Cheese Stuffed Purple Potato Dumplings with Pesto

Purple potatoes. They are certainly a showy dish to create! Did you know that they are also high in antioxidants, like most berries, and shown to boost your immune system and prevent certain cancers? I've used them to cook these dumplings and I've made gnocchi out of them. The color tends not to stay as vivid as they first appear, sadly. But, who can't love a naturally colorful vegetable as this? I think they are a bit starchier and nuttier than regular potatoes but sure to add color to any potato recipe!

10-12 small purple potatoes
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 Tsp pepper
1/4 Tsp sea salt
1/2 medium egg, beaten
1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles

 

Recipe Adapted from Honest Cooking

Peel the potatoes and boil them in a pot of salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Mash them with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer. Refrigerate overnight.

 

The next day, mix in the other ingredients in and divide evenly, scooping out tablespoons. Then, roll them into neat balls with your hands.

Make an indentation down into the tops for the cheese. Insert the cheese and pack tightly, then close the hole. Lay them out on parchment paper until ready to cook.

Bring another pot of salted water to a boil and reduce to medium low. Drop in the dumplings, a few at a time and cook until they float, plus an additional minute to ensure that the cheese is melted. I topped mine with a dollop of fresh pesto. These are sure to wow anyone you cook them for.

Rosemary Infused Potatoes

A few years ago I added rosemary to my signature Greek potatoes. I used to just season them and cook them with my lamb or whatever meat I was cooking. Then I discovered browning them first. 

 

I heat up some olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and throw in tons of rosemary (fresh or dried). Then scrub red bliss potatoes under water and cut into bite sized pieces. Season with mixed up pepper. CAREFULLY, add the potatoes to the skillet. The water on the potatoes will cause the oil to splash up so be safe not to get burned. Brown the potatoes, heating them on medium high. Flip them a few times to brown easily on all sides. Do not cook them all the way through, you are just searing them. 

Then empty them into a casserole dish or the bottom of your roasting pan if you will place meat on top of them to cook.

 

I cooked a leg of lamb on top of them. (No, I'm not sharing that recipe!)

Add a package of Lipton onion soup mix and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Sprinkle generously with Italian seasoning and 1/8 Tsp lemon pepper. Fill the pan with about 1/4 inch of water. Add your meat if desired and cook meat according to recipe, or if you are cooking just the potatoes, bake for about 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven until tender. 

 



Pesto Potato Salad

This recipe is pretty easy but, gets rave reviews nonetheless. In fact, my friend Tanya texts me every so often asking when I'll be making it again. It's my signature, go-to potato salad recipe for cookouts. 

I always add things into tuna, chicken, or potato salad to cut down on the mayo intake. Plain Greek yogurt is great for this! I've even used sour cream in some instances because who wants to add like 500 calories worth of mayo to a recipe?

I usually make a very large portion of this with a 5lb bag of potatoes. I scaled this down a bit. 

4-6 red bliss potatoes

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 1/2 Tbsp Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp Pesto Sauce

2 Tbsp bacon bits

Scrub the potatoes under water and cut into bite sized pieces. Add to a pot of well salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. 

In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients. Mix in potatoes well, using a smaller mixing spoon. 

Addictive Baked Potato Chips

I love homemade chips. I absolutely love them at our local restaurant, The Windward. If I can make them baked and not fried at home, I would be very excited.

I made these as a dinner side. They are really dangerous! If you leave them out on your counter, there may not be any left for your dinner, if you have to keep walking by them. 

baking russet potatoes

mixed up salt

mixed up pepper

garlic powder

your favorite olive oil

(I used a rosemary oregano one)

 

Recipe Adapted from Oprah

 

Scrub your potatoes with a brush under running water. Slice them the long way by hand or using a mandolin. I cut mine in about 1/4 inch strips. 

Pour some olive oil on a baking sheet and rub around with a paper towel to spread evenly. Cover the baking sheet with potatoes and then season to your liking. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then, pull them out of the oven, flip them, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Personally, I loved the inconsistencies in how these came out. I couldn't decide if I liked the smaller harder ones better or the ones that were still a bit soft. If you make your decision on that and want them to come out more uniform the next time you make them, just keep the smaller ones in the middle of the sheet and the larger ones towards the outside when baking them. 

These certainly didn't need anything to go with them but I did make a dipping sauce out of:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 packet Ranch

1/4 packet of green onion mix or

1 Tbsp onion dip seasoning

Try to make enough to stare with your friends! Go ahead and leave them in a spot you have to walk by during the day. I dare you.

Twice Baked Red Potato Crab Gratin

2 Tbsp spreadable butter

1 red onion, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp oregano

1 Tsp onion powder

1 Tsp salt

1/2 Tsp thyme

1 cup milk

1/2 Tsp fresh ground pepper

6 small to medium red skinned potatoes

1 pouch imitation crab meat or can of lump crab meat

1 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3-4 slices bread

3 scallions, chopped

Mixed-up Pepper

Mixed-up Salt

Old Bay seasoning

Recipe Adapted from Live Beautifully

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bread into squares and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until slightly browned. When done, cool down until the bread can be handled. Place in a plastic bag with the Parmesan cheese, thyme, and oregano and crumble the bread until it's thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

Scrub the potatoes under water and rinse. Slice thinly by hand or using a mandolin. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and then cover with a layer of potatoes. Add a second overlapping layer. Then season evenly with the mixed up salt, mixed up pepper, and old bay seasoning. 

Cover the potatoes with the crab, dispersed evenly. Then add remaining potatoes in layers as done previously. Season them as well. Set dish aside for the moment.



In a saucepan or skillet, melt the butter slowly. When dissolved, add the garlic, scallions, and onion. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cornstarch. Saute an additional 2-3 minutes. Then add the cheese and milk, stirring constantly until the sauce comes to a boil.

Pour the sauce evenly over the potatoes in the casserole dish.

Top with breadcrumb mixture evenly and bake in the 400 degree oven for an hour, covered with aluminum foil. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender. Let dish cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

 

This recipe can easily be adapted to be made gluten free. Just substitute your favorite gluten free bread for the regular bread and bake the bread for an additional 5-10 minutes, straight from the freezer.



Vegetable Stuffed Shepherd's Pie

This recipe takes traditional Shepherd's Pie and stuffs it completely full of vegetables! It's more veggies than anything else and the layered flavors taste wonderful! I apologize in advance for the sheer number of ingredients, but I promise you, this dish is awesome. All the veggies that you really have to admit to are the peas if you chop things really small. A wonderful dish for kids!

 

1 Tbsp butter

2 sweet potatoes

1 large roasting potato

1 lb ground beef, chicken, or turkey

2-3 shallots

1 celery stalk

1/2 small pepper

1 garlic glove

1/2 packet taco seasoning

1 Tbsp cilantro

1 carrot

10-12 cherry tomatoes

1 bag frozen peas, thawed

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup milk

1 Tsp thyme

1/8 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tsp Dijon mustard

 

Peel potato, sweet potatoes, and carrot and dice into pieces. Boil in a pan of water on the stove top until soft, 20-25 minutes. Drain and mash in a food processor with milk. Set aside.



Heat oil in a skillet. Chop shallots, celery, pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and add to heated skillet. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Cook until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add meat to skillet and mix thoroughly. Cook until meat is cooked all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients, except the peas and potato mixture, and mix thoroughly.

Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray. Empty in meat mixture and flatten down. Empty in bag of peas. Spread evenly over meat mixture and press down. Spoon potato mixture evenly on top. Score top of casserole with a fork. Take butter and cut into small squares. Lay out around the top of the casserole, spread equally apart, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until the crests begin to brown.

Potato Parsnip Smash

I'm always looking for ways to sneak vegetables into food. I hardly ever make a meat or starch without it having vegetables in it. So, I'm always on a quest to find new vegetables I really haven't tried like parsnips, turnips, etc. I really didn't even know what a parsnip was when I came across a recipe, thumbing through a magazine. I didn't come across it for a while, I guess because I really didn't know what I was looking for!

Here is a parsnip! Basically, it looks like a white carrot, right? I actually love carrots in my mashed potatoes so this recipe sounded like a good thing to try.

 

3 parsnips
10-12 mini red potatoes

salt and pepper, to taste

1 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp chives

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tsp garlic powder

2 Tsp onion powder

1 Tbsp butter

 

Recipe Adapted from Daily Unadventures In Cooking

Scrub the potatoes with a brush under water to clean. Cut them up, without peeling them, into bite-sized pieces. Peel the parsnips and chop them up as well. Boil them in water with the parsley for about 30 minutes. Mash them in a mixer or with a hand blender and add the remaining ingredients.

If you use gluten free butter and cream cheese, you can easily adapt this recipe to be gluten free!