheese on top will be browned and everything will be nice and bubbly.

Skillet Potatoes

Potatoes are a classic all american staple in houses all across the country. They're inexpensive and you can make so many things with them. From tater tots, to oven french fries, salad and of course mashed, potatoes are one of the easiest things to work with. Lately my husband has been wanting skillet potatoes. They are nice and crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. It makes a great side dish for all sorts of things. I love it along side meat loaf or grilled chicken, or even in the morning with some eggs. It's a low maintenance  dish too, all it needs is some stirring every once in a while, so your focus can be on another part of the meal that might need more attention.

What You Need:

3 large russet potatoes
3 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper
oil

What To Do:

In a cast iron skillet, heat enough oil to just cover the bottom over high heat. Peel the potatoes and cut into small bite sized pieces, Once the oil is hot, carefully add the potatoes and try to get them in a single layer, but don't worry if you can't. Let them sit for a few minutes so they get golden brown before giving them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook them, stirring occasionally so that they get golden on each side. It will take any where from 20 to 30 minutes to cook the potatoes through depending on the size you've cut them. During the last minute of cooking, season with salt and pepper and stir in the garlic.