Cheddar Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These mashed potatoes are very creamy and have great flavor on their own, which makes them a great side dish for main dishes that may not have gravy to carry over.  I like them with Barbecue Meatballs or Slow Cooker Meatloaf.  For the best flavor, use sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese.

CHEDDAR GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
adapted slightly from Ben's Garlic Cheddar Mashed Potatoes on food.com

4-5 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp. butter
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2/3 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
sour cream, to taste
chopped parsley or chives, optional

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute (do not brown the garlic).  Add milk and bring to almost boiling.  Remove from heat and whisk in cheddar until melted.

Combine hot potatoes and cheese mixture in a large bowl with salt and pepper.  Beat or mash, adding sour cream until desired consistency.  Garnish with chopped parsley or chives, if desired.

Smoked Sausage with Potatoes and Green Beans

Here's a great one-dish meal that you can throw together quickly and still tastes great. I've included some basic seasoning but you could also try using an Italian dressing mix packet for a different flavor. Or Cajun seasoning. The sausage does lend a lot of flavor on it's own. My personal favorite is Hillshire Farm's Lite Smoked Sausage:

Less fat and calories and still lots of flavor. You can use any flavor sausage you want. I know some people prefer Polska Kielbasa.

This is also a great recipe for using up the fresh green beans from your garden if you are lucky enough to have one.

SMOKED SAUSAGE WITH POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS
adapted from Grilled Sausage with Potatoes and Green Beans on Allrecipes.com

1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
3/4 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium onion, wedged
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt (I prefer Kosher salt)
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat; transfer to a 9x13 baking dish and cover with foil. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove foil, stir ingredients, and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until potatoes are tender.

Dilly Potato Salad

Here's a simple potato salad for a picnic or barbecue. Something different from the usual eggs, mustard, and celery variety (that I don't care for much myself). The recipe makes a lot (12 servings), so you can cut it in half if you're only serving 6.

DILLY POTATO SALAD
adapted from Mom's Dill Potato Salad on Allrecipes.com

3 lbs. new red potatoes
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. dried dill weed
4 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender but still firm. Drain and cool in an ice water bath for about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together mayo and sour cream. Add dill weed, onions, and salt and pepper as desired (I like a lot of pepper).

Leaving skins on, cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Fold potatoes into mayo mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight for flavors to mingle.

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

This is a Christmas morning tradition in our household. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, Cindy. It calls for hashbrowns and honestly I prefer the shredded variety, but the diced kind (Southern style) work as well. You can use left over ham, bacon, or sausage. I don't use onions and green peppers because I have digestive issues with those two things, but I will add a Tbsp. or two of minced dried onion instead.

You can make this up the night before, refrigerate it, then bake it in the morning. If you do so, let it stand at room temp at least 15 minutes before baking.

HASHBROWN BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

12 large eggs
16 0z. frozen hashbrowns, thawed
1/2 - 1 lb. diced ham or bacon, or breakfast sausage
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Saute onion and pepper with chosen meat until tender (and meat is cooked through).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in meat and veggie mixture, hashbrowns, and cheese. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until center is firm and edges are lightly browned.

Potatoes Au Gratin

You can always make the box mix, but the real thing tastes better. And believe it or not, it's actually fairly easy to put together. The most time consuming part is slicing the potatoes. The thinner they are, the faster they will cook. Some food processors have a slicing blade that can make quick work of this step. Or use a mandoline if you have one. I have to do it the old fashioned way.

To keep the potatoes from turning black while you make the cheese sauce, keep them in a bowl with ice water. Drain thoroughly just before adding to the casserole dish.

POTATOES AU GRATIN
adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook

2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
dash of hot sauce (optional)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced (6 cups)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly; remove from heat.

Stir in milk and hot sauce (if using). Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.

Spread potatoes in ungreased 13x9 glass baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes. Bake uncovered 45 minutes - 1 hour or until potatoes are tender (check with a fork).

Chicken Broccoli Hashbrown Casserole

This is a simple comfort-food type casserole. I highly recommend using Panko breadcrumbs, as they provide the most crunch, but you could also used crushed Ritz crackers.

I used Southern style hashbrowns, which are the diced variety vs. shredded. You can use either variety.

If you don't have celery seed, you can replace one of the soups with cream of celery and get pretty much the same flavor.

CHICKEN BROCCOLI HASHBROWN CASSEROLE

2 lbs. frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
3 cups diced cooked chicken breast
1 (12 oz) package frozen broccoli florets
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. celery seed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9 glass baking dish.

Microwave broccoli according to package directions. Drain.

In a large bowl, combine soups, milk, sour cream, minced onion, garlic powder, black pepper, celery seed, and 1 cup cheddar. Fold in potatoes, chicken, and broccoli. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheddar on top.

In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Loaded Potato Soup

Threw this together last night. Caralie thinks it's "disgusting" but that's just because she doesn't like potatoes unless they are of the french fry variety. My father-in-law enjoyed it and I rather did too.

When reheating this soup the next day, add milk as the soup thickens significantly once stored in the fridge.

LOADED POTATO SOUP

4 cups water or chicken broth
6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced*
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
8 oz (2 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion
6 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

In a medium sauce pot, combine water and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Do not drain.

Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, melt butter over med-high heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Add potatoes and water, onions, bacon, sour cream, pepper, and salt. Use a potato masher or whisk to blend soup but leave chunks of potato for texture.


*I usually only peel half of the potatoes because I like having some skins in the soup for texture.

Loaded Potato Salad

This is my favorite potato salad (and I don't like potato salad).


LOADED POTATO SALAD

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped green onions or chives
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup real bacon bits or chopped, crisp-cooked bacon
ground black pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain, then cool potatoes in fridge.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Fold in the potatoes. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be garnished with a sprinkling of cheese, bacon bits, and chopped green onions.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I got this one from a friend I worked for (where I got the Whole Wheat Muffin recipe). She has so many amazing recipes. I don't like sweet potatoes much, but I like this. It's flavor is very rich, so you won't want a huge portion.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

3 cups cooked and whipped sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Topping:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat potatoes, sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, and 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into a 2 quart shallow casserole dish.

Combine topping ingredients in a medium bowl and cut with a pastry cutter to make streusel-like topping. Sprinkle over potato mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes.