Smooshed Taters

The first week using our new menu plan went flawlessly. I should have known nothing good lasts forever. Oh, it's not the plan that fails. It's my execution of the plan that ends in disaster. This week has stunk pretty bad...and it's only Tuesday! My first "fault" was not bothering to glance at the menu and see what we were having for the week and what prep work needed to be done. Sooooooo, there was no bread baked for the sandwiches for lunch, no tortillas made for the enchiladas for dinner last night. No chicken made for the enchiladas for that dinner either. My kids were so excited to see homemade donuts on the menu for breakfast only to have me burst their bubble with the fact that I never bothered to make the dough the night before! Seriously, what is wrong with me??? I am busy for sure but no busier than any other time. I have been a little short on sleep, though. My dog keeps waking me between 3 and 4 in the morning to go out and I can never fall back asleep until about 30 minutes before my alarm goes off. That does not make for a good day! Today, hubby made me go take a nap after lunch and I slept for 2.5 hours. Guess I was sleepy.....

Well, the following recipe was not scheduled on the menu but, as you already read above, I can't seem to follow the menu plan no how.

I have seen these on a couple of blogs and the recipe is in the Pioneer Woman's new cookbook so I thought I would give them a try. So glad I did! These little suckers are yummy!

SMOOSHED TATERS

Small, round potatoes (I used Dutch Baby's and made 3 per person)
Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil and any herbs you like

First, boil the potatoes (whole and unpeeled) in salted water until they are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain them and dump them out onto a baking sheet. Take a potato masher and "crush" them in one direction, then turn masher 90 degrees and crush again. You want to break the skin but not grind them into oblivion.

Top row is the boiled potatoes. Middle row is the first crush and bottom row is the second crush. Now, drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top of each potato. Don't be chintzy with the olive oil, you need that bit of fat on there. Then sprinkle with salt, pepper and whatever herbs you are in the mood for. I used parsely and chives.

Pop the pan into a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes and....voila!

Then, and this is totally up to you, sprinkle on a bit of shredded cheese. Recipe didn't call for it but everything tastes better with cheese, if you ask me! Oh, these are sooooo good! We actually eat them with our fingers instead of a fork. They make pretty good finger food!
My daughter even smeared a bit of sour cream on them. You could add bacon, too! The possibilities are endless (just like my to do list!)

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