Mexican Roasted Sweet Potoatoes

We recently had a Costco built very very close to our house. So close that it didn't make sense not to have a membership simply for reasons of proximity :) Having shopped there the past year I feel like I have learned a big lesson for my little family of 3. Less is more! So many times I have picked up produce or packages of food and thought "We, two adults and a 1 1/2 year old, wont have any trouble eating all of this food before it goes bad" Wrong! Oh the money I have wasted, but oh the lessons I have learned. 

So when I ventured to Costco last month I thought nothing of buying a large bag of potatoes. After all potatoes last in a dark cool place for like forever...right! Wrong again! At least for me that is. I kept my hefty bag of potatoes in the garage to store and noticed one day that they had started to sprout through the bag! Holy cow, I hadn't even gone through half the bag!!! What was I going to do with all of these potatoes? I was determined not to have them end up in the trash with all of my other failed purchases. That's when Mexican roasted sweet potatoes came to be. They turned out to be so good that we had them all week and even invited family over to enjoy them with us.

Mexican Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

8 medium sweet potatoes, diced (I used half sweet and have russet)

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling on top before roasting

black pepper to taste

3 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients except the potatoes and lime into a jar or in a deep bowl and mix thoroughly. Toss your potatoes in a bowl with the oil mixture and then transfer to a foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, until they are browned on the edges and fork tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lime juice. Test for additional salt or pepper and serve warm.

Brown Butter and Sage Mashed Potatoes

Yes, yes, yes, a new staple for our holiday meals! If you don't already have a potato dish picked out for your Christmas feast you are going to want to use this one! The browned butter and sage are a PERFECT accent for the potatoes. 

In fact brown butter almost sends me into a food coma...seriously! The smell of butter browning on the stove is crazy intoxicating and makes me want to  stick a straw in the pan and start slurping it up Paula Dean style!

Brown Butte and Sage Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 pounds red new potatoes

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1 cup cream

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut your potatoes into fourths and place into a large pot of well salted boiling water. Let boil until potatoes are very tender, around 20-25 minutes. Once potatoes are tender drain the water out of the pot leaving the potatoes. While your potatoes are boiling place your butter in a pan over medium heat. Once your butter starts to get bubbly and frothy do not take your eyes off of it. Your butter will start to turn caramel brown in color and once you start to smell that rich, sweet and nutty flavor immediately remove your pan from the heat and pour the butter over your potatoes. The way I always know when my butter is ready is when it just about stops bubbling, then I take it off the burner. Add your cream and sage and mash your potatoes. Depending on how you like the texture of your potatoes you may wish to add more cream at this point. Add salt and pepper to taste and your ready to eat!!

Breadcrumb Crusted Smashed Potatoes

When my husband and I were first married Ben told me there were four things that he could eat every single night and never get sick of: chicken, rice, broccoli and potatoes. Well being the smart wifey I am I knew that two weeks of that menu repeated on the daily would have driven us both to starvation rather than to have another repeat meal of chicken, rice, broccoli and potatoes.

 So I have learned to scatter them out intermittently and combine them with different foods and flavors as to keep them interesting and continually tasty. Which leads me to my newest potato creation. It's a cross between mashed potatoes and a potato gratin and it is to die for. There is so much flavor oooozing out of the breadcrumb mixture that you will find yourself using it to top everything in your refrigerator just like we do!!

Breadcrumb Crusted Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

potatoes

olive oil to drizzle

2 1/2-3 cups croutons

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2-3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

butter

Directions:

Prepare breadcrumb mixture by placing croutons, garlic cloves, basil leaves and Parmesan into a food processor and pulse until mixture is combined and crumbly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400 degree. Wash your potatoes and prick with a knife to facilitate cooking process.  Place potatoes onto a baking pan with at least a half inch lip. Pour enough water into the pan to just fill the bottom. Cover pan with tin foil and place in oven for 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven and pour off any excess water.

Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil onto each potato and smash with a cup or additional baking pan.

Liberally sprinkle your breadcrumb mixture onto each potato and top with a small pad of butter. Place back into the oven uncovered for between 11-15 minutes until the breadcrumbs are toasty.