Mustard & Thyme Potato Salad

I came home tonight, took off my shoes and started going through the mail when I remember I was suppose to bring home milk. Dang it. Back out I went. I came home for the second time when my phone rings. I’m chatting away. Then Haillie brings down her laptop to show me her artwork for the school’s upcoming musical. Which turns into us watching “A Christmas Story”. A quarter after five I remember I was suppose to make potato salad for dinner. Duh! I didn’t have the 45 minutes necessary for the potatoes. My microwave and it’s baked potato button saved the day. These were delish but next time I will go lighter with the red wine vinegar.
If you haven’t done it yet make sure you enter the giveaway for this cookbook. –>Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Giveaway<--

Recipe from Gooseberry Patch 101 Soups, Salads & Sandwiches.
Ingredients
2 baking potatoes
1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar, divided
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
pepper to taste
Garnish: 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Directions
Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 F for 45 minutes, or until tender. When still warm but cool enough to handle, remove and discard skins. Cut into bite-size pieces. Transfer potatoes to a medium glass bowl. While potatoes are still warm, lightly drizzle with vinegar. Fold potatoes over and lightly drizzle again. Gently fold once more; set aside. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, thyme and pepper. Pour over potatoes. fold until evenly coated. Transfer to a serving bowl; garnish with thyme. Serve warm or chilled. Serves 4 to 6.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Feeders of finicky eaters beware. I couldn’t even get my finicky eater to try her potato. Which by the way was delicious. She complained about the skin. I assured her she didn’t have to eat the skin. She inquired why was the skin there if she didn’t have to eat. I told her to think of it as a bowl. Then she questioned why didn’t I just use a bowl? *omg* I hate dinner time.

Recipe from All Recipes
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Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
1/2 pound bacon
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dry bread crumbs
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Use a fork to pierce the potato skins.
Bake the potatoes unwrapped for about 1 hour, or until soft, in the preheated oven.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
Over medium-low heat melt the butter in a large saucepan. Combine onion, mushrooms, red pepper, garlic powder, pepper, chives and salt. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft.
Slice open the baked potatoes and, keeping the skins intact, scoop the insides into a medium bowl. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl. Mix in the sour cream. Pour in 1/2 of the cheese and continue mixing until all ingredients are well blended.
Using a large spoon, fill the potato skins with the mixture. Top with bread crumbs, the remaining cheese and bacon.
Return the potatoes to the preheated oven and continue baking for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the filling is slightly brown.

Buttery Roasted Potatoes

Yeah for a Saturday with my family. Boo for this snow/icy weather that cancelled our day of drywall hanging. Grrr. We spent the day hanging out on the couch watching movies and eating pizza. Then for dinner I made the simplest and yummiest potatoes. I broke down and bought a cast iron pan. I have been wanting to buy one for some time but my OCD was holding me back. I tend to over clean and the idea that you can’t use soapy water to scrub the pan clean grossed me out. I can be such an odd ball. Needless to say the pan looks pretty clean even after having a few potatoes stuck to it. I did sprinkle some minced garlic over the potatoes before they went in the oven. Love me some garlic.

Recipe from Gooseberry Patch Celebrate ‘Year Round
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Ingredients
1 lb gold potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
1 lb red potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
4 tbsp butter, diced
2 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 ⁰F. Place potatoes in a large cast iron skillet and add hot water about 1/4” deep. Scatter diced butter and salt over potatoes; stir. Bake, uncovered for about one hour, until potatoes are light golden and water has evaporated.

Garlic Oven Fries

*omg* My thighs! Abby joined me for my morning yoga video today. She was hilariously unflexible but amazingly determined. After she left for school I had to take Mocha to the groomers and back home for the kettlebell. Otherwise known as a mid-evil torture device. I am using muscles that the treadmill doesn't even touch. It hurts to walk!
I prepped these ahead of time and put them in a ziploc bag in fridge. I wanted them to soak up the garlic. I doubled the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic plus one teaspoon onion powder. The one thing I will do different next time is to drain the olive oil off prior to pouring the potato mixture onto the baking sheet. Some on my taters were mushy. They tasted delish!

Recipe found in Gooseberry Patch Taste of Autumn.
Ingredients
4 baking potatoes
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 tbsp minced garlic
Directions
Scrub and rinse potatoes will; cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch wide slices. Place in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Arrange potato slices on an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400 ⁰F until potatoes are golden on the bottom, about 30 minutes. Turn over and continue baking until golden all over, another 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.