HOMEMADE TATER TOTS

If you are a tater tot fan, you will adore these homemade tots. If you are NOT a tater tot fan, you WILL be after you try these, they are THAT good!!

It isn't accurate enough to just say these homemade tots are better than commercial tater tots .... it is more accurate to say they are worlds above commercial tater tots, and very easy to make.

2 pounds Russet potatoes
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)

Wash and peel the potatoes (leave whole) and put them in a pot of cold water on high heat.

 

As soon as it comes to a boil, turn heat down to medium high and boil for 6 minutes (they will not be cooked all the way through).

Remove the potatoes from the hot water and drain on a towel. Cool to room temperature (takes about 30 minutes) (important step).

Grate partially cooked (and cooled) potatoes with a box grater.

Mix the flour and seasoning together. Spread the grated potatoes out a little and evenly sprinkle with four-spice mixture. Gently toss with two forks. The potatoes will seem a little dry, but that OK, it's the way you want them.

Heat 1 cup of oil to 375° (I use my electric skillet) and squeeze a small handful of seasoned potatoes in your hand until you get a nice little nugget. I couldn't get them round, but that's OK.

Fry about 2 to 3 minutes per side, depending on how big or small your nuggets are (don't crowd the tots, just fry a few at a time). Turn them over when they get nice a golden.

Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.

ENJOY !!!

BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES

Oh my goodness, these baked sweet potato fries are tasty AND low calorie!! Even my picky picky husband said they were good THREE TIMES during dinner. Now that is a record!!

 

 

 



Keep in mind that you are not going to get a crisp fry (because they are baked) but they ARE addictingly tasty and give you that "a little sweet a little salty" flavor that hits all the right
comfort notes. Crisp or not, I could easily eat a big bowl of these and not feel guilty at all....now THAT is saying something.

2 medium sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon regular chili powder (see note)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (see note)
1 tablespoon brown sugar

OK, a word about yams/sweet potatoes. Don't ask me which is which. I always buy the one with the deep orange flesh, so I'm calling them sweet potatoes in this post.

PRE-HEAT YOUR OVEN (with two DRY baking sheets in it) TO 425°F.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into French fries. Soak in water for one hour, then drain and pat them dry.

Toss the dried off potatoes with cornstarch. Keep gently tossing until the cornstarch is evenly distributed (I put them in a plastic bag to accomplish this...it's easier to toss).

Next sprinkle the potatoes with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and gently toss until well coated.

Mix all of the seasonings together and sprinkle over the oiled potatoes, mixing gently until they are all coated evenly.



When you are ready to bake the fries, remove the hot cookie sheets from the oven and generously spray them with vegetable spray. Divide the seasoned potatoes between the two sheets and spread them out so the fries do not touch each other.

Bake in PRE-HEATED 425°F oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs. Just watch them towards the end of the cooking time because the sugar in the seasonings will scorch/burn if left in too long.

After 12-15 minutes, reduce your oven heat to 375°F and flip the potatoes over and bake another 12-15 minutes.

You will know they are done when they are tender and the edges are darker. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt.

They aren't the prettiest fries ever, but they are delicious.

 

 

ENJOY !!!

Note: If you like a little more spice, you can use chipotle chili powder INSTEAD OF the regular chili powder + smoked paprika.

CROCK-POT MASHED POTATOES

This is a great method of making mashed potatoes for a crowd. It seems like I'm always short on time (or a burner) when it comes to last minute side dishes during the holidays, so this method is a big help.

 

TO FEED A BIG CROWD
5 pounds peeled potatoes cut into 1" cubes
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups HOT half and half (divided)

The ABOVE ingredients will take a large

(7 quart) crock-pot:

If you are just feeding a family of 6, cut the above ingredients in HALF and

it in a

4 quart crock-pot:

 

 

In either case, spray the crock-pot with cooking spray and put your raw cubed potatoes and butter pieces in the crock-pot.

Mix the water with the salt and pepper and pour it over the potatoes and butter pieces:

 

Cover with a lid and cook on high for 4 hours (or till tender). TIP: If you put a couple of potholders on the top of the crock-pot lid (as shown in the above photos), then the potatoes will be cooked in 3 hours instead of 4.

 

After the potatoes are tender, DO NOT DRAIN. Give the potatoes a rough mash with a hand held potato masher first, then add one cup of HOT half and half and finish whipping them with a hand held electric mixer (right in the crock-pot). Add the final half cup of half and half if you think the potatoes need it.

 

These mashed potatoes can be kept on the warm setting of the slow cooker for up to two hours.

 

Even if your crock-pot doesn't have a warm setting, you can still keep these mashed potatoes hot by covering the whole crock-pot with a heavy towel. They will stay hot for quite a while. 

 

 

 

 

ENJOY !!



YUMMY POTATO SIDE DISH

If you are looking for a new way to cook potatoes, I hope you will try this recipe. It is not only EASY, but it is oh so tasty and a very nice change from baked or mashed potatoes.

This recipe would also be wonderful for a potluck or buffet because you can make a huge batch AND they stay hot for a long time; they are also very tasty at room temperature !!

2 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes (washed and dried)
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cut the potatoes into 1" thick slices and put them in a bowl. Mix everything else together and pour over the potatoes, coating well.

Spray a baking pan (that has a lip) with cooking spray and then lay the potatoes in the pan, cut side down and don't let the slices touch each other. 

Bake in a preheated 450° oven for 20 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and bake for another 20 minutes.

ENJOY !!

BACON HASSELBACK POTATOES

As I understand it, Hasselback potatoes originated in Sweden as far back as the 1700's and there are a lot of variations. Basically it is an unpeeled baking potato that has been partially sliced, buttered and baked. The outside is crispy, salty and chewy but the inside of the potato is smooth and moist. They are very easy to make, delicious to eat and pretty enough to serve over the upcoming holidays.

A word of warning about these photographs: I didn't realize that the photos were on the blurry side until we finished dinner, so I couldn't re-take them. Sorry about that.

 

This version has bacon in it !!

 

There really isn't a specific recipe, but I do have a few tips that will help you in the process.

Things to do ahead of time: 

Lay 1 strip of good quality smoky THICK bacon (for every 2 potatoes) on a flat surface and freeze for about 30 minutes. This will help you slide the bacon down into the cuts of the potato.

Use meaty bacon

Bring a pot of water (large enough to hold the potatoes) to a full boil.

Wash the unpeeled potatoes, scrubbing them with a vegetable brush, then drying them with a paper towel.

Next, it's time to cut the slices into the potato. Because it is easy to cut too far, it's better to use some sort of cutting depth guide. Personally, I lay the potato between 2 spoon handles and use a sharp (thin bladed) knife to cut down only as far as the spoon handles.

 

Next, put the potatoes into the pot of boiling water. Let boil 4 minutes for larger potatoes and 2 minutes for medium potatoes. Gently lift them out and pat them dry.

Coat the potatoes with melted butter, making sure it gets down into every cut (just don't try to PRY the slices apart too much).

After you've buttered the potato, insert 3 pieces of frozen bacon (evenly spaced) into the potato. Make sure the bacon is big enough to be a little wider and taller than the potato because it will shrink as it bakes.

Butter again and then sprinkle with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper.

Bake at 350° (2 hours for large potatoes and 1 1/2 hours for medium potatoes). Dab them with a little butter about half way through.

The last 5-10 minutes of baking, melt a little butter and add a finely sliced green onion(optional) and half a clove of minced garlic. Let the garlic toast in the butter JUST A LITTLE, then drizzle the garlic butter over the potatoes and bake a few minutes more.

Carefully lift the potatoes out of the baking dish with a sturdy utensil.

The potatoes have a smooth and slightly smoky flavor. Picky-picky husband loved them.  Like I said, sorry about the poor quality of todays photos.

ENJOY !!

BAKED POTATO CHIPS

When I am on a diet, (who am I kidding, I'm always on a diet) my weight loss plan starts to falter when I get a craving for something crunchy and salty. I'm not talking about raw fruits and veggie type of crunchy, I'm talking about potato chip crunchy. If I ignore this craving, it just gets stronger; does that sound familiar to anyone?

I did some online searching for a remedy to my craving that wouldn't have a billion calories. I found three different recipes for baked potato chips that sounded promising.

After trying all three (and immediately tossing all three into the garbage), I decided to make up my own version. I must say I'm quite pleased with it. 

Not only does this little recipe completely satisfy my "crunchy chip craving" but the ENTIRE RECIPE only has one tablespoon of olive oil!!

 

Wash and dry six golf ball size Yukon gold potatoes. Slice them as thin as possible. A mandolin would work well for this, but I just used my sharpest knife and sliced them; just try to make them all an even thickness.

 

Toss the sliced potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, making sure that a little of the oil gets in between every slice. Lay the slices out on a heavy cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with vegetable spray, then sprinkle the potatoes lightly with kosher salt.

Baking time is important. One of the recipes I tried (and threw away) called for 2 hours at 200°F. That produced a dull, leathery piece of potato. I even let it cook an extra HOUR and it was still leathery...yuck.  Another recipe called for 18 minutes at 400°F which produced a crisp but burnt taste...yuck again.

So I decided to try Yukon gold potatoes. How long you bake them will depend on how thick you sliced your potatoes and how hot your oven runs. I baked mine in a 375°F electric oven for 22 minutes, flipping them over half way through the baking time....just right.

These chips are meant to be eaten right away because they are not meant to be stored like a commercial potato chip. There are small "non-crunch" parts on the chips that would not store well.

I hope you will try these. They have a WONDERFUL flavor and a fantastic, salty crunch!!!

NOTE:  Watch the chips closely the last couple of minutes because once they start to turn golden, they darken quickly.