Hey y’all! (Cut to Paula Dean voice)
I have to throw this post up because this is something that drives me absolutely crazy. Potatoes are a damn near perfect food, IN MODERATION! When prepared correctly, they are a delicious, healthy, CHEAP easy compliment to any main dish. This leads me to my irritation–when a food is this cheap and simple to make, WHY WOULD ANYONE BUY INSTANT OR FROZEN?!
As a proud southern woman, one of the most insulting things anyone has EVER said to me IN MY LIFE was, “These potatoes are great! Are they instant? What brand do you use?” One time on vacation in Atlanta I was mistaken for a prostitute and THAT was less insulting than that statement! (In hindsight, I had the prostitute thing coming. I was dressed like a total skank.)
Potatoes cost at most around $1/lb, take no time to prep and make, and with so many ways to dress them up, they’re hard to get sick of! It behooves me as to why a person would spend $3+ on a 1lb bag of Ore-Ida Frozen potato wedges, when you could make 3LBS of fresh, homemade potato wedges in almost the same amount of time for the same price! And let’s look at all the preservatives on a bag of frozen potato wedges! You don’t need all that stuff! Just slice some potatoes, toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary and italian seasoning and throw them on a baking sheet. 20 mins on around 400 and you have AMAZING fresh wedges!
So here is my recipe for basic mashed potatoes. They are flavorful and comforting and you can add to them or take away. I like my potatoes lumpy so I use a hand masher, but if you like to whip yours, go ahead! It;s your prerogative. Just know this, THEY’RE NOT INSTANT!
Kathie’s Basic Mashed Taters
Whatever kind of potatoes you have (in this recipe I used some small red potatoes I had left and added a large russet baking potato. You’re going to want the equivalent of around 4 large potatoes.)
Stick of butter or margarine
Milk or cream (I use skim milk because I want to watch my calories but feel free to do whatever you want.)
salt and pepper
Wash your potatoes. I like some skin in mine, so ill only half peel them if it’s a thick-skinned potato like russets. With thin skinned potatoes, such as these red ones I’ll just leave them on . It’s whatever you like.
Cut them into even chunks (so they will cook evenly), throw them in a pot and fill with water until they’re covered by about an inch or 2.
Turn the burner on high and let them boil 10-15 minutes. I never time mine, I simply poke them with a fork. When they are tender and falling apart, that’s when they’re done.
Drain them in the sink and WATCH THE STEAM!
Now, it’s back in the hot pot for these guys. I like to set it back on the still warm eye, even though it is turned off. It will keep the potatoes heated while you’re mashing. Add the stick of butter, salt and pepper and start drizzling milk in. Start mashing with your hand masher.
Add milk a little at a time while still mashing, until you reach the consistency you want. Same with the salt and ;pepper. The worst thing you can do is over-salt a dish, so just add a little at a time until the taste is right.
And there you have it. Simple, delicious potatoes, almost instantly, but not instant!
Depending on what I’m serving with it, I’ll add some garlic cloves to the boiling potatoes and mash that up with them. With rosemary and parmesan, it’s a great Italian twist!
Or, mix in some ranch dressing in place of some of the milk (not a lot as that ranch taste can be overpowering), add shredded cheddar cheese and some bacon and voila! Cheddar ranch bacon taters!
See what I mean? Anything you like.
I hope if you are a frozen or instant tater abuser, you will consider making the switch to fresh. It’s too easy not to!
Appalachian Barbie 