Tasty Tuesday

Pardon me while I get my blog bearings. Just because I haven't written...doesn't mean I haven't had things to write about. So many choices. To write about everything at once, to separate out by subject matter. To realize I am not nearly that advanced in my blog-ness yet. So tonight I bring to you . . . . (drum roll?). . . a typical Tuesday night.

This week seems to be all about the social food gatherings. We have our once a month "Food Day" at work tomorrow, my cohort has decided to start bringing snacks every week (Thursday), and Friday we are having our bake sale and silent auction at work to benefit the American Heart Association. Last weekend, when I was planning my week and groceries, I thought I'd make it simple and make the same thing for each event. Banana cake. I tried it recently, with much success. And then today I began having doubts. Not doubts, so much as the laziness of not wanting to go to the store to pick up the remaining ingredients.

Only, I call laziness my good sense and frugality, why not use something I already had everything for? OR--why not skip the whole mess? Eventually I decided on mashed potatoes. Fancy, I know. Probably won't win our "Golden Spoon" competition, but will be a good, solid stomach coater for all of the hot wings, meatballs, little smokies, queso, etc. . . that will be present tomorrow. So, without further blabbing, I give you.....

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1/2 a bag of your basic russet (?) potatoes. Scrubbed, chopped, skin on. Big ol' pot of water, slowly bring to a boil. Worry that the potatoes on the bottom will burn. Stir a lot. Boil, then simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Use your good sense. Test one with a fork.

This is roasted garlic. Better known as "a little clove of heaven." There are several ways to roast it. I wrap it in foil (don't close the foil), either cut the ends off or not, in the oven for 15-20 minutes at about 325-ish.

These are the bananas I am going to use later in the week. They are about 3 days past when I would eat them myself, and their ripe smell is grossing me out while I make the potatoes. I can't wait until tomorrow when I have to deal with their mushy disgusting-ness.

Sometimes I like to make fancy potatoes. I almost always use a little milk or sour cream if there's no milk on hand. Today, I used what I had on hand. And half-way through I added some condensed milk. Oh, by the way, I have a 1/2 gallon of milk in my fridge. But guess what. It's spoiled. Surprise surprise. I'm not even using real butter in these! And that broth? Dollar Tree, no joke. For the sake of time and not killing you with boredom...I am not including the pictures showing how to drain potatoes, how to put a couple spoons of butter in the bowl and pour the potatoes on top. If you have questions about this process, I can email you the pics. These are the potatoes after just beginning to mix with the mixer. Salted and peppered. A couple of glugs of broth. No measurements, use your judgement. This is also the point that I was glad I had a can of condensed milk in the cabinet b/c I needed more liquid, but did not want to keep adding chicken broth.

Here are the final results. They are a little creamier than I would normally make, but they have to be in a crock pot all day and my hope is to prevent crust-o potatoes. Here's hoping. I love that you can see bits of potato skin in there. And see that little yellow lump towards the right? That's a roasted garlic clove that did not get smushed to smithereens by the mixer. Hopefully, whoever gets that bite tomorrow will also have some gum on hand. Or not sit near me.

Oh, and this is Murphy on a typical Tuesday night. He won't come in the kitchen b/c he's scared of the child gate, even when it's not up. But he must keep an eye on me at ALL times, no matter how much he'd rather be napping.

I think that I will try to post something every Tuesday related to cooking. I love cooking, experimenting, making people test my results. . . so, see you next Tuesday.