Cheesy Mashed Potato leftovers are fine by me!
You know how I talked about not liking the 13 peas leftover at the end of the meal?
Let me just clarify something: I really do like leftovers if they serve a purpose. If they can create an entire meal and save me time? I like leftovers. If they can be made into something else for a practically effortless meal? I like leftovers. And if you can use them to create a side dish your family loves? Well of course, then I like leftovers.
Making extra food so that you have leftovers on purpose is a great way to Eat Healthy and Save Time! This Chili Mac recipe is a perfect example. So is the Cheesy Mashed Potato recipe I am about to show you.
Last week, I was making mashed potatoes to go with our Chicken Fried Steak Strips. I decided to double the amount of potatoes we would need for that night, so that I could use the leftovers to make another dish for another day.
This was about eight pounds of potatoes. Doesn’t look like it? How about seeing the bowl from this angle?
It turns out, making additional potatoes for another day was a great idea! It took me hardly any extra time to peel a few extra potatoes, it took hardly any extra time to cook the potatoes, it took hardly any extra time to mash the potatoes, and then it took about three minutes to put together this dish after our meal was over.
Seriously. It’s not a real recipe when you put (give or take) at the end of every statement. But the potatoes sure taste yummy, even if your proportions are different than what I described.
Feel free to add bacon bits to the potatoes if you like. How many? Oh, I’d say about 1/2 cup.
My mother-in-law has a recipe like this that is a hit where ever she takes it. We’re eating Paleo now, so it’s out for us, but boy does it look yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Put a little of your dry ranch mix in there too!!
I love doing that with our left over mashed potatoes!!
and if you don’t peel your potatoes first then you save even more time.
Thanks for the idea! I never think of things like this and I should! :) Hubby will love this recipe-kind of a Twice Baked Potato (his favorite) simplified.
I do about the same. I just add about however much “stuff” as I would for a baked potato (per serving of potatoes). I always add garlic salt to mine too and top with crushed crackers.
This is the only way I make mashed potatoes, actually. I do a HUGE pot, mash, and add cheese, milk, butter, sour cream, bacon, dill weed, garlic, seasoned salt, parsley or any combination thereof. I put it in zip top bags according to how much my family eats with various meals, and freeze. I then either thaw them on the counter or in a sink of warm water, put them in a dish, and bake to reheat, so they get that yummy crust on top.
I like this idea. The other day, after cooking a big meal at church, I had a large amount of mashed potatoes left. I was thinking what to do with them as I don’t like warmed over mashed potatoes. I decided to see if I could make potato soup. I took the potatoes and added evaporated milk, regular milk, butter and a bit of onion powder. I had some ham left over so I shredded the ham and added it. I simmered it for a few minutes and added shredded cheddar cheese. It was like a loaded baked potato soup. Everybody loved it!
I’m with Kathy – I NEVER peel potatoes (or apples in cobblers) and think the extra “bite” the skin gives is so yummy. It also saves much time and is healthier. Everyone has their preference, though.
Our family LOVES to play Ticket To Ride!!
I think I’ll have to try this. After being sick for several weeks I am finally able to cook again and I am itchin’ to get back into the kitchen! Oh made your calico beans last night and my son wanted seconds and we had it for lunch today and again he wanted seconds. He says it’s a 5 star recipe! He adds some raw milk cheese and sour cream to his which is good because he doesn’t like the taste of the raw milk and I am having a hard time getting him to drink it. He’ll only take a sip.
I recently saw the idea of using leftover mashed potatoes to make homemade tater tots. Obviously a bit more labor intensive, but I’m going to try it sometime- it’s fun to have one of those childhood favorites come back!
Oooh! Left-over mashed potatoes. My daughters love it when I add garlic and onion powders and cheddar cheese, form into patties, and fry. Sooooo tasty!!!
Ticket to Ride is one of our favorite games!
If y’all like that one, try Railways of the World it’s more in depthbut a lot of fun too.
I have tried cooking extra mashed potatoes and my family just eats them all. No such thing as leftover mashed potatoes at my house. I suppose I could hide half before the meal. They have mashed potato radar.
I have a recipe like that that includes some fresh green onions in it also. YUM!
You can also add Durkee or generic fried onions on top during the last 10-15 minutes to give it a great onion taste and add some crunch!