Lumpy Spuds

I don't know about your family, but we love our mashed potatoes lumpy.  We like to keep the skin on our potatoes too.  Have I lost you yet?  Have no fear, if you prefer smooth mashed potatoes with no skins, peel them and mash them until smooth or press the potatoes through a potato ricer. 

Lumpy Spuds

makes 5 pounds

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 pounds red skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces

• salted water to cover potatoes

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups whole milk

• 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder

• kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

• 1 tablespoon dried parsley, crushed

• 1 bunch of chives, chopped

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a 6-quart stock pot and add enough salted water to cover the potatoes by an inch or two.

2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook the potatoes until tender.

3. Drain potatoes and return to pot.

4. Add butter, milk, granulated onion, salt, pepper, dried parsley, and most of the chives (save some for garnish).

5. Use a potato masher to mash potatoes and the other ingredients together until combined well.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Garnish with reserved chives and serve.

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Cheesy Spinach Egg Cups

These Cheesy Spinach Egg Cups may be small in size, but they're big on flavor! They're completely addictive and we can't stay away from them,  I served them at a large gathering recently. Afterward, while I was putting away the leftovers, a young man approached to tell me how much he loved them and asked if he could take the leftovers home. Apparently he didn’t cook much for himself, so I was happy to pack them up for him. Anyway, here's how they’re made.

Start by preparing a mini muffin pan by spraying it with Baker's Joy.  

Next we'll melt some butter in a skillet and add the spinach, salt, pepper, and dried marjoram.

Saute, stirring frequently, until the spinach is dry and starts to brown a bit.  

Remove the spinach from the skillet and allow it to cool completely.

When the spinach is cool, place it in a blender.

IMPORTANT - if you mix the batter in a food processor instead of a blender, be sure to stir the batter very well before pouring it into the mini muffin pan to evenly distribute the salt. TWICE i’ve made this mistake. So what’s the problem? A blender mixes everything from top to bottom, but a food processor doesn’t. The batter poured out of the top of a food processor work bowl will not have enough salt, while the batter at the bottom of the bowl will be way too salty.

Add the eggs and cheese.

Blend on LOW speed until the mixture is combined and the spinach and cheese are cut up into small pieces.  

Don't blend the mixture too much.  You want to be able to see bits of spinach and cheese. Actually, blending more will make your egg cups a more consistent green color, which my kids really seem to enjoy.  Might be a good thing to serve on St. Patrick's Day! 

Pour the mixture evenly into the 24 mini muffin cavities. 

Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool for 1-2 minutes before turning out of the pan.

That's it.  Serve warm or at room temperature.   I dare you not to eat way too many of these little guys.  Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

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• professional mini muffin pan https://amzn.to/3HcqRSW

• bakers joy https://amzn.to/3u8FCT2

• vitamix https://amzn.to/3AEBNpO

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Cheesy Spinach Egg Cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 12 ounce bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram (optional, but it pairs nicely with eggs)

• 6 extra large eggs (330g)

• 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center oven position and preheat oven to 375F.

2. Spray a mini muffin pan with Baker's Joy; set aside.

3. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter.

4. Add squeezed spinach, salt, pepper, and marjoram; stir for 3-4 minutes until spinach is dry and begins to brown a little.

5. Remove spinach from skillet and cool completely.

6. Place cooled spinach, cheddar cheese, and eggs in a blender and process on low until ingredients are well combined and the spinach and cheese are chopped into small pieces.

7. Pour mixture into prepared mini muffin tin, filling about 3/4 full.

8. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before removing from pan. Serve hot or at room temperature.