Tag: Food

Food, Potatoes, Recipes, Tater Talk

Hamburger Packets (With Potatoes)

Sarah Paasch

Ever since I was a kid, my mom (what a woman) has been making what we have called over the years: hamburger packets. These are also known as hobo packets, for those of you who were wondering. These have always come in clutch for our family when we want something yummy, but don’t necessarily want to do a lot of work to get the food. Bonus: they are incredibly filling, which is something my bottomless pit of a stomach is always searching for.

While we’re not exactly the camping kind, aka I’ve never been camping besides setting up a tent in my backyard, these make a camping meal. After you chop up all the ingredients, you simply throw them on the grill and let the heat do it’s thing.

You can also make these in the oven!

Hamburger Packets (With Potatoes, Obviously)

You’ll need:

  • 4 beef patties (this recipe serves 4 people)
  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
  • Butter
  • You could also add zucchini, onion, squash, etc. Whatever you think would taste good, go for it!

What you’ll need to do:

  1. Lay out 4 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil. Rub butter on the foil first. This will serve as a base for the other ingredients, plus it will give them flavor.
  2. Peel and slice the potatoes first, and lay each potato out on the foil.
  3. Peel and slice the carrots next, evenly distributing them as well.
  4. Lay the hamburger patty on top.
  5. Gather the foil at the top, then roll up each of the sides.
  6. Place on the grill and let cook, keeping an eye on them. Once the potatoes are easily forked and the patty looks good, they are done and you can serve them. We usually have a problem with one of the packets not cooking as thoroughly as the others, so be sure to keep an eye on all of them.
  7. If you’d rather bake in an oven, place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

The cool part about these is that everyone can have their own serving of food. If one person wants less food, they can simply put less in their packet to start. The potatoes and carrots easily come out of the foil as well, requiring not a lot of clean up!

Food, Potatoes, Recipes, Tater Talk

Deliciousness in a Bowl: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sarah Paasch

I’ve come to this blog today to share with you an oldie but a goodie. I found this recipe and fell in love with it after making it, as you do when it comes to anything potato related.

Growing up, my family ate most meals with some sort of potato to accompany it. Meat and mashed potatoes were our go-to, along with french fries, hashbrowns, and red potatoes to go along with everything else. Every once in awhile, I would volunteer to help make dinner. One random night, this help came in the form of the most delicious mashed potatoes (found on Pinterest, weird).

As to be expected, half of my Pinterest board is potato recipes. What can I say? I love potatoes! (This has become incredibly apparent by the fact that I have an entire blog about spuds). I have no shame.

Anyway, I tried this recipe on for size and the rest is history. I bring this to you today thanks to my sister (Hi Coley) after she made them once again for dinner. My mom suggested I share this with you all (Hi mom), so you can personally thank her when these turn out to be as good as I say. Special thanks to deliciousasitlooks.com for coming up with this greatness.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (with the skins in them!)

You’ll need:

  • 1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes, quartered (about 8 red potatoes for those who don’t have a food scale in their house)
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream (maybe a little less unless especially like the taste)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup of salted butter

What you’ll need to do:

  1. Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and leave to cook for about 15-20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, place the garlic powder, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, and butter in a bowl, preferably in an electric mixer. If you do not have one, just mix and mash by hand.
  3. Once the potatoes are easily pierced (not piercing their ears but piercing with a fork), remove from heat and drain. Throw (gently) together with the other ingredients and mix on medium until smooth. Mash by hand until smooth if not using a mixer.

Voila! Potatoes with the skins sure to impress anyone – except potato haters maybe, but we don’t acknowledge those people here. Enjoy!

 

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, 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!