Twice Baked Potatoes

Since Bri loves potatoes, I'm always looking for a new way to make them. While twice baked potatoes take a little more time and effort, it's definitely worth it. My aunt Pat always makes these and they are delicious. You can add sour cream and chives to the top if you wish, but these potatoes are perfect just as they are.

Ingredients:

5 medium baking potatoes

2 tbl. butter or margarine

1/2 cup each cheddar and colby cheese

1/2 jar of Hormel Bacon Bits or 1/2 crumbled bacon

1 tbl. mayonaise

milk

salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry potatoes. Pierce holes in potatoes and bake in a preheated oven at 450 for an hour. Don't wrap potatoes - put them on rack in oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Cut a length wise slice from the top of each potatoes. Discard skin from slice. Scoop out the insides and mash. Add butter and mayo. Beat in enough milk to make a stiff consistency. Add cheese, saving a little for the topping, and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon mashed mixture into potato shells. Place in a baking dish. Bake in a 425 oven for 20-25 minutes or till lightly browned. Place cheese on top of potatoes, sprinkle with paprika. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or just until cheese melts.

**Please note in the picture above, I left the potatoes in too long at the end so the cheese browned. I was at cooking club, there was wine and an appetizer. What potatoes?

Sweet Potato Chips/Fries

I'm not sure what to call these tasty treats - they don't have the crunchiness of a chip but they aren't shaped like a fry either. Anywho - I just kinda made up this recipe. Brian isn't sold yet - he still isn't a huge fan of the sweet potato but it's a healthy alternative to the regular potatoes I usually make so he'll have to get used to it. We're going to Mexico in less than two months and this mama needs to lose some lbs. - stat!

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

1 tbls of evoo

rosemary

kosher salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and sclice them about 1/4 inch thick. Toss potatoes with the remaining ingredients until well coated. Place on a cookie sheet and cook until they slightly brown - about 25-30 minutes.

Dill Mashed Potato Casserole

Please God let this week go by quickly. Saturday night I'm celebrating my b-day with my girlfriends. They are coming to my house for what should be a night full of sparkly headbands and blow up instruments. I'm anxiously awaiting my big gift, but I don't want to say anything until it happens. Check back on Monday to see if my dream and Brian's nightmare has come true.

In the mean time, here's a great recipe for mashed potatoes. What's so great about this recipe is you can make them ahead of time and chuck them in the oven to re-heat. Most mashed potatoes taste like crap if you don't eat them right away. This recipe was given to me by my sister in law, Suzie, and it's now an O'Neil staple. I've tweaked it just a smidge.

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
3 lbs. potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
Dill

Mix together cream cheese, garlic salt, pepper, and sour cream until smooth; set aside. Prepare and boil potatoes, drain and using an electric mixer beat potatoes until smooth. Add a small amount (1/4 cup) milk and sprinkle of salt to potatoes to help soften them. Next add sour cream mixture and continue beating until fluffy and smooth, then add 1 teaspoon dill. Spoon potato mixture into a buttered shallow 3 quart casserole dish and dot with butter and sprinkle with dill. Bake covered in a 400* oven for 25 minutes and then uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.

The Best Darn Oven Roasted Taters

So I'm not sure how long this blog is going to last. Rewind to last night. I rush home from work anxious to start whipping up dinner so I can snap some pictures to post to the blog. All is well except from our outside deck Brian peers into our kitchen window to catch me taking pictures of potatoes. Not only does he scare the bejesus out of me, I feel sheepishly embarrassed because he's caught me red handed and looks at me like "why the eff are you taking pictures of potatoes." Now mind you, I casually mentioned this new hobby to him on the train ride home a couple days ago. I'm pretty sure he thought it was a good idea, but did not say much, which is normal for him. I guess he did not realize that pictures would come along with the recipes I posted. So after he caught me I continued to snap away, feeling more comfortable with what I was doing. Dinner was ready but I still wasn't satisfied with the potatoes shots. I'm still getting the hang of this and trying to figure out my new camera. I could feel him rolling his eyes and getting impatient, so I figured I should probably quit while I was ahead, therefore this picture will have to do.

So here's the recipes for my favorite oven roasted potatoes:

Ingredients:
6-8 red potatoes cut in cubes
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tbs of Italian seasoning
1 tsp of kosher salt
3 cloves of garlic minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, seasoning, salt and minced garlic. Toss the cubed potatoes in the dressing. Spray non stick spray on a baking sheet. With a slated spoon, spoon potatoes evenly on the baking sheet. Cook for about 40 minutes or until they are golden brown. Put cooked potatoes back into the mixing bowl with the reserved dressing and toss.

Enjoy!