What to do with Mashed Potatoes.

A few days ago I went old school with supper.  I fixed fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  Sad to say, I still can't make fried chicken as good as my grandmother's.  Yes, I got a whole chicken and cut it up like my grandmother, brined it, and fried it in lard.  It was good but still missed the mark.  Either way, it was an excellent supper and naturally there were leftovers.

The mashed potatoes were made using my standard method.  I cubed 3 good size potatoes and rinsed them well.  No, I don't peel my potatoes.  I put them in a pot and covered with water.  The water was brought to a boil and added a few healthy pinches of kosher salt.  Once a fork can easily pierce the potatoes they are drained and put back in the pot.  The pot is put back on the burner for a bit to evaporate the remaining water.  Once that is done, I put in at least half stick of butter but usually closer to 3/4 stick and stir it around to help it melt.  As you stir, the potatoes start to get mashed and mixed with the butter.  Pour in a bit of milk and finish the stirring and add salt and pepper to taste.  They are mighty fine done this way.

Now, on to the leftovers.  I was searching around for recipes using mashed potato leftovers and came across a food blog called "the kitchn".  Here is the link to their recipe, http://www.thekitchn.com/thanksgiving-leftovers-recipe-mashed-potato-puffs-recipes-from-the-kitchn-133358 .  As I tend to do, I made changes to  make what I thought would be a better product for us.

Ingredients:

2 cups mashed potatoes
3 large eggs
1 cup shredded cheese (I was out of cheddar so used Mexican blend cheese)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped, cooked bacon (I used some ends from slicing
Optional Items:  chopped green onion, chives, mushrooms, or anything you can imagine.

1.  Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.

2.  Put all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.  I used a whisk and it worked very well for this.

3.  Spray non-stick on a muffin pan.  I used a regular size with 12 spots.

4.  Fill each cavity with the potato mixture, just even with the rim.  I used my 4 oz. scoop and it filled 10 of the 12 spots.

5.  Place in the oven and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the desired doneness.  I did 35 minutes.

6.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then dump out and serve hot.  They can be eaten as is or with a dollop of sour cream.

They are pretty good as they are.  Putting a bit of Parmesan cheese on top before baking or sour cream before serving my kick them up a notch.  Experiment and see what you come up with.,

Until next time,
Uncle T.