Cooking Project 3: Loaded Mashed Potatoes, DONE!

Wow! Is the main thing I can say. When we picked this recipe I didn't realize how killer these tots were going to be. I simply saw a recipe for mashed potatoes, and loaded no less, and thought "..oooh, I bet those will be good!" But I never really read through the recipe { I'm sorry! But that's the truth, I also just looked at them and thought my partners would like them }. They are RICH RICH RICH!!! I've had many potatoes through the years, I LOVE potatoes, especially mashed potatoes! I was excited to try this recipe so.. let's cut to the chase..

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Personal Critique:
These potatoes are easy enough to make, if you like rich these are the mashed potatoes for you. With cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream { not to mention the bacon! } these are no joke. First thing, I realized all too late that I didn't have any chives, so I used some parsley instead, the flavor was good. Also, instead of bacon, I used spicy dried capicola. DEE-LI-CI-OSO! The rest of the recipe I followed as is. They came out tasting amazing. But for my personal preference, I don't think I will be making these again. They are just so incredibly rich and filling. While they were tasty, I could literally feel my arteries clogging as they went down. If I were to do this type a thing again, I'd change the amount of richness, omit some of the cheese and sour cream. Again, they came out amazing. Just far too rich for me. However, I did make a potato pancake for breakfast this morning with these, and it was pretty tasty too. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying it, because they are very yummy. Just be warned!

Overall grade: B-/C

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Cooking Project 3: Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Prep time: 1 hour

::: Ingredients :::
• 5 lb russet potatoes
• 10 slices of bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 0.5 c unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c sour cream
• 0.25 c chives, minced
• 2.5 c cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 t kosher salt
• 0.5 t pepper

::: Directions :::
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.

3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the chives, 2 cups cheddar cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.

4. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.

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Cooking Project 2: Skillet Baked Ziti, DONE!

Prep for the project..
Typically, I don't prep like this, but for the girls participating with me, I thought it might be a fun way to photograph our project, beginning to end! And don't ya know, it made my life SO SO much easier!

In the skillet..
Even by this stage, I could tell this was going to be AWESOME! And wowwie! Was it ever.. could have eaten it from this point, didn't even need the oven, but I followed the recipe anyway!

Ready to eat..

And EAT we did, I truly LOVED this dish, it is HIGH on my favorites list let me tell you! Once you get everything prepped, this is an easy dish. A lot easier than I anticipated and well worth any efforts put in. I shared this with my family that LOVED it! Even sent some over to our neighbor, she's older and alone, so we try to keep her company and looked after, she too enjoyed this very much.

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Personal Critique:
Per my own tastes, I made some modifications, some of which are more obvious in the first photo. I used whipping cream instead of heavy cream, I just prefer something a bit lighter. I didn't have ziti, so I used mini penne. I also substituted out the 28oz can of crushed tomatoes for 2- 15oz cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes & green chilies. Granted, this made a MUCH spicier dish than the original, but that's the way we like it here! I cut the water in this dish to 1.5 cups, to accommodate the extra liquid from the tomatoes, worked out perfectly! I am going to make this dish again and again!

Overall grade: A+

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