Thursday, March 2, 2023

The BEST Mashed Potatoes (and some meal ideas)

 If you have meat and potato lovers in your house like I do today is your day.  I don't have any pretty pictures but what I do have is a couple of meal ideas that will fill them up and give you enough leftovers that you can send two growing boys off to school the next day with something that will be the envy of their lunch table ;) 

MASHED POTATOES

What You'll need
- 5 lb bag russet potatoes
- 1 block cream cheese
- 1.5 sticks of butter
- 1/2 cup half and half
- seasoned salt
- pepper

What You'll Do
- Peel and chop the potatoes into smallish pieces.  Put them into a pot of water, put the pot on stove and bring to a rolling boil.  Boil them until they're "fork tender" meaning the side of your fork will slide right through them but they don't fall apart.  I don't have a set time because it depends on how small you dice your potatoes but just keep an eye on them.

- Drain the potatoes and once all the water is out put them back in the pot and mash them with a potato masher.  Let most/all of the steam escape and them add in your cream cheese, butter and half and half.  MASH AWAY until they're smooth and creamy and there area as many or as few chunks as you like.  Sprinkle in some seasoned salt (Lawry's) and then serve them straight from the pot OR if you've got other things on the go you can put them in an oven-safe serving dish and pop them in the oven (uncovered) at 350 for 30 minutes or so to get them kind of golden brown on the top. 




So the first meal idea is to make  this french dip recipe and then thicken up the au jus a little bit to make it more of a gravy consistency.  I cooked everything like normal and then strained off some of the au jus into a small sauce pan, got it boiling and then made a corn starch slurry (about a tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl mixed with about a tablespoon of cold water) and whisked that into the au jus to thicken it. 

MY FAMILY LOVED THIS!!!  They piled the meat on top of the potatoes and slathered on the "gravy" and everyone raved!


My next go-to are the mashed potatoes served along sisde meatloaf. I feel confident in saying that my kids favorite meal of all time is meatloaf.  They request is weekly and I try to spread it out a bit but it's so simple and yummy and makes everyone happy so it's not too hard to get my to oblige.

I realize this picture does not look super great BUT how can you really make meatloaf look super pretty?  If you know how, tell me your ways!  Good news is it tastes delicious!!!

 

What You'll Need...
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
- two eggs
- handful of rolled oats (I know this sounds weird)
- Worcestershire sauce
- salt/pepper

What You'll Do...
In a giant bowl combine the ground beef, milk , bread crumbs, a handful of rolled oats, a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, two eggs and a few pinches of salt and pepper.  Use your hands to combine everything thoroughly and then put it into a loaf pan.  Press it down in there really well and then bake it at 350 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes.  Let it rest for a few mins and then you can pour off the excess fat, cut and serve.

Again - it doesn't look like anything special but it's easy to put together, gives you some time after you pop it in the oven to prep your side(s) and tastes even better the next day.  If you try it eat one of the end pieces and let me know what you think!






3 comments :

  1. Have you ever made bacon cheeseburger meatloaf? That is a huge hit in our house over plain meatloaf.

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  2. My family loves meatloaf too! Try serving it with this "secret sauce" next time- so delicious!
    Combine 1/2 C ketchup, 1/3 C brown sugar, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Heat it up and drizzle it on the meatloaf, or dip your meatloaf in it. It elevates the whole experience! ;)

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