Garlic and Basil Smashed Potatoes with Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese

p7161131_edit_small

I love mashed potatoes. And what’s so great is that they are one of the cheapest dishes to make!! While they are often loaded with things that aren’t so nutritious, there ARE ways to make mashed potatoes delicious while limiting those not so good things. But that doesn’t mean you have to take out the sour cream, cheese and butter (I agree – these ingredients are what make this dish a “comfort food”!!). That just means you add less or a lower fat version of those ingredients. Also, serving them with steamed veggies (raw carrots, frozen peas and frozen corn are cheap!) is a good way to compliment some extra “good stuff” with them.

The other great thing I love about mashed potatoes is that there’s not “one” recipe out there. The other day, I didn’t have many of the “usual” ingredients that make up mashed potatoes. So I just made up a recipe based on what I had. They were pretty good if you ask me!


Garlic and Basil Smashed Potatoes with Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese
Print
What I used
  1. 5 cups potatoes, sliced 1/4-1/2 inch thickness
  2. 1/2 stick unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
  3. A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn with fingers
  4. 1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
  5. 1-1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomato herb cheese from Sweet Valley Cheese Farm (or any kind you'd like!)
  6. Generous dashes of black pepper or crushed peppercorns
  7. (I would have added 3-5 TBS of 1% or 2% milk if I'd had it - this would have made the potatoes creamier)
How I made it
  1. 1. In a medium pot, I boiled potatoes about 30 minutes, til they began crumbling in the water. (Turned the heat down a bit if the water is was consistently boiling over.)
  2. 2. Carefully poured these potatoes in a colander in the sink to drain. Kept potatoes in the colander for a few minutes.
  3. 3. Put pot back on stove (without potatoes). Placed butter, garlic and basil in the pot; sautéed them on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stirred occasionally to make sure garlic didn't burn.
  4. 4. Added the potatoes, pepper and cheese to pot. Mixed until cheese melted. A potato masher or pastry cutter works pretty well to Smash them :)
  5. *Notice I didn't add salt because the cheese is so flavorful.*
Oh My Foodness! http://oh-my-foodness.com/
 
Tastes lovely aside steamed veggies (broccoli, corn, carrots, or kale), tuna or salmon patties, burgers, and meatloaf !

Stores in fridge for up to a week or two; freezes in small amounts if needed. To reheat potatoes, warm with milk (to revive creamy-ness) on a 70% power in the microwave or on LOW on the stovetop.

Like it? Share it!Pin on Pinterest0Share on Facebook0Tweet about this on Twitter0Share on TumblrEmail this to someonePrint this page

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.