Grilled Potato Slices

When I made hamburgers a couple weeks ago, I was scrambling at the last minute, trying to come up with something to serve as a side.  It's been hot and I've been trying to cook as little as possible in the kitchen, so oven fries were out of the question.  However, I had some potatoes that had to be used, so I started brainstorming and decided to experiment a little bit.  I'm glad I did, because the results were actually quite tasty!  I had never heard of grilling sliced potatoes, but I figured I'd give it a try anyway!

Grilled Potato Slices
Potatoes
Canola oil (or other vegetable oil, preferably not olive oil)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Paprika
Cayenne

Slice potatoes lengthwise into thin slices.  Drizzle with oil and rub to cover both sides of the potatoes.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and just a tiny bit of cayenne to taste.

Place potatoes directly onto a preheated grill over medium heat.  Grill until the first side is golden brown and crispy; then flip and grill until the potatoes are crispy and cooked through.

Serve immediately.

Parmesan Baked Potatoes

A while ago I posted this recipe for parmesan baked potatoes on The Frugal Find.  It was such a hit there that I had to share it here on Near to Nothing.  Potatoes are a great way to stretch your grocery budget—they are filling and versatile!  And this recipe is so easy that Keanna can put it together.  I just help her with the oven.

There are many different types of potatoes, but the most common in my area are Russet (baking) potatoes, red potatoes, white potatoes, and Yukon gold potatoes.  Russets are by far the most inexpensive, though the others offer more depth of flavor.

I bought these 10-pound bags of potatoes for $1.99
each at Safeway a while ago.  I can never have too
many potatoes on hand!

Thanks to America’s affinity for French fries and potato chips, potatoes have really gotten a bad rap.  But potatoes are actually very nutritious.  One raw medium (~7.5 oz.) potato provides 4 grams protein, 5 grams dietary fiber, 70% daily vitamin C, 31% daily B6, and 26% daily potassium along with loads of other vitamins and minerals (see complete breakdown here).  The key to getting all these nutrients is to eat the skin, which contains a lot of the healthy components.  So to get the most nutrition for your money, don’t peel your potatoes.

Of course, the cooking method can also affect the final nutritional value of potatoes.  Remember:  more heat=more nutrient loss and more water=more nutrient loss.  With this in mind, the healthiest way to eat a potato is raw.  While not appealing to most people, it is perfectly fine to eat raw potatoes (see note at end).  In fact, April loves to eat raw potatoes!  On a side note to you moms, this is a great way to occupy your little ones while you’re trying to cook—the potato keeps April busy for quite a while, but since she doesn’t have all her teeth, she doesn’t actually end up eating very much of it.

A potato for my sweet potato!

Yummy!

For those like me who like their potatoes cooked, there are so many options!  I can’t possibly dive into all of them today so I’m going to focus on the methods that require the addition of oil, since that seems to be America’s favorite way to eat them.

French fries and potato chips are deep fried; and, frankly, that’s what makes them taste so good!  When deep frying potatoes at home, always make sure your oil is clean, you maintain the proper temperature, and you let the finished potatoes drain a bit after cooking.  Keep in mind that the more surface area there is, the more oil will be added during the frying process.  So one pound of steak fries is healthier than one pound of shoestring potatoes.

Sautéing is a much healthier option to deep frying.  You still need to oil the pan, but a lot less oil is used.

A third option is oven-frying.  This basically means baking potatoes in the oven but adding some fat to get some caramelization and crispiness.  The amount of fat can vary greatly from a spritz of non-stick spray to a layer of fat on the bottom of the pan.

A while ago I found this great recipe for parmesan baked potatoes in our church cookbook and have been making them like crazy!  Of course, they do have added fat in the butter and the parmesan, but they are so delicious and so easy with minimal active prep time!  And the amount of fat can be altered to your preference simply by reducing the amount of butter and parmesan.

An added bonus to this recipe is that you can freeze the baked potatoes and reheat them in the oven at a later time!

Parmesan Baked Potatoes

6 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

¾ tsp. salt (more or less to taste)

½ tsp. garlic powder (more or less to taste)

Few dashes pepper

About 6 medium Russet potatoes, washed and halved length-wise (any type of potato will work)

Preheat oven to 375 for a clear pan or 400 for any other.  Place butter in 9”X13” baking dish; cut into small pieces.  Place dish in oven as it is heating to melt butter (DON’T LET IT BURN!); remove from oven.

Melted, but not browned.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, and pepper over melted butter.

Place potatoes in dish, cut-side down.  Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes or until tender.

Delicious!!

To freeze, let potatoes cool completely.  Place on rimmed baking sheet.  Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours.  Transfer to gallon zip-top bag.

To reheat, bake, cut-side up in preheated 350° oven for about 20 minutes.  Reheating time will vary depending on type and size of potatoes.

Note:  Green potatoes can contain a higher concentration of solanine, a toxin found in trace amounts in normal potatoes.  The amount of solanine even in a green potato is not likely to cause problems, but for safety’s sake, any potatoes that are green should be discarded.  See the Snopes.com article here and the NIH information here.

Healthy(er) Twice Baked Potatoes

Confession: I have never made twice baked potatoes before...that is, until last week.  I think the reason I had never made them was because I knew they were basically calories in a potato skin.  Most twice baked potatoes recipes call for butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese, and some even call for cream cheese on top of all that!  I don't know about you, but my waistline cannot handle all that!  A lightbulb came on, though, and I figured I would try to create a healthier version of them.

I started brainstorming ideas and came up with something that worked.  I know that people often use mashed cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes, so I decided to try to add some cauliflower.  I didn't replace the potatoes, I simply supplemented the potatoes with cauliflower.  Instead of using sour cream, I used nonfat Greek yogurt, which we've been using for the last few months.  It's typically more expensive than sour cream, but with sales and coupons, you can occasionally find it for the same or less than sour cream.  I prefer Fage, but any brand of plain Greek yogurt will do.  I also replaced the butter with olive oil and the bacon with chicken.

A note on pureeing the cauliflower.  I steamed it longer than I normally would if I were to just eat it.  I wanted it to be pretty soft so that we wouldn't come across chunks of cauliflower as we were eating.  Once it was soft, I put it in my food processor and pureed until smooth.

The amounts of ingredients listed below are what I used for our preferences and the size potatoes I had.  This is one of those taste-and-season-as-you-go type of recipes.

Healthy(er) Twice Baked Potatoes
2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes (I used 6 medium)
1 cup pureed cauliflower
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 small bulb roasted garlic, smashed
1/2 cup cooked and cubed chicken (optional)
1/4-1/2 cup steamed and chopped broccoli
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350.

Pierce potatoes a few times with a knife or fork.  Place potatoes directly onto the oven racks (I lay a piece of foil on the rack below them to catch any drippings).  To save time, I roasted the garlic and baked the potatoes at the same time.  Bake for an 60 to 90 minutes, or until potatoes are tender on the inside.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthwise.  Carefully scoop out the inside of each potato half, leaving a thin layer so the skins don't rip or break.  Place the insides in a bowl and mash.  Add Greek yogurt, pureed cauliflower, and roasted garlic; mix well.  Add chicken, broccoli, green onion, and 1/4 cup cheddar.  Mix well; add salt and pepper to taste.  After tasting adjust other ingredients as needed.  Sprinkle potatoes with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar; and place them on a baking sheet.  Return to oven for 20 minutes.

Notice, I left some of the insides in the skin for support.

The filling.

Sorry for the white-washed photo, but this is the finished product.

Mashed Potato Soup

 A few weeks ago I was blessed with the chance to spend some time with a couple of my college roommates.  It was so great to see them and catch up on life!  My junior-year roommate HeidiMichelle treated us all to a wonderful dinner of potato soup.  It was so delicious!  Some day in the future I will definitely have to blog it.  As she was telling me how she makes it, I was reminded of a soup I have made on occasion but have not yet posted—mashed potato soup.

While HeidiMichelle’s soup starts with fresh potatoes, I start this one with leftover mashed potatoes.  Consequently, there is no real recipe as your seasonings will depend on the mashed potatoes with which you start.  I started with a version of my Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, so I didn’t need a lot of extra seasoning.

If your mashed potatoes are really stiff like mine, you’ll want to put a little water in the bottom of the pot as you reheat them so they are less likely to burn.

I used frozen broccoli cuts.  Chopped broccoli would have been a little better for bite-sized pieces, but I was just using what I had on hand.  You can also use leftover sautéed broccoli or fresh broccoli that has been steamed.

If you want to include meat, bacon, sausage, or ham would work.  I used leftover ham, and it was excellent!!  You can also use the meat as a topping to stretch it (like I did here).  To make meatless mashed potato soup, simply omit the meat.

One important key to making this soup is to make sure you don’t let it boil after you’ve added the milk.  You don’t want the milk to curdle.  Of course, with my four kids running around and needing my attention, I often accidentally let it go to a slow boil.  It still tastes good, just doesn’t look as pretty.

Mashed Potato Soup

Water

Leftover mashed potatoes

Broccoli, leftover sautéed, frozen chopped, or fresh cut and cooked

Ham, bacon, or sausage, cooked and diced or chopped

Shredded cheese, cheddar or cheddar/jack blend

Milk

Salt and pepper, if necessary

Cover bottom of medium or large pan with water.  Add mashed potatoes.

Heat over medium, stirring often until water is incorporated and potatoes are thinned down and hot.  Stir in broccoli and ham.  Continue to heat until broccoli is no longer frozen.

Add a large handful or two of cheese; stir until melted.  Add milk, stirring thoroughly until desired consistency.

The soup will thicken as it cooks and sits.  Take care not to let the soup boil.  Add salt and pepper if needed.

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes

I have a Thanksgiving confession:  I could do without the turkey.  It’s not that I don’t like turkey, because I do enjoy it.  But I’d rather fill my plate with the side dishes.  I just love stuffing, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes!

We are not hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, so we are only providing one dish.  I asked Robbie which of my classic Thanksgiving dishes he wanted me to make, and he requested my mashed potatoes.  My goal when making mashed potatoes is to make them so flavorful that no butter or gravy is needed.

These really are Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and not everyday mashed potatoes.  A lot of the flavor comes from butter, cream cheese, and sour cream, and never the low-fat or fat-free versions.  And I never add milk.  Yummy, but not the healthiest.

I always use Russets.  Not only are they the cheapest potatoes, but the mealiness produces a great texture in the finished product.  I leave the skins on (adds a little more nutritive value), but feel free to peel them.

If I plan ahead, I like to use roasted garlic.  If I don’t have any garlic roasted ahead of time, I use fresh garlic.  Sometimes when I’m really pressed for time or out of fresh garlic, I use garlic powder.

Fresh chives definitely contribute better flavor than dried chives, but they are expensive.  I have garlic chives growing in my herb garden so I just go out and snip them fresh.

Regardless of what kind of garlic or chives you use, the absolute key to really good mashed potatoes is to taste as you go.  It actually kind of frightens me to put this recipe in writing, because I always make my mashed potatoes by the taste-and-adjust method.  And remember, you can always add more, you can’t take away, so start out conservatively and add in small increments.

Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes

about 3 lb. Russet potatoes

½ c. butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

about ½ c. sour cream

about 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced, or 6 large cloves roasted garlic, or ½ Tbsp. garlic powder

½ Tbsp. salt, more or less to taste

½ tsp. pepper, more or less to taste

1-2 Tbsp. chives

Wash and peel potatoes if desired.  Cut potatoes into chunks.  Boil until tender; drain.  Place butter and cream cheese in same pot while it is still hot.  Pour potatoes back into pot.

Add sour cream, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Mash with potato masher until desired texture.

Stir in chives.  Taste and make necessary adjustments, adding more sour cream for a thinner consistency.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Fall weather is finally here!!  It’s officially been fall for over a month, but until today, I’ve still been sending my kids to school in shorts.  Not only was it cold today (by Bay Area standards anyway), but it rained!  I thought it would be appropriate to welcome the autumn weather with a soup post.

One of my favorite types of soup it chowder!  Unfortunately, I don’t like clams, so clam chowder is usually out of the question.  I do enjoy a sourdough bread bowl full of it on the rare occasions that we go to San Francisco or Monterrey, but only after tasting each one and finding the least clammy variety.

Some chowders call for cream or half and half.  I just use milk in mine because I always have it on hand.  If you want a richer chowder, feel free to reduce the amount of milk and add one of the other richer dairy products.  You can also choose to substitute water for some of the milk if you want it less milky.

A word of caution:  milk burns easily and it foams up.  As a matter of fact, I have a baking soda paste in the bottom of my pot right now to remove the scorched milk.  Avoid turning the heat up too high, and be sure to stir often.  Also, use a pot with enough room to allow for some foaming—I used a 3-quart and it was too small.  Milk that foams over and burns onto the stovetop is one of the worst messes to clean up.

Beware of foam!

Rather than using a roux to thicken it, I like to use the starch from the potatoes.  To do this, I simply shred one of the potatoes on my cheese grater.  The small pieces release their starch and basically turn to mush, thickening the soup.

Grated potatoes will oxidize quickly.  Don't worry about it.

Another way you can thicken the soup is to omit the shredded potato and use the mashed insides of a baked potato.  If you do this, don’t add it until after the diced potatoes have cooked.  This is an ideal way to use leftovers.  Serve roast chicken and potatoes one night; make chicken corn chowder the next!

Want a meatless version?  Simply omit the chicken and you still have a delicious corn chowder.  Vegetarian?  Replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable bouillon.

Chicken Corn Chowder

1-2 Tbsp. butter, oil, or bacon drippings

½ large onion, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1 carrot, sliced

6 c. milk (or milk plus water to equal 6 c.)

2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon

3 russet potatoes, 2 diced, 1 grated or baked and mashed

1 lb. frozen corn

1½ c. cooked, diced chicken

Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil, butter, or drippings in large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, and carrot; sauté until onions are soft and translucent.

Add milk (and water if using), bouillon, and diced and grated potatoes.

Simmer on medium to medium-high until potatoes are soft, stirring often.  If using a mashed potato, stir it in now.  Add corn and chicken; heat through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I served this with homemade focaccia bread—so yummy!!  Robbie just told me he could eat a whole loaf in one sitting.  I’ll have to post that one later.

Breakfast Burritos Revisited

We will occasionally be revisiting some of our previously posted recipes with updates and things we have changed.  Part of the reason for doing this is to introduce some of our newer readers to our earlier posts, but one of the main reasons is to show that recipes don't need to be followed exactly.  At least most of them don't.  With cooking, you can be creative and make adjustments to create new flavor combinations and make old recipes new and exciting again.  I don't have measurements for this "recipe," but I just want to show you how you can easily spice up or alter a recipe.

Back at the beginning of Near to Nothing, I wrote a post about potatoes, which featured a recipe for breakfast burritos.  We got tired of eating these, so we hadn't had them for a long time.  I decided to make them again, but made a few changes to the recipe, using different ingredients I already had on hand.  You can find the original recipe here. 

And now, for the changes I made this time:

• Potatoes: I used garlic powder, salt, and pepper as the recipe calls for, but I also added a little bit of cumin and some chili powder to kick up the flavor a bit.

• Onions and Green Bell Peppers: I sauteed them with some chopped fresh tomatoes, minced garlic, and chopped green chiles.  

• Sausage: I left it out completely.
• Black Beans: I added black beans.

They are just small changes, but can liven up a recipe.  We encourage you to try different things and to even stray away from recipes if you're feeling adventurous!