Potatoes....

 The potato. Tater, spud, whatever you call it. Such a humble root vegetable. 

If you don't know, potatoes grow underground. There are many varieties. They can be cooked in many ways. And they are usually pretty inexpensive to buy.

According to the FDA, one medium potato, about 5.3oz, has 110 calories. 0 fat. 0 sodium. About 18% of the daily value (DV) of potassium. 9% total carbs and 8% dietary fiber. Small amounts of sugar, protein, calcium, and iron; but has 45%DV of Vit C. Who knew?

 

A few days ago, I was planning on clam chowder for dinner. I needed 2 potatoes. Off to the store. I get there and find the russet baking potatoes for $.99 a pound. Turn around and see 10lb bags of the same potato on sale for $2.99. Do I need 10 lbs. of spuds? No, but for that price, I bought the bag.

 

Fried potatoes, mashed taters, french fries, hash browns, baked taters, pureed taters, au gratin, hasselback.... there’s no doubt so many more options of how to use them. 

 

I chose to use 3 small spuds in my clam chowder. I then baked 6 of them and made twice stuffed potatoes. You just bake, let cool til you can handle them. Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop the insides out, leaving the skin intact. In a bowl, mix the inner spud fluff with your choice of add ins. Bacon, shredded cheese, chives, salt & pepper are all good basics. Fill the skins with the mixture and bag them to freeze. One of the potatoes was bad when I cut it open, so went to the compost. But the rest got packaged and frozen. So, now I have an easy side dish for dinners. Since there are only 2 of us, that made 5 meals. I still have about half the bag to use. So, for $2.99, it's a great deal. 

 

How do you like your potatoes? Any favorite dishes?