Well, today isn’t actually a meal. It’s a side dish. One that I borrowed from Rachel Ray, but I made it the “Semi-Homemade” way. Much easier, and still very tasty. Who wants to boil and mash all of those potatoes anyway? But, if you are interested, here’s the original recipe, although I did make some modifications. Mostly because by the end of the weekend, our cupboards were looking pretty bare, so I had to make due with what I had in the house. But, all-in-all they were pretty tasty, and went well with the turkey and black bean sauce panini’s that Dad-oo put together. Well, except for Eli didn’t really care for them. He took two bites (and one of those bites I had to hide in a chicken nugget) and spit them both out. And then he wouldn’t eat any other chicken nugget pieces that I gave to him since I tried to trick him. This kid is getting pickier everyday.

Crispy Mashed Potato Cakes

1 package of instant mashed potatoes – we used roasted garlic
water (follow package directions)
3 ounces cream cheese (we used fat-free)
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Prepare mashed potatoes as directed on the box, minus the butter and milk – basically you just add the water and cook or microwave. The potatoes will be thick, but that’s a good thing. It will help keep them from falling apart in the pan. Add the cream cheese (soften for 20 seconds in the microwave for 20 seconds first), sour cream, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, cook the onions until softened. Add to the potato mixture and mix well. In the skillet, heat the butter and olive oil until the butter is melted. Drop 2 inch spoonfuls of the potatoes into the skillet and flatten slightly. Cook until both sides are a golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Makes 8 potato rounds.

This would also make a yummy alternative to mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. I bet you could easily modify the recipe so you can bake the potatoes instead of pan frying them. Easy, tasty and something a little out of the ordinary. Enjoy!