Grilled Potato Planks

First of all, a happy anniversary to my sweet husband! Love you Nate! Last night to celebrate our anniversary we made one of our favorite entrees. We made The Best Garlic Steak and I decided on these potatoes as a side dish. They turned out really good. Before we were done eating Nate requested they be made again! Nate loved the crisp exterior and the soft interior, he said they reminded him of a giant french fry. They are so simple to prepare too! I saw the idea over at Real Mom Kitchen, we just adjusted the seasonings to our preference.

Ingredients:
2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
kosher salt to taste
A1 brand garlic and herb seasoning to taste

Preparation:
Cut clean potatoes lengthwise into 1/4" planks. I recommend using a mandolin but a sharp knife works too. Stick the potatoes in a gallon size ziploc bag and add oil. Seal bag and toss potatoes to coat. Then add the seasonings to the potatoes and again seal bag and toss to evenly coat. To cook, place the oiled and seasoned potato planks right on the grill heated to medium-high heat. Grill for about 5 minutes a side. You want the potatoes to be slightly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside when pierced with a fork. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy! Serves 2-3.

Garlic and Butter Steamed Baby Red Potatoes

We are a potato kind of family. We love them. I needed an accompanying dish for our pork chops last night and these stood out to me. I saw them over at Deep South Dish. I cut back on the butter and added some garlic and a bit more salt. The dish takes a little while to cook, but it is really simple to get going. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 lbs. baby red potatoes (or you can cut up regular red potatoes)
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
seasoning salt to taste (I used about 1 1/2 tsp.)
black pepper to taste
parsley to garnish

Preparation:
Clean potatoes and peel a strip around the center of each potato. In a skillet add water, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Melt butter over medium low heat. Add the potatoes to the skillet, cover, and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Shake the skillet every so often as they cook, but don't remove lid. Once cooked, sprinkle the potatoes with parsley and serve.

Bacon and Onion Fingerling Potatoes

This is a re-post of a recipe from late 2010. It's so good and I finally got a semi-decent picture so I think it warranted a re-post.

Oh goodness, these are good. This recipe is a special occasion recipe at our house. We made these potatoes as part of our anniversary dinner. My husband loves these potatoes, I mean they have bacon, what's not to love? I saw this idea over at Picky Palate. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 lbs. fingerling potatoes (my store didn't have any fingerlings so I used Dutch baby potatoes that I cut into quarters)
½ lb. bacon, sliced into ½” pieces
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. reserved bacon drippings
½ cup onion, diced
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste
½ - 1 Tbsp. parsley flakes

Preparation:
Wash and cut potatoes. Add potatoes to pot then add water to cover. Bring pot to boil and boil potatoes for about 10 minutes or just until fork tender.
Cook bacon until crispy in a deep pan. When browned and crisped transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but 3 Tbsp. of bacon drippings. Place the 3 Tbsp. back into the pan at medium heat, add the butter and melt. Add onions; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add sliced potatoes, cooked bacon, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir then reduce heat to low to keep warm. Taste check the seasoning and adjust as needed.

Football Fries

This is a great way to jazz up boring old french fries. It only takes an extra minute or two, but really makes a difference. I think you'll really enjoy these, and like the name implies, these would be great for watching football. I saw the idea over at Ma What's For Dinner.

Ingredients:
1/2 bag Ore Ida steak fries (or whatever kind of french fry you like)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp. steak seasoning
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt (if your steak seasoning doesn't have any salt in it)

Preparation:
Whisk together olive oil, steak seasoning, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Add frozen french fries and toss well to coat evenly. Spread out fries on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 17-20 minutes or until they've got a nice gold brown crust (or however the bag instructions direct). Serve up with your favorite condiments for dipping.

Garlic Herb Potato Wedges

This was a great side dish to the pulled pork Nate made on Saturday. He did such a great job and it was his very first time using that smoker! When Nate makes up his mind to try something new, he puts 110% into it. I lucked out, Nate did the main part of the meal and I had to do was side dishes. We had these potato wedges and a green salad with the pork. I saw this idea here, and I just used herbs that Nathan and I like. They had a nice crisp exterior and were soft on the inside, so good!

Ingredients:
4 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
3 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried chives
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt (I used Lawry's seasoning salt)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the olive oil and all the seasonings in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Cut each half, lengthwise, into 4 equally sized wedges. Add the potatoes to the mixing bowl and toss really really well so that everything gets well coated. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Arrange the potato wedges skin side down on the sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown with crisp exterior and soft interior. Serve hot and enjoy!


Here's a pic of the awesome pulled pork Nate made.

Mashed Potato Topped Pork Chops

It's another installment of Comfort Food Wednesdays at our house. I had some red potatoes that needed to be used and some pork chops in the freezer and so this was an easy choice for dinner. It definitely fits the comfort food bill too. I adapted the idea from The Sisters Cafe and it's something we will make again. Very good!

Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops (ours were not too big, and were about 1/2 inch thick)
8 red potatoes, diced into cubes
6 Tbsp. butter
3-4 Tbsp. milk
seasoning salt
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
steak seasoning

Preparation:
Boil red potatoes until soft. Drain water and mash with 4 Tbsp. butter, milk, and salt to taste. While the potatoes are boiling, sauté the onions, and Worcestershire sauce, in 1-2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat until onions are transparent, 5-8 minutes, add minced garlic during the last minute or two of cooking. Fold sautéed mixture into mashed potatoes and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 F. Season both sides of the pork chops with steak seasoning. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, sear pork chops on both sides. Place pork chops into a glass baking dish lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Spoon mashed potatoes over each pork chop (I had leftover potatoes). Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through. Time will depend on thickness of the chops. Once cooked through, uncover and broil for just a minute or two to get a nice golden brown crust on the potatoes. Serve hot. I also made some gravy to serve with this dish. Makes 4 servings.

Nate's Spicy Roasted Red Potatoes

My husband loves spicy food. He seriously adds sriracha hot sauce to everything! We were making these garlic and butter roasted red potatoes the other night and he decided to make half of the potatoes spicy. He loved them and informed me they were nice and hot, so I didn't dare try them. :) Here's what he came up with.

3 good sized red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1/8 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 - 2 tsp. chili powder
1 - 2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 - 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

Preparation:
Mix the diced potatoes, melted butter, and seasonings. Spread evenly into a glass baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 - 45 minutes or until soft. Serve hot.



I shared this over at High Heels and Grills.

Crunchy Onion Mashed Potato Bake

Nate decided today that he wants to have Comfort Food Wednesdays from now on. I aim to please so here we go! In honor of our inaugural CFW I made this mashed potato dish. Nate loves those French's fried onions so I figured he'd really enjoy this. I had all the other ingredients on hand so it was a super easy dish to prepare. Nate totally loved these potatoes and is so glad to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I saw the idea at Betty Crocker and just tweaked a couple things. I also think this would be good with green beans added instead of corn, kinda like a meatless shepherd's pie. Or if veggies aren't really your thing, leave them out all together. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
4-5ish cups leftover mashed potatoes (I simply made 2 packages of Idahoan's butter and herb instant potatoes)
2/3 cup frozen corn
French's french fried onions
shredded cheese
paprika

Preparation:
Prepare mashed potatoes if using instant, or reheat leftover potatoes. Once hot, mix in frozen corn. Spread potatoes/corn into an 8x8" glass baking dish that's been sprayed with a light layer of non-stick spray. Top with a sprinkle of paprika, then add shredded cheese, and finally the french fried onions. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 10 or so minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted and everything is piping hot. Serve hot.

-I baked it at 400 F because I had chicken baking at that temperature. You can really cook these at any temp, just adjust the bake time. The potatoes are already going in warm and you just want to get the cheese melted and everything nice and hot. So if you've got meat in the oven, just go with that temp and make it easy on yourself!

Roasted Smashed Red Potatoes

So good! I've been meaning to make these for a long long time. I'm bummed I waited so long to do it, we could have been enjoying these potatoes for a while now! They have this great crispness on the outside and are yet still soft on the inside. This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen, which always has awesome recipes. They only need a couple of ingredients too, which is always great in my book. Potatoes are such comfort food for me, I'm sure you will enjoy these as much as we did.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. small red potatoes (try and get ones all about the same size)
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt or seasoning salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Put your oven rack at the top and bottom positions. Heat oven to 500 degrees F. Place your potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Make sure your potatoes are all right around the same size. I had a mix of small and big so I cut the big ones in half to match the size of the smaller potatoes. Pour 3/4 cup of water into the baking sheet and then tightly wrap the sheet with tin foil. Cook the potatoes on the bottom rack until fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the foil and let cool for about 10 minutes. If you have any remaining water, blot it dry. I didn't have any water left. Drizzle 3 Tbsp. of olive oil over the potatoes and then roll to coat. Use another baking sheet (or a potato masher) and press down firmly to flatten potatoes to about 1/3 - 1/2 inch thick. Generously season potatoes with salt and pepper and then drizzle the remaining 3 Tbsp of olive oil over the top. Bake potatoes on the top rack for 15 minutes or until they get a nice crisp crust and then transfer to the bottom rack for another 10-15 minutes to crisp up and brown the bottoms. Serve immediately. ATK instructs you to remove the potatoes from the baking sheet as soon as they are done browning—they will toughen if left too long.

This picture is from the America's Test Kitchen site.

Cajun Roasted Potatoes

Here's an easy variation for you on roasted potatoes. We've been grilling tons this summer with our new grill. I'm always on the hunt for new side dishes. So if you like a little heat, here is a fun dish for you.

Ingredients:
4 medium yukon gold potatoes (or 2 large russet potatoes)
1/2 - 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning (depends on how hot you like it)
salt to taste
olive oil

Preparation:
Wash and chop potatoes into bite sized pieces. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes and season, mixing well. Spread out evenly into a baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, turning halfway through, or until fork tender.



Sorry about the dark picture. Nate and I didn't end up eating dinner until about 9:30pm.

Potato Rounds

This fun recipe was made by cute Becca. She made these as easy appetizers and said they turned out really good! This idea and the photo is from Allrecipes. I was so happy she sent me this recipe, because it's one I had bookmarked to try too! Thanks Becca!

Ingredients:
4 baking potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup melted butter
8 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush both side of potato slices with butter; place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated 400 degrees F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.
When potatoes are ready, top with bacon, cheese, and green onion; continue baking until the cheese has melted.

Twice Baked Potatoes

This is one of Nate's favorite ways to eat potatoes. I don't make them very often, especially not in the heat of the summer, but we needed some comfort food today. I even upped the ante and added some bacon today. I like the potatoes nice and full, so I always make more potatoes than I end up serving. So if I'm serving four potatoes, I'll bake up six so I have lots of filling. I hope that makes sense.

Ingredients:
makes 4 servings (8 potato halves)
6 small/medium baking potatoes
milk
butter
salt
chives
pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)

Preparation:
Wrap potatoes in tin foil, poke with a knife, and bake at 425 degrees for an hour or until tender.
Once potatoes are finished baking, unwrap and slice in half length-wise. Let cool on a foil lined baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the middle with a spoon. You'll want to end up with 8 halves. Peel the remaining potatoes and add them to the rest of the potato scoopings. Add some butter, milk, salt and pepper, and chives to potatoes and mash until your desired consistency. Add some shredded cheddar cheese and bacon crumbles and fold into the potatoes.
Fill potato shells with generous amounts of the mashed potato filling. Top with a little more shredded cheese and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and the cheese on top is melted. Serve hot. Enjoy!



I shared this recipe over at Chef in Training and Mandy's Recipe Box.

Hasselback Potatoes

I have had these potatoes bookmarked forever! It's about time I got around to trying them. It's a new variation on potatoes for me. The name makes me think of David Hasselhoff though. It's a simple change from a normal baked potato, and I do like the crispness of the skin. I saw the idea over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5-6 medium baking potatoes
4 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic pressed or finely minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the potato on a cutting board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, making thin slices.
Arrange the potatoes on a tin foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt over the potatoes and then sprinkle the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over the potatoes.
Bake the potatoes for about one hour or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Sour Cream Potatoes aka Funeral Potatoes

One of the ladies that I visit teach is getting married tomorrow and I got a phone call last night that they need some funeral potatoes provided. Of course I'd love to help, just one problem. I've never made funeral potatoes before, and I can't remember ever having eaten them either! It's a good thing I have a mother-in-law. Lucky for me she just made these the other night and she totally came to the rescue and provided me with her recipe and she's letting me share it with you! Here is Katie's sour cream potatoes recipe-

6 russet potatoes, peeled (or 12 small red potatoes)
Boil in salted water until tender
While the potatoes are boiling:
Saute 1 chopped onion in a little olive oil
Then combine:
1-28 oz can cream of chicken soup (or 2 small cans)
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

shred the boiled potatoes and stir into the creamed mixture with the sauteed onions

Pour into greased casserole dish and sprinkle top with cheese or bread crumbs or smashed corn flakes.
Cook in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden.

Homemade AuGratin Potatoes

I finally used my mandoline slicer that I got for my birthday (in February)! It made this recipe really easy. I was surprised that the recipe was so simple. I saw the idea over at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, but I adapted it for us.

Ingredients:
3 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices (love using my mandoline for this!)
3 tbsp. butter, plus more for buttering baking dish
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
paprika


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Butter an 8x8" baking dish and layer 1/2 potatoes into the bottom. Season with some salt and pepper.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in flour and salt; stir constantly with a whisk for a minute and then add milk. Cook until thickened. Stir in cheese and continue stirring until it is fully melted.
Pour half the sauce over the potatoes. Add other half of the potatoes on top, season with salt and pepper and top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle paprika over the top.
Cover and bake for 90 minutes.

Again, not an amazing photo, but the potatoes taste really good.

Easy Baked Chicken and Red Potatoes

Since Nate was so sad that he didn't get any potatoes last night, I thought I would make him some tonight. The fact that I had a couple leftover potatoes didn't hurt either! I wanted something simple and comforting, and this is what I came up with. We both enjoyed it and Nate is looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

After dinner we decided that this recipe is so easy even Nate could make it. We are slowly building up his repertoire of meals.

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1.5 lbs. red potatoes (you could use russets also)
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
4-5 Tbsp. olive oil

Preparation:
Wash and pat dry chicken. Rinse potatoes. Cut potatoes into evenly sized bite sized pieces. Add both chicken and potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Pour olive oil and both dressing envelopes over the chicken and potatoes, mixing really well. Spray a 9x13" baking pan with cooking spray. Add chicken breasts to baking dish and then potatoes. Bake at 400 for approximately 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are fork tender.

Roasted Italian Potatoes

I took these to a church function tonight (I doubled the recipe) and I totally forgot to take a picture! Sorry. They were pretty tasty though, the whole dish was gone pretty quickly. This is a super easy recipe that Nate wants me to make again really soon. I saw this idea over at Miranda's Recipes.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes
1 envelope Italian seasoning mix
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese (optional)

Preparation:
Wash the potatoes. Chop potatoes into evenly sized pieces. In a mixing bowl drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and add the Italian seasoning. Mix well. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with pam and add the potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until fork tender. Stir potatoes halfway through cooking time so they don't stick. Sprinkle cheese over top of the potatoes during the last few minutes of cooking. Serve hot.

Garlic and Butter Roasted Red Potatoes

I had planned on making rice and sauteed vegetables with dinner tonight, but I had potatoes that needed to be used. Since Nate loves roasted red potatoes so much, I wanted to do something similar. I just adapted it for russet potatoes. I saw this idea over at Rachel vs. the Kitchen. Her recipe has you microwave the potatoes, I baked mine We loved these!


Ingredients:
6 red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieced
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2-1 tsp. seasoned salt (depends on your preference)
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. garlic, minced

Preparation:
Mix the diced potatoes, melted butter, and seasonings. Spread evenly into a glass baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until soft. Serve hot.

Sliced Red Potatoes

Both Nate and I enjoy steak. We rarely cook it, but when we do we like to go all out. Nate made Brazilian churrasco style steaks tonight. He doesn't remember the measurements of the steak rub, so I'll have to post it another time. The next part of tonight's dinner was these potatoes. I found the recipe from a cute site called Your Homebased Mom. Nate loves red potatoes and I like that these cook so quickly. Yum!

Ingredients:
8-10 medium sized red potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cube butter, melted
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne powder (I left this out, I am not a fan of cayenne)
2 tsp. mild chili powder
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt*


Preparation:
Mix above ingredients and toss with thin sliced potatoes. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 500 degrees for 7-10 minutes, then turn potatoes and bake another 7-10 minutes until desired crispness.

*I found that these potatoes needed just a touch of salt. I am not a big salt person, but I did add a little salt to these. Next time I would add a 1/2 tsp. or so of salt to the recipe.

Onion Roasted Red Potatoes with Cheese

Happy Easter! Per Nate's request we had a nice traditional Easter dinner. On the menu was smoked brisket, rolls, asparagus, strawberry lime punch, and these potatoes. We love red potatoes in our family, so when I saw this recipe, I had to try it. You really can't get easier than this, and I love that you don't need any fancy ingredients, just things you most likely have on hand. I got this recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up, she has lots of yummy things, be sure and check out her site.

Ingredients:
8 medium sized red potatoes
1/4 C olive oil
1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup mix
Salt and Pepper (I didn't add any salt or pepper and they still turned out awesome)
1 C cheddar cheese

Preparation:
Chop up the potatoes into even sized pieces. Mix together the potatoes, olive oil, onion soup mix, salt, and pepper. Once well combined, pour into a 9x13" baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 minutes, stirring half way through. Once cooked, top with cheese and broil for just a few minutes to melt cheese. Serve hot.