Tacos de Papa (Potato Tacos)

I've been on a little vegan kick for a while and with that I have had the opportunity to experiment with all interesting kinds of recipes. Now I am not doing this whole vegan thing because I am an animal rights activist or extremist in any way. I am more doing it for my own health and wellness. Just trying to get more fruits and veggies in me, that's all!

Anywho, I came across this recipe and I just had to try it. I LOVE both Mexican food and potatoes so I thought this was going to be a perfect combo... and it was! This was my first time EVER making or eating potato tacos and let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised. They exceeded my expectations and I will definitely be making these again. These tacos are really filling and flavorful. The veggie mixture is so delicious that you forget that these tacos are meat free!

Ingredients

5 small-medium size russet potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1-2 onions, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon basil

1-2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on taste, I think I might even usually add more)

Corn topping (recipe below)

Fresh avocado, diced

Corn tortillas

Directions

Preheat oven to 420 degrees.

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss until vegetables are well coated with the oil and seasonings.

Pour the vegetable mixture into a 9x13 baking dish (I always add a little cooking spray to the dish even though the veggies are coated with oil).

Bake for 40-60 minutes, depending on your oven and how coarsely chopped your veggies are, stirring your veggies every 20 minutes.

Using a large skillet or griddle warm up the tortillas (about 15 seconds each side).

To assemble the tacos first place the potato mixture on the tortilla, corn topping and then add the diced avocado on top.

Corn Topping

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

8 oz fresh or frozen white corn

4 oz can diced green chiles

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet and saute the rest of the ingredients until heated trough (about 5 minutes).

Glorious Mashed Potatoes

The title and picture says it all! By far, this is my absolute favorite mashed potato recipe TO DATE (and I eat A LOT of potatoes)! The best part is that there is no need for gravy...they are THAT good! Mmmmm! I served this glorious side dish during our Sunday dinner of roasted garlic chicken, green garden salad, french bread, and warm peanut butter jumbo cookies with milk for dessert. Yumm-o!!!

INGREDIENTS

8-10 potatoes, peeled (Idaho spuds are my fav)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 white onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth/stalk

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/2 cup milk (may need up to 1 cup)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 cup)
parsley
salt
pepper
garlic powder or garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

Place potatoes, carrot, celery, onion, and chicken broth in a large pot. Fill the pot with enough water to barely cover all the potatoes. Boil for about 30 minutes (I have also done it where I boil just the potatoes for 20 minutes and then the last 10 minutes I add the vegetables....this gives it more texture).
Drain the water leaving just a little bit in the pot.
Mash it all with a potato masher.
Add the butter, milk, soup, cheese. Mix and add more milk (a little at a time) until desired consititency. Spinkle in parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to your liking. Serve! :)

Cheesy Potato Casserole

On Sunday we decided to make a delicious ham dinner. I love ham dinners during Christmas time (especially the leftovers) and it gave me the perfect opportunity to experiment with side dishes. After searching through my numerous cookbooks, I came across a recipe given to me by a lady in our first married ward. It seemed very easy and our mouths were watering with each bite! I can't believe I waited this long to give it a try! The green onions made this dish extra yummy!

Ingredients:

1 large package of hash browns

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pint of sour cream

1 cube butter/margarine

1/4 cup chopped green onions (or 2 Tbsp onion flakes)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 cup crushed cornflakes

Directions:

On the stove mix soup, sour cream, and cube of butter. Heat and stir until well mixed. Add onions and cheese, stir until melted. In a 9 by 13 baking dish, layer the potatoes and soup mixture. Top with crushed cornflakes that have been mixed with the melted butter. Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to bake or bake immediately at 350 for 30 minutes.

Roasted Potatoes

This is my FAVORITE way to make potatoes lately!  The onion soup mix adds so much FLAVOR and color to the potatoes.  This recipe is really super EASY but tastes like it was much harder to prepare because of the YUMMY flavor!  

Ingredients:

2-3lbs potatoes (I like using red)

1/3 C oil

1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and cut the potatoes into chunks.

Place potatoes in a zip lock bag.

Add the oil and soup mix.

Close the bag and mix until potatoes are fully coated in mixture.

Place on lightly greased pan (either 9x13 or jelly roll).

Bake in oven for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from pan and top with fresh parsley.

 

Twice Baked Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes and enjoy jazzing them up a bit! Yesterday I made a roasted whole chicken (recipe will be coming soon) and served these as a side dish. Not only do they taste delish, they look quite tasty too! This picture is courtesy of Kraft Foods because I completely forgot to take a pic before we ate...we were starving! :)

Ingredients:

baking potatoes

butter

milk

garlic salt

pepper

sour cream

parmesan cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

Directions:

Clean the potatoes and bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for an hour. (you want to bake them just until a knife can slide thru them...try not to overbake) Remove them from the oven and slice lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the inside of the potatoes leaving about 1/4 of an inch still intact to the skin. Place all the scoopings in a bowl and add some butter, milk, garlic salt, pepper, cheese, and a dallop of sour cream. I don't do measurements with these ingredients so just add what you think. If you like other things in your potatoes, add those too....whatever you like! Mix until all smooth with a hand mixer and carefully scoop back into the potato skins. At this point you can place them in the fridge covered, and wait until you are ready to serve. About 30 minutes before serving, place them in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes, or until warmed and browned. This also works well with red potatoes.