Totchos

 

My husband is obsessed with nachos.  Of any kind, from anywhere, and he is even known to go into the kitchen late at night, grab some tortilla chips, throw on some shredded cheese, nuke it and enjoy that, like it's the best thing in the world.

I'm not in any way dissing on nachos, but I have to say that for me, potatoes trump everything else.  Give me potatoes in any way, shape or form, and I'll be a happy girl.

 

So these totchos, are my absolute favorite as a quick lunch, even a summertime dinner when you're not too hungry but are looking for something simple and delicious to fill your tummy.

They couldn't be easier to make, and you can add whatever toppings you want.

I kept these pretty simple, but I think next time I may kick them up a notch and see what happens.

 

Totchos

 

Ingredients:

1 (32 oz) bag of tater tots

1 cup sour cream

1 cup ranch dressing

Shredded cheese

Crumbled bacon

Green onions

Directions:

Bake your tater tots according to package directions.  In the meantime, combine the sour cream and ranch dressing.

 

When done, pull out of the oven, and spread on the sour cream mixture.  Add the shredded cheese, bacon and green onions and return to oven for a few more minutes, just until cheese starts to melt.

Serve immediately.

Pressure Cooker Twice Baked Potatoes

I have a lot of kitchen gadgets and appliances and enjoy trying them all out.  I can't really say that any of the appliances I have bought, have been a disappointment, but I can for sure say that some have become my favorite to use and I try to use them as much as I can, sometimes daily.

My pressure cooker is one of those.  Not just for it's convenience, but I love putting it to the test and making things in it that I would never have thought of doing.

Last week I made some delicious pork chops (recipe will be up after this one), and to go with them I wanted twice baked potatoes, but it was a super busy day and by the time I got around to dinner prepping, I realized that I wouldn't have an hour or more to wait for the potatoes to bake in the oven.

Obviously, I turned to the pressure cooker, looked through my user manual, searched a few online tips and tricks and went for it.

Guys????  They came out so good that I will never bake them in the oven again.

Let me tell you real quick how to make these delicious potatoes.

Pressure Cooker Twice Baked Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes
2 cups water

Wash the potatoes well and then poke them a few times with a fork or knife.  In the meantime, placeyour trivet inside the pressure cooker, you don't want the potatoes to touch the bottom of the pan. 
Add 2 cups of water, close the lid, making sure the valve is set to seal.  Press the Manual Button for 25 minutes on High pressure.

When the potatoes are done cooking, place a dishtowel over the release valve.  I always do this because sometimes it sputters water everywhere.  Do a quick release of the valve and then remove the potatoes carefully.  I used tongs for this.
 

Let the potatoes cool just enough so you can handle them, then slice them in half.  Using a spoon remove the inside into a bowl.  Now for the filling, you can make your baked potatoes however you prefer.  Some people do a simple mash with milk, salt, pepper and butter.  Some people use mayonnaise or sour cream, whatever you want.

I use butter, salt and pepper, some garlic powder and a little bit of sour cream to make them nice and creamy.  I also like to add bacon bits and cheese to the mixture.

Scoop the filling back into the potatoes, sprinkle on some green onions, and you're done.

If you wish, you can also sprinkle on some shredded cheese and pop them under the broiler to melt the cheese. 

{ Scalloped Potatoes and Ham }

Mmmmmm, comfort food.  If I could eat just comfort food, every single day, without ever putting on weight, I would do it.

Alas, I'm watching what I eat so I don't make these scalloped potatoes and ham very often, but last night, it just came together and at the request of my daughter, these were put in the oven.

I really have to control myself and not over do it, seriously, I could eat 2 or 3 helpings of these.  So good.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Adapted from:  Kraft.com

7 medium potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 container (16 oz.) BREAKSTONE'S FREE or KNUDSEN Fat Free Sour Cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili flakes to taste
Shredded Mexican Blend cheese
1/2 lb. Black forest ham (I just tore it into small bite size pieces)
Buttermilk
 

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COOK potatoes in boiling water in large saucepan 10 to 12 min. or just until potatoes are tender; drain. In a big bowl, mix together the potatoes, sour cream, salt and pepper.

PLACE the potato mixture in a greased baking dish, layer the ham on top, the follow up with a layer of shredded cheese.  End with buttermilk, I just poured some over the top to make it a little creamier and not so dry.

BAKE 30 min. or until heated through.

Slow Cooker Potatoes Dijonnaise

Great side dish, it's almost like a mustard hot potato salad.

Another one from Gooseberry Patch. The only thing that went wrong for me is that I put everything in the crockpot and then totally forgot to turn it on, went back 3 hours later and nothing. I could have kicked myself, so I ended up having to pop the dish into the oven. *sigh*

Potatoes Dijonnaise

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
6 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped

Blend mustard, oil and vinegar in a medium bowl; add salt and pepper to taste. Add potatoes and onion, stirring to coat.



Transfer to a slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Creamy Chives, Onion and Parsley Potatoes

I don't even try to hide it anymore, I'm like the biggest potato fan on earth.  You could give me potatoes everyday and every which way and I would be one happy girl.



I probably eat more potatoes than I should, but I can't help it, it's my weakness.

This is very easy way to put together some of the most yummiest potato side dish you'll ever have, or at least in my opinion.



Creamy Chives, Onion and Parsley Potatoes

1 lb potatoes, washed well and quartered
salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons butter
4 oz Philadelphia Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
Parsley
Pepper
chopped chives

Boil potatoes in salted water until done. Drain the water, add the garlic, butter, cream cheese and parsley, chives and pepper,



stir well,



turn the heat back on and stir for a few minutes longer until the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately!

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

I've been making potatoes like this for so so long, usually I put in thinly sliced onions and omit the cheese, but I love cheese and to me cheese is like bacon, it just makes everything better.



I got the recipe from Get off your butt and bake and I adapted it slightly for our family, so I'm giving you the link to the original recipe and below I'm posting the way I made mine.

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes
Adapted from: Get off your butt and bake

1 HUGE potato, cut into thin fries
1 pint heavy cream
Salt and Pepper
dried parsley
grated cheddar cheese

I think everyone knows how to make fries, but anyway, peel the potatoes, wash them and then slice them into thin slices first,



then cut them into thin fries.



Place in a baking dish. One of the things I most love about this dish is that you can make as much or as little as you need, hence use as many potatoes as needed to fill the dish. I had a HUGE and I mean HUGE potato that was enough for meal.

Sprinkle on salt and pepper,



pour the heavy cream over the potatoes.



Cover with shredded cheese, again, as much or as little as you want. You don't have to add the parsley, but I agree with Jonna who says it makes it look prettier.



Cover with foil, place in the middle oven rack and bake for about an hour at 400 degrees or until potatoes are fork tender.

For the original recipe, go on over to Jonna's blog "Get off your butt and bake".

Salt and Vinegar Chips

No, not potato chips.  I mean chips as in fries.  Ask anyone from England or South Africa and they know exactly what I'm talking about.

I haven't had them in years, matter of fact it's been almost 13 years because the only place I used to get them was back home in South Africa and having moved to the States, I just never could find good ol' chips like you get with fish and chips or even in the corner Take Away.

I've been craving them like crazy lately though, so for lunch today I whipped up some quick Chicken Sandwiches and some Salt and Vinegar Chips.

My family looked at me kinda weird, they had never tried them but after having just one from my plate they deemed it SO GOOD and asked why I've never made them before.....guess that's their hint for "make it again soon" and that I will :)

So here you go, this is how I make them, they're so easy that there really isn't a recipe for it, the trick is in the frying of the potatoes.

Salt and Vinegar Chips

Potatoes
Water
White vinegar
Sea salt to taste

Peel your potatoes and slice them into sticks.  (You don't have to peel them if you don't want to, matter of fact unpeeled potatoes are even better).

Put them into a bowl and cover with water, add about 2 tablespoons of vinegar.  Let them soak for about 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes, dry them on a clean dish towel and pop them into the fryer, fry for about 5 minutes and while they're still pale, remove with a slotted spoon onto a dish lined with paper towels.  Let them sit for 5 minutes, then drop them back into the fryer for another 5 minutes or until golden brown.

In a large bowl, toss the fries with about a tablespoon of vinegar and some sea salt.  If you more vinegar just add more, really you're just doing it to taste.  YUM!

I actually remember that back home they would serve them on waxy white paper and you would open it up and the scent of the vinegar would rise up and tickle your nose.  They're so delicious, give them a try :)

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

I love potatoes, no really, I LOVEEEEEEEEE potatoes, there is just nothing better on earth, as far as I'm concerned.....well maybe chocolate, and wine, but of the tuber kind, yep, it's potatoes all the way.

Now imagine having mashed potatoes but throwing in bacon and cheese and green onions....Ooohhhh.

I first saw this recipe over at "Cooking During Stolen Moments"...I love that blog, I've made quite a few of her recipes and they're always delicious, and simple, which I really like.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

* 2 lbs. potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
* 4 oz. cream cheese
* 1 c. sour cream or 1/2 c. sour cream and 1/2 c. Ranch dressing
* 4-5 slices chopped bacon, cooked
* 2 c. cheese
* 2 t. salt
* 1 t. black pepper
* 1 t. garlic powder
* 2 green onions, thinly sliced

1. Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain and return to pot. Slightly mash potatoes before adding any other ingredients.

2. Add cream cheese, sour cream (or sour cream and ranch), bacon, 1 c. cheese, green onions and the seasonings to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.

3. Transfer the potato mixture to a small casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese. Refrigerate or bake immediately at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

I recently bought the new Trisha Yearwood cookbook "Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood" and after browsing through it just a few minutes, I realized that there is not one single recipe on there that I am not going to try.

It's such a good cookbook, from the easy home cooked meals using ingredients we all have laying around, to the wonderful family stories. Go out and get it if you don't own it yet, it's worth it.

Here's the first recipe I tried, I've made Baked Potatoes before but these were so good. Thumbs up!

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES
Credit: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

6 large baking potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups sour cream
10 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
salt and pepper
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Wash the potatoes and pierce them with a fork. Rub the potatoes with the olive oil and place them on a jellyroll pan or a large cookie sheet with a rim. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, or until done. Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut them in half lengthwise. Set aside. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 F.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the potato flesh into a large electric mixing bowl. Add the milk, butter, sour cream, cheese, garlic salt, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until creamy. Divide the mixture evenly and spoon it back into potato shells. Return the potatoes to the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with the bacon and green onion.

Garlic, Thyme Butter Potatoes

One of the simplest ways to prepare potatoes.  They are so tasty, I can never just have one helping, but then again I am that way with any kind of tater, so I can't just blame these.

Give them a try though, they are so good :)

Garlic, Thyme Butter Potatoes

5 or 6 Medium potatoes, boiled
Butter
Garlic powder
Thyme
Parsley
Salt


Drain the boiled potatoes and place them in a serving bowl.  Using a knife, cut them into bite size pieces.

In a small bowl, add butter (I do about 1/4 cup or more depending on how much I need), garlic powder, thyme and salt.
Pop in the microwave for about a minute or until butter is all melted, stir well and pour over the potatoes.

Mix the potatoes with a spoon being careful not to break them. Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve hot.

Portuguese Roasted Potatoes

Super easy way to make potatoes, perfect to serve with my Portuguese chicken or roast or steaks or whatever you please.

Portuguese Roasted Potatoes

 

5 medium potatoes, cut into small chunks 

salt and pepper 

paprika 

garlic powder 

3 Tbsp. flour 

olive oil 

 

 

Wash and cut the potatoes into small chunks. You can peel them first or leave the skin on, I actually prefer the skin on, makes it tastier to me.

Place in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder, flour and olive oil. Toss everything together to coat well.

Transfer to a baking sheet and bake in a 450 º oven (you can cook them at 375 degrees too if you have the time, I was in a hurry so I needed them done fast LOL) for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Enjoy!

Scalloped Potatoes!

This is one of the family's favorite side dishes, the kids love it, hubby loves and I adore it because I'm a huge potato fan...what can I say, give me fries, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, baked potatoes or whatever potatoes and I'm happy.

Super easy to make and so good!

Scalloped Potatoes

4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Parmesan cheese

Grease a 13 x 9" baking dish. Add a layer of potatoes, salt and pepper to taste and one layer of onions. Repeat with remaining potatoes and onions.



For the last layer, I add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese


and then pour the heavy cream over.


Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and bubbly.


Click the thumbnail below to download the printable recipe card:

Mashed Potatoes and Carrots!

One of my favorite side dishes from my childhood is mashed potatoes with carrots. I don't know if my stepmom did it so that we would eat our veggies without complaining, but whatever the reason it worked. To this day it's one of my favorite things to make with my Chicken Fried Steaks.

It's so so easy, if you can make mashed potatoes, then you can make this.



Start by boiling your potatoes, add in some sliced carrots and some salt.

When the potatoes and carrots are tender, remove them from the pan and into a serving bowl.

I then add 4 tablespoons of butter. You can add as much as you want, really, I've added a LOT more before, but who's checking right? LOL

Next goes in some salt and pepper. I use a potato masher to mash everything up, but I also like throwing it in my food processor and REALLY mooshing it up LOL

Stir in some milk and continue mooshing (LOL I'm sorry but I like that word) until nice and creamy and fluffy.

Mmmmmmmm.........now I am really in the mood for some chicken fried steak and some mashed potatoes with carrots.

Baked Salmon with Garlic Butter Potatoes

For dinner tonight I fixed some Salmon and Potatoes, the kids loved every bite and even asked for more. Jasmine at first turned her nose at the Salmon claiming that she "just don't like fish". I told her to wait until it was ready and to taste it first before deciding.......needless to say she loved it and now says that it's very good.

Enjoy!!!

Baked Salmon

2 lbs Salmon
Garlic powder
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Bay leaf

In a 13 x 9 in. dish drizzle olive oil to coat the bottom. Place your Salmon in the dish and sprinkle with the remaining ingredients. You know me, I eyeball everything so I don't have specific measurements. Turn the Salmon over to coat the other side, drizzle some more olive oil on top of the fish and bake in a 350º F oven for about 25 minutes or until flaky and opaque inside. Do not overcook or it will dry out.

Garlic Butter Potatoes

Red potatoes cut into cubes, with skin on
Half a stick of butter
2 cloves of garlic crushed
Fresh parsley or dry parsley flakes

In a pot boil the potatoes until tender. Remove them to a serving dish and keep warm.

Melt the butter over low heat and add the garlic, stir until well mixed. Pour over the potatoes and toss them around to cover all sides. Sprinkle with fresh parsley or parsley flakes.

This is such an easy and quick way to prepare these potatoes but they're so delicious.

Camping Trips are just around the corner

I see a lot of people starting to gear up for camping trips, I think that after the cold months we're all itching to get out there and enjoy warm weather and fresh air.

To get us all into the Camping Mood, I'm sharing a great recipe that I'm sure you'll all enjoy.

Camping Sausage-Potato Dinner

Ingredients

1 pkg. (32 ox) frozen Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien

1 pkg (16 ox.) small fully-cooked smoked sausage links

3/4 cup ranch salad dressing

1 1/4 cups Kraft Shredded Cheddar & Monterey

3 green onions, sliced

Directions

Preheat grill. Lightly coat four 18x12-inch pieces of heavy foil with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In large bowl combine potatoes, sausage links, and salad dressing. Spoon mixture into centers of foil pieces. Bring up opposite edges of foil and seal with double fold. Fold remaining edges together to completely enclose, leaving space for steam to build.

Place foil packets on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender, turning several times. Carefully open packets. Sprinkle with cheese and green onions. Loosely close packets.

Let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

PORK CHOPS AND POTATOES

So the other day I was saying that I was going to make Pork Chops with potatoes, the portuguese way. Portuguese food is all about the garlic and olive oil and all that yummy stuff......so when it comes to preparing some pork chops or steaks, it's no different. Here is how I make this meal:

PORK CHOPS

4 Pork Chops 1 garlic clove, sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
paprika
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup white wine (use wine that you would drink, the cooking wine is usually really salty and NOT very tasty IMO)

In a bowl combine pork chops, garlic, salt and pepper, paprika, bay leaf and white wine. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight.

If I forget to do it the night before, I marinate it in the morning and let it sit until dinner time.

Drizzle the bottom of the skillet with olive oil. Add the pork chops and fry for about 6 minutes on each side or until done and golden brown.

Remove chops from the skillet, add a little butter or water and using a spatula scrape the bottom and sides of pan to get the drippings. Let it cook for a minute or two until you have a rich brown gravy.........now it's ready for the potatoes to be added.

POTATOES

Potatoes boiled and cubed (I usually do one for each person or two if they're smaller)

Drop potatoes into the skillet where you cooked the pork chops, stir and let them simmer for a few minutes to absorb all the rich gravy you just made.

Serve with the Pork Chops.