Don’t you just love potatoes?! If so, you can use this recipe to elevate mashed potatoes to a new level or transform leftovers.
Potatoes are one of my all-time favorites foods. It doesn’t really matter how they are prepared—mashed, baked, fried, skins, hash browns, or any other way—they are just a great comforting food! That means that I don’t often have leftover potatoes. But on that rare occasion when I do, I have tried a few different options for transforming the leftovers into something new and tasty.
My mom’s go-to makeover for mashed potatoes was potato pancakes, which I have happily copied on many occasions. On the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas, if we had leftover mashed potatoes, mom would mix a beaten egg and a sprinkle of flour into the potatoes. Then she would form little patties about 3 inches in diameter and 1/2 an inch thick. She placed these patties in a frying pan with a little oil or butter. Then we just had to wait while the exterior developed a crunchy brown crust but the middle got warm and smooth like the original mashed potatoes. I must say that looking forward to Mom’s potato pancakes made me hope for leftovers!
But recently, I had a lot of mashed potatoes left from a dinner, so I decided to try something a little different. The result will remind you of twice-baked potatoes without the potato skins. I fried a few slices of bacon and crumbled them. Then I cut some broccoli into small pieces and cooked the broccoli until it was just barely tender. Of course, potatoes need cheese, so I shredded a generous portion of cheddar, but you can use any of your favorite cheeses. Then taking from mom’s playbook, I added a beaten egg to the potatoes, along with some additional melted butter and milk. You also could add some sour cream or buttermilk if you want to add a little tanginess. Now it was time to combine the potatoes with the bacon, broccoli, and cheese and transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish. After about 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven, we a beautiful potato dish that would be perfect as a Thanksgiving side dish or just as a makeover for your leftovers the next day.
As a side note, you can skip adding the egg. The potatoes would have held together fine without it. Also, it is hard to give precise measurements for the amount of bacon, broccoli, cheddar, milk, and butter because it will depend on amount of potatoes you have. While putting this together, I just thought of a baked potato and the amount of “mix-ins” I like, which is a lot. Then I made sure to add enough milk and butter so the potatoes would not dry out too much while baking. But next time I make this, I will measure my potatoes and provide an update with some guidelines on the measurements for the “mix-ins.”
What is your favorite makeover for mashed potatoes?
© 2014 FoodieOasis
