Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes

School started today for my family.  It's been such a nice break, but it's so great to get back into the swing of things.  Schedules are a good thing! Too many late nights and early mornings (by the kids...not me, I've been sleeping in!) makes for some not-so-much-fun-to-be-around kiddos!:)

 I think I about ate my way into a chocolate coma as well...I did way too much bingeing on sweets.  But the last couple of days I've been craving celery like crazy.  My family thinks that's weird...I think that's my bodies way of counteracting all the crap I've been eating.

These would also do the trick I think.  They are so savory and delicious.  Cook them a little longer to get them nicely browned and crunchy if that's what you like.  We opted for soft, tender potatoes this time, but we like the crunchy ones too.;)  We have another Roasted Red Potatoes recipe that uses an onion soup mix that is also delicious...I really don't know which I like better!

Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes

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1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tablespoons or 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

2 pounds red potatoes

Wash potatoes well.  Cut into 1 inch pieces.  Place in a large bowl with a lid or a large ziplock baggie.  Drizzle the oil over potatoes and add the ranch dressing mix.  Place lid on bowl (or zip baggie shut) and shake until potatoes are evenly covered.

Transfer potatoes to an ungreased baking pan.  They look so pretty!

Bake at 450 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until they are tender and browned.

Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

We're home from our vacation.  It was a simple and wonderful one this year.  We had spent so much money this year already on travel (Kentucky for my Grandma's funeral & Tennessee with my 2 boys for their DI competition) that we weren't able to do anything extremely expensive.  So, we ended up just spending a week at my husbands families home & then a week down at my family's cabin.  IT WAS WONDERFUL!!  I'll take that kind of vacation anytime!  Actually we do that almost every summer...we were just able to spend more time at the cabin than we usually do.  It was so nice to to worry about blogging, facebook, pinterest, and all things electronic!  What a nice break!  (my husband liked that break too...he says I spend way too much time on the computer anyway!:))

But we're home now and going to get back into getting you fabulous recipes all week long!

This is one of our favorites and I don't make it near often enough for our liking!!:)

Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

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8 potatoes, washed

1 cup butter, sliced into pieces

1 cup real bacon pieces (fry your own or buy it from the store)

1 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus 1/2 cup for topping

pepper to taste

1 green onion, sliced

Wash potatoes well with skins on.  Place potatoes in 400 degree oven without covering them in tinfoil, just the plain ol' potato all by itself.  This will help the skins hold their shape after they are hollowed out.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. 

Just before they are ready to be removed from the oven, place butter, bacon, and sour cream in a large mixing bowl.  When the potatoes are finished, cut them in half lengthwise (use a towel to hold the potato while you are doing this...they are extremely hot!) and using a large spoon scoop the insides into the bowl with the butter, bacon and sour cream.  Don't scrape the potato all the way to the skin, leave a little bit of potato there to help hold it's shape.

Place hollowed out potatoes on a baking sheet.

Mash potatoes until desired consistency.  I like them a little chunky, but you can mash them smooth if that's your preference.  Add the seasoned salt, 1 cup of cheddar, and pepper, and mix.  Add the green onion and mix.

Fill each potato skin with mashed potatoes.  Sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

This was the "TO DIE FOR" potato salad that was served for Father's Day at our house.  I must have heard that phrase a bazillion times during dinner from my Eli.  If you haven't guessed yet....he really liked it!:)  As did the rest of the family.  It was a big hit!  We served it with Hawaiian Beef and creamed corn (recipe to come later this week).   It was a "TO DIE FOR" dinner!!

As long as you remember to bake your potatoes ahead of time, this salad is so quick!  I always hate potato salads because you have to wait for the potatoes to cool to eat (unless you like warm potato salad...GROSS...hope I didn't offend anyone!:)), but in this one they are already cooked so you can just throw everything together and it's ready to go!

And it's "TO DIE FOR!!!"

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Recipe from Mels Kitchen Cafe

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4-5 large russet potatoes, baked, cooled & chilled

3/4 cup mayonnaise (can use light)

1/2 cup sour cream (can use light)

4 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed small

4 green onions, thinly sliced

8-10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Slice the chilled, baked potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces.  (You can peel them if you'd like, but we really liked it with the skins on...and it's less work!)  Place them in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl combine the mayo, sour cream and buttermilk.  Add the celery seeds, salt & pepper and mix in.  Pour over the potatoes and carefully stir to combine (you don't want a mashed potato salad). 

Add the cheese, onions, and bacon and mix gently to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Have you ever been asked the question, "If you could only have 1 food for the rest of your life, what would it be?"  I have, and my answer has always been "potatoes".  But I'm going to change my answer to not just potatoes, but THESE potatoes!

I started making potatoes for our Thanksgiving meal and since I'm a wimp and don't really like mashing the potatoes I called in Tony (the hubby) to help me out.  (Chivalry is not dead!:))  In the process of mashing he added some "stuff" and boy was it some good "stuff"!!  I had to have him tell me in detail what he did so I could share these awesome potatoes with all of you!  The few little things he added really took these to over-the-top delicious status!  He's hired from here on out!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

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About 5 pounds or so of potatoes

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese

1-2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and cut potatoes into 1" cubes.  Place in a large pot and cover the potatoes with water by about an inch or 2.  Bring to a boil and then time potatoes for about 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain water.  Put butter and cream cheese into a large bowl and then pour hot drained potatoes on top.  Mash potatoes until most of the lumps are mashed.  Add the whipping cream and mash until nice and smooth.  Add the Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper to taste and mix in. 

These are wonderful just plain like this...I even found myself sneaking into the leftovers and just eating them cold right out of the Tupperware!  They just call my name!:)

  They can be served with gravy and are really good that way too...you really can't go wrong with these!

Skillet Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

My family LOVES potatoes. It's nice to find another way of making them other than mashed! I love scalloped potatoes but never think to make them until it's too late to because they usually have to bake in the over FOREVER!! Well, I found this recipe where you just make them in your skillet. It was so much faster and they were still super delicious!

Skillet Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

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4 medium potatoes, pelled and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk

2 to 3 tablespoons onion soup mix (I think 2 is enough)

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I used 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley)

1 cup velveeta cheese, cubed or 1 cups grated cheddar cheese (I opted for the grated cheddar)

1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

In a large skillet, cook potatoes in butter until potatoes are lightly browned. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 14-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the milk, soup mix and parsley; then stir in the cheese. Pour over potatoes. Add the ham. Cook and stir gently over medium heat until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

PW's Potato Salad

I absolutely LOVE this potato salad recipe. It was the most perfect potato salad...and perfect for this time of year! I changed a few things to my families liking and it turned out perfect!

PW's Potato Salad

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman
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Ingredients

5 pounds Russet Potatoes (about 8 Medium Russets)

1-½ cup Real Mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip...I used Miracle Whip because my family likes it...PW does NOT!:))

4 Tablespoons Prepared Mustard (regular, Dijon Or A Mixture Of Both)...I used a mixture.

5 whole Green Onions (sliced Up To The Darkest Green Part)

8 whole Small Sweet Pickles (may Use Dill If That's More Up Your Alley)I used Dill.

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (more To Taste)

½ teaspoons Paprika

½ teaspoons Black Pepper

4 whole Hard Boiled Eggs

Preparation Instructions

Cut potatoes in halves or thirds, then boil until fork tender. Drain. Mash potatoes or run them through a ricer or food mill to make them extra fluffy. (I just cut my potatoes into bite size pieces and boiled them for about 20 minutes and then drained and just used them like that and it was perfect!) Fold potatoes together with mayonnaise, mustard, green onions, salt, pepper, and other seasonings you like. Fold in pickles and eggs, then taste for seasonings, adding more salt, mustard, or mayo as needed. You may also splash in juice from the pickle jar if salad needs a little moisture.

This is a must try recipe!!

Roasted Red Potatoes

I know everyone probably already has a recipe like this, but I just LOVE these...and so does Tony & the kiddo's! It's SO easy too.

Roasted Red Potatoes

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1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wash and dice red potatoes into bite size pieces. Just cut as many as your family will eat. We usually do about 3-4 pounds of potatoes, that way Tony has some leftovers to take for lunch the next day.

3. Place in a big enough bowl to toss (preferably with a lid), and drizzle with some olive oil. You don't need too much, I use maybe 1/4 cup for all those potatoes.

4. Then add a packet of onion soup mix. I usually just always use 1 full packet. Sometimes this flavor is stronger than other times just depending on how many potatoes I decided to do, so if you like a stronger flavor you might want to either cut back on the potatoes or use more soup mix.

5. If you have a lid for your bowl put it on and shake the bowl until the potatoes are coated really well. If not, just use a large spoon to stir it all together. You could also use a large baggie with a ziplock to shake if you're not making a whole lot.

6. Pour potatoes onto a large cookie sheet and spread into a single layer. (I also usually spray some cooking oil on the sheet before I put the potatoes on...you probably don't need to do this as they are already coated in oil, but it seems to help them from sticking to the pan for me.)

7. Put in the oven and cook them for about 45-50 minutes or until they are tender when stabbed with a fork!:)

They are now ready to enjoy. My kiddo's like them with ketchup, but I think they're just as good plain.