Din Din! Part 2

For the most part, I eyeball these mashed potatoes in terms of what goes in. In my opinion, they are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had, so I highly suggest giving them a shot.

All of these ingredients are tenative because I season to taste with everything that goes in, and the measurements are a guesstimate.

Ingredients:
3 large baking potatoes
a couple quarts of water
1/4 c. (or so) mayo
1/2 c. (or so) milk
1/2 c. (or so) butter alternative - I use ICBINB :)
Garlic Salt to taste (maybe a tablespoon?)
Parsley to taste (I would say I used a couple tablespoon's of it)
Parmesan to taste (probably around a half a cup)
Course Ground pepper to taste (mmm... maybe a tablespoon?)

Everybody has their own way of mashing potatoes, so I consider giving directions unneccesary. But for the sake of blogging, I'll go ahead and give an idea of what I do since everybody does it differently :)

1) scrub and peel potatoes. In a large pot, fill halfway with water and heat on med/high.
2) roughly chop potatoes into 2" or so cubes, put into water with a handful of salt.
3) boil them until they are easily run through with a fork.
4) Strain and return to pot. I don't like beating my potatoes with a beater, I MASH MASH MASH them with one of those metal potato masher things to the desired consistency. I prefer for there to be a little texture, myself... One thing is for certain though. A potato masher is a great investment, and cheaper than therapy ;).
5) Add butter subsitute, milk, mayo, parmesan, garlic salt, parsley, and ground pepper a little at a time until flavored to taste and has reached the desired consistency. With mashed potatoes, consistency is a big deal to me if you didn't notice in the previous step. But I always start with the milk, butter sub, and mayo, and I use my potato masher to sort of mash in the ingredients until the texture is light, fluffy, creamy, and hold their shape, then I add everything else. I suggest to be careful with the milk, because it can dilute the potatoes and make them runny.

Nacho Spuds

I also hi-jacked this one off of Celeste's blog: http://www.sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/

But also, this recipe has been floating around the boards on The Nest so I figured it's my turn to try it! As you can see, I couldn't wait to get it in my mouth.

2 large baking potatoes (1.5 pounds total), sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
2 1/2 tbsp. E.V.O.O.
Salt & Pepper
1/2 lb. lean ground beef sirloin
One 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
2 tbsp. taco seasoning
One 8 oz. package shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
Sour cream and shredded lettuce, for serving

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 2 tbsp. olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the beans, taco seasoning, and 2 tbsp. water. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring, until heated through, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the potatoes to an ovenproof platter. Sprinkle half of the cheddar on top, spoon on the meat mixture, then top with the tomatoes and remaining cheddar. Place in the oven and turn off the heat. Let stand until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the sour cream and lettuce.
Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

Holy cow. This recipe is one heck of a man pleaser. I accidentally froze the lettuce, which completely ruined it, so I just served it with sour cream and at the reccomendation of the nesties, Spicy Ranch. As soon as I put it in front of Jason, he inhaled the whole plate in like 5 seconds flat. It actually gave me inspiration to try making some kind of a sauce for it with sour cream, spicy ranch, and maybe a few other things.

How I tweaked the recipe:
I chopped up 1/2 of a medium onion and threw it in with the meat as it started to cook.
I also used a little more evoo than the recipe called for in the skillet, but I didn't put water in with the taco seasoning. It ended up making the beans really, really soft, which fi and I liked.