Potato salad is another one of those sides that goes over perfectly well at any picnic or family Bar-B-Que. Potato salad perfectly compliments the meat dish it is usually served with; usually being hotdogs, cheeseburgers, or whimpies aka. Manwich or sloppy Joe’s. And, you can make a lot of potato salad without too much effort and without breaking the bank.
Wash, peel, cube, then rinse 4 medium potatoes (2 1/4 cups).
Cover potatoes with an additional inch of water, boil until done or when you can stab a potato with a for, it breaks into 2.
Strain your potatoes and rinse with cold water. Transfer potatoes into your serving bowl.
To your potatoes add 1 cup of mayo, 1/4 cups of sweet bread & butter pickles (I used my Thousand Island Pickles), and 2 tablespoons of mustard. You can also optionally add 1 smashed hard boiled egg at this point. This is enough to serve 3 people as a side.
Creamed dried beef is another meal I grew up with. Creamed dried beef is the sauce that is typically served over potatoes or toast. I’ve had it both ways and enjoy it. It’s also a filling meal and takes less than an hour. If you do choose to make this meal, you’ll want to rinse your plates if you don’t wash them right away, because when the sauce dries it makes it very hard to clean the plate. Also, the recipe is on the back of a dried beef packet, but we also add strained sweet peas. Dried beef can be found near the refrigerated lunch meat and hotdogs, and is good as a snack on it’s own too.
Wash, peel, and cube 5 medium potatoes (about 5 cups). Place in a sauce pan, rinse again, and cover with an inch of additional water. Boil until cooked approx. 25 minutes, or until you stab it with a fork and the potato splits completely in half.
After 10 minutes, melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large frying pan. Cut the dried beef into squares, add to butter, and cook till you see color.
Add 4 Tbsp of flour and 2 cups of milk, stir till smooth. Add a can of drained sweet peas. Heat to a boil, stirring carefully, then remove from heat.
Strain your potatoes.
Scoop out potatoes onto your plate, smash down with a fork, add 1 tbsp of butter in smaller pieces over the top, then top with your creamed dried beef sauce. Salt to taste and enjoy! Caution it will be very hot, especially in the center!
Scalloped potatoes are a little old fashioned, however it’s an easy meal that only needs the time to cook. This was the best way for us to use up the rest of our ham from Christmas, and it makes enough to serve a whole family. I used a 2 qt dish and it was a little too full. I also used only 3 Tbsp of flour, but it would be better to use at least 4 Tbsp and waited for the sauce to get thicker before pouring it over the sliced ham and potatoes.
Slice up 6 medium sized potatoes (peeled or not), and slice up one small onion (1/2 cup). Cube up the ham into 1/2″ by 1/2″ cubes. Cut about 3 cups worth.
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Layer the potatoes and ham in a 3 qt casserole dish. And in a 2 qt sauce pan, melt 4 Tbsp of butter and cook your onions til translucent.
Then add 2 1/2 cups of milk, and 4 tbsp of flour. Slowly raise to a boil and cook to your desired thickness (at least an opaque sauce).
Carefully pour over ham and potatoes in casserole dish. Cover and bake covered for 60 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Shepherd’s Pie is a great way to use up any mashed potatoes or any other Thanksgiving leftovers you have left. I used 1 can of sweet peas and 1 can of sliced carrots, and I added what little corn I had left from Thanksgiving. I used up my leftover veggies, my thanksgiving mashed potatoes, and the remaining turkey that hadn’t been frozen yet. I also used a mixture of light and dark meat. As always, my recipe is very forgiving and versatile, and making it your own is encouraged!
Chop a medium onion (1 cup) and cook in butter/oil (5 Tbsp) until translucent.
Once that is cooked, you can add any uncooked veggies you desire (corn, peas, carrots), cook until soft, then add any other veggies you have left or desire.
Dice up any turkey you have left maxing at about 3 cups for a hearty meal, then add to the veggies. Add 1 Tbsp of ground thyme and dried sage (or any other variety of the 2 herbs).
Add 4 cups of turkey or chicken stock cook until hot, then slowly add flour while stirring to reduce clumping. Add flour until the mixture begins to form thick coating on your spoon (about 5 Tbsp).
Transfer mixture to a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes and optional grated cheese.
Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Wait for it to cool about 35 minutes to serve.
To see the other recipes I cooked this year, head back to my Thanksgiving: Overview post!
Mashed potatoes are a staple of thanksgiving, though this is how I make mashed potatoes all the time, especially since Josh loves mashed potatoes.
I’ve made mashed potatoes with a variety of potatoes, and I find yellow potatoes, Yukon Golds, and white potatoes to work the best. Russets are too starchy and need a lot of butter and salt to get any other flavor other than just starch. I like to make my cubes by quartering a medium potato to get thin strips of potatoes, then cutting them every half an inch. I have also added garlic to my potatoes before and really enjoyed that. I also like to add bit of parsley flakes on top after they come out of the oven/ on the plate. I also have added cheese before to the top of my potatoes before baking, and I prefer shredding white sharp cheddar cheese, but that’s just my favorite cheese, so you can choose what you like. This is a very forgiving recipe and there are many ways you can customize it to make it your own!
Wash, peel, and cube about 4-5 lbs of potatoes.
Place potatoes into a pot and rinse again 1-2 times, then fill pot with warm water and place over medium-high heat.
Once the potatoes are boiling or the water starts to get starchy, it should take about 20 minutes. The potatoes are done when you can stab a large piece with a fork, and the potato splits and falls off the fork. If you want less chunky mashed potatoes cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Strain your potatoes then put in a large bowl to beat with a hand mixer, or put in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Start pulsing low speed and add 1/2 a cup of milk and 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup).
Once most of the big chunks are broken up, turn your speed to medium-low and slowly add more milk until you reach your desired consistency. Add salt to taste. You can also add an optional tablespoon of garlic paste or 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, if you desire.
Optional: Place your potatoes into a casserole dish, add desired toppings (shredded cheese, butter, chives, etc), and heat in oven covered or uncovered to keep warm. If you cook uncovered, the top will gain color and the potatoes will also begin to rise, becoming more airy and losing moisture making them almost cake like. If you cook them covered, you won’t gain color and you will also lose less moisture.
To see the other recipes I cooked this year, head back to my Thanksgiving: Overview post!
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