Month: February 2018

Food, Potatoes, Tater Talk

Peculiar Potatoes Not Found in Your Local Piggly Wiggly

Sarah Paasch

Once upon a time, I had a brother-in-law named Geoff that loved growing strange kinds of fruits and vegetables. (Well actually, he still does it but for story telling purposes, I’ll keep the wording). Any kind of strange fruit or vegetable you could think of has probably grown in his garden. This has included but is not limited to: purple carrots, purple cauliflower, dragon tongue beans, and tomatillos. I swear these are all real.

Every year for the past three Christmases, he has given us strange seeds with specific growing instructions to follow once spring hits. Thanks to him, my attention has been called to a whole new world of potatoes that not even my wildest dreams could imagine. He hasn’t given me potato seeds yet for Christmas, but I’m hopeful. *hint hint*

While you won’t necessarily find these in your local Piggly Wiggly (not to leave out Pick N’ Save, Festival Foods, Jewel Osco, Kroger, and Wal-Mart), they do exist and deserve the proper attention that all potatoes need. If you’re intrigued, you’ll probably have to grow them to find out just how great they are. You should consult Geoff on the whole growing part though on his blog The Four Season Gardener.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for!

All Blue Potatoes

Purple skin and blue flesh equals the prettiest of all potatoes. This potato, I’m told, is great mashed because of its meaty insides. They can also be made as baked potatoes and french fries. Online reviews tell me that they’re incredibly flavorful, and some even go as far as saying they are the best potatoes they’ve ever tasted. Unfortunately, it will turn pale when cooked. Why must heat ruin a good thing?

 

 

 

Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes

This particular potato wins the peculiar potato award for best name ever. The skin of the Russian Banana Fingerling potato is smooth, waxy, and the color of a good pair of khakis. When used, the skin is rarely peeled because of its thinness. Interestingly enough, these tubers are part of the nightshade family. Also included in the nightshade family are eggplants and petunias. These potatoes must have interesting family reunions! If you find these milling about in your kitchen, they can be grilled, baked, steamed, fried, or boiled. They have even been used as a pizza topping because of their tenderness.

P.S. They are from the Baltic region, and Russian sailors brought them to North America at the ports of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and British Columbia. Thanks for blessing us with more taters.

All Red Potatoes

With cranberry-red skin and rose colored swirls, these potatoes could be a work of art. Great boiled, steamed, roasted, or scalloped, these potatoes will dress up any kind of dish you make. They even hold their color when cooked! Bonus right?? If you’re growing them, I even hear that they’re resistant to droughts and scabs. This potato is more technologically advanced than I am. We should all give it the respect it deserves.

Ever had an even stranger type of potato? Leave it in the comments below and it could be featured in a future post!

 

Food, Potatoes, Recipes, Tater Talk

Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie (With Potatoes!)

Sarah Paasch

Helloooooooo fellow potato lovers! This past weekend, my family and I had a shindig at my place where we tried out a new recipe. The night consisted of us eating an entire box of

Girl Scout cookies and watching the cops chase one of my neighbors across the street. You know, the usual.

Anyways, there was one more amazing thing that came out of that night. You guessed it, there was a meal made with potatoes. This recipe, originally posted by sixsistersstuff.com, was revamped by my sister and my mom to include potatoes. They must really love me, after all. Without further adieu, I give you:

Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie (With Potatoes!)

 

You’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup of chopped carrots
  • 3 to 4 cups of diced potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 regular size can of cream of chicken soup
  • 2 cups (about 1 pound) of cooked, shredded chicken
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 1 refrigerated package of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (8 biscuits)

How you make it:

Preheat your oven to precisely 400 degrees. In the meantime, cook the chicken and defrost the vegetables. We used frozen vegetables, but I suppose you could use unfrozen ones too. Use your discretion. Combine the cooked chicken and veggies and leave aside.

Add butter to a large pan, and when melted, mix in the flour and stir it for one minute on medium heat. Whisk in the milk, chicken broth, and cream of chicken soup. Let the sauce simmer enough to thicken, usually for about a minute. Transfer the veggies and chicken into the sauce and stir it in. (If your sauce seems too thick, add a dash more of chicken broth and milk.

Pour this filling into a 13 x 9 inch dish and bake for 18 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven and add the uncooked biscuits on top. Put the dish back in the oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the biscuits are fully cooked. (We had a slight issue with a few biscuits being raw, so be sure to check them before taking them out of the oven completely). Let cool for five minutes and voila! A yummy dinner. (If you don’t want to let it cool, I understand. I get impatient when I’m hangry, too).

There you have it! A great alternative to chicken pot pie with the greatest food in the world, which are obviously potatoes. Enjoy!

 

Food, Potatoes, Tater Talk

The Three Best Potato Pairings

Sarah Paasch

Ever wanted to try a different type of potato and didn’t know what to put on it? Ever think a potato needed a little something extra? Look no further, we’re here to help.

I’ve found that an excellent pair with red potatoes are *drum roll please*………..packets of ranch and butter! Simple right? I present to you Ranch Packet Roasted Potatoes – created by Hidden Valley Ranch.

Start with:

  • 2 pounds of small red potatoes, washed and quartered
  • 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch powder
  • 3 tablespoons of butter

Toss them all together, stick them in a pan at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes and BAM. Potato deliciousness. A simple yet effective way of making a good thing even better.

Say red potatoes aren’t your thing. Maybe you’re a potato chip kind of person? In any event, this information isn’t very mind-blowing. It’s a fact of life.

 

 

Image result for french onion dip

I give you the ultimate potato pairing. While Dean’s happens to tickle my fancy, I will admit that any type of french onion dip does the trick 125% of the time. Additionally, it’s multi-functional. Add it onto your baked potato instead of sour cream and watch your life change in the blink of an eye.

When in doubt, add cheese and bacon bits to your potatoes. Without further adieu, here are the appropriately named Easy Potato Skins – created by the I Heart Naptime blog.

You’ll need:

  • 4 large russet (or yukon, we don’t discriminate) potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons of melted butter
  • 1 or 2 cups of cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup of bacon bits
  • 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • Sour cream (if you’re into that sort of thing)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover a pan with foil and non-stick cooking spray.

Wash the potatoes, cut off the ends, and slice into approximately 1/2 inch slices. Brush both sides with butter and sprinkle with salt. Place on the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Flip the potato slices half way through to brown each side. When they’re complete, add on cheese and bacon bits and bake for 3-5 minutes more to melt the cheese. Serve with sour cream if you so choose (I won’t judge you for it despite my hatred for sour cream).

There you have it! Three simple potato pairings to spice up your potato needs. Leave a comment below with your favorite potato pairing!

Food, Potatoes

5 Tuber Tidbits You Probably Didn’t Know

Sarah Paasch

As we’ve established, I love potatoes more than most humans. Do you really know who they are, though? I figured if me, the potato connoisseur, had never heard of these amazing facts, they were worth passing along! Since you’re probably all dying of curiosity, here they are:

 1. Potatoes were the first vegetable to be grown in space! Due to a partnership formed between NASA and the University of Wisconsin (!) – Madison, seed potatoes were  tested in space in 1995 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. NASA technology and a Chinese potato growing  technique paired up to grow Quantum Tubers. This advanced method can produce a crop of mini-tubers every  40 to 50 days, rather than taking a year to grow. One facility can produce 10 to 20 million mini-tubers a year!

2. The average American eats about 124 pounds of potatoes per year, while Germans eat about twice as  much. My German heritage probably plays an integral part in why I consume more potatoes than the average bear, and the average American.

3. The original potato chips were probably made by mistake. Before the year 1853, the world was a sad, sad place. In 1853, it is rumored that Chef George Crum created potato chips in a move to spite railroad mogul Cornelius Vanderbilt. As the story goes, Vanderbilt disliked thick-cut potatoes. One day, he decided to send his thickly cut potatoes back to the kitchen. In the midst of his annoyance with this move, Crum thinly sliced the potatoes, fried them in oil, and sent them back out to Vanderbilt. Supposedly, Vanderbilt loved them, which led to the eventual popularity of chips today.

4. Sweet potatoes are no potatoes at all. If there was ever a reason to dislike sweet potatoes even more, I believe I just found it. Sweet potatoes are actually part of the morning glory family, and are just swollen roots. They bear no relation to the actual potato, making them gross liars.

5. If you ever needed more of a reason to love potatoes, they are good for more than just eating. Rumor has it that by carrying a potato with you , you could prevent rheumatism AND soothe a toothache. They can also heal broken bones, ease frostbite, and clear up blemishes on people’s skin. People have even used potatoes to tell time, based upon how long the root took to cook. Potatoes are amazing in every way, hands down.                          

Food, Recipes

Best Damn Potato Skillet

Sarah Paasch

Hello fellow potato enthusiasts!

Have you ever just started throwing food things together in hopes that it works? Cause same.

One night I found myself staring aimlessly into the refrigerator (like always) and wondered what the heck I could make with the ingredients I had. If we’re being honest, I’m still not over the fact that I have to make all of my own meals every night.

Anyways, I had eggs, ham, potatoes, and cheese, among other things. In that moment, I figured I could be as creative of a chef as the best of them. It was like the show Chopped, except I wasn’t competing against anyone and I got to pick all my own ingredients.

Without further ado, I present to you the best damn potato skillet.

  • 1 package of Simply Potato diced potatoes
  • 4 eggs
  • A splash of milk
  • ~4 slices of lunch meat ham
  • ~1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Start by scrambling the 4 eggs with a splash of milk, put in a skillet, and cook normally. In a separate pot, cook the diced potatoes according to the package. Once each are done, combine the eggs with the potatoes. Rip apart the ham slices and toss into the pot. You can also use diced ham if this is more of your style. To finish it off, sprinkle the mixture with enough shredded cheese as you see fit (I use anywhere from 1/4 to a 1/2 cup).

While I admit that this isn’t the most complex recipe, it was a delicious one. Depending on your meat preferences, you can even add sausage or bacon. Enjoy!