Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes

I discovered this simple recipe the other day and made it to go along with our pork tenderloin. Very easy, super tasty, and it's really nice to not have to heat up the kitchen with the oven! Adapted from here.

Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes

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1 lb. Yukon gold baby potatoes or red potatoes, cut into 1” pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
3 cloves garlic minced
salt & pepper
1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
chopped parsley for garnish

In a medium sized bowl combine the potatoes, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper and parmesan.
Add to the basket of your air fryer. Cook at 400°F for 10 min.
Toss the potatoes in the basket and continue to cook for 8-10 min. or until tender and crisp.
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serves 4.

Margene’s Famous Potato Salad (Instant Pot)

Slowly but surely, I'm trying to make more use of my Instant Pot. I made Mom's Potato Salad over the weekend, and kept track of quantities (since her recipe doesn't have any amounts in it). Even if you don't use an Instant Pot to cook the potatoes and boil the eggs, the specifics in this recipe might help with your efforts. I cooked the potatoes and eggs in the Instant Pot, according to a recipe at Pressure Cooking Today.

Margene’s Famous Potato Salad (Instant Pot)

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5-6 large russet potatoes
5 eggs
1.5 c. water
1 celery heart
1 cucumber
4-5 large dill pickles
6-8 green onions, (just the white & light green part)
12-14 oz. Miracle Whip
2 Tbsp. yellow deli mustard
paprika

Clean potatoes, then peel and cube.
Add water to Instant Pot.
Add cubed potatoes to the IP steamer basket and place the eggs on top.
Lock the lid in place, select High Pressure, 4 minutes cook time, and start.
When the timer beeps, turn off the IP and do a quick pressure release.
When the release is done, carefully remove the lid and the steamer basket.
Place the eggs in an ice water bath to cool.
Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl to cool.
Prep celery, cucumber, pickles, and onions (don’t worry about getting anything too finely chopped – chunky works well), and add them to the mixing bowl.
Peel and chop 4 eggs into small bowl, set aside. Peel and slice 5th egg and save for garnish.
Mix large bowl ingredients with Miracle Whip and mustard, until well combined.
Add in chopped egg, and gently mix.
Transfer to serving/storage bowl.
Garnish with sliced egg, and sprinkle with paprika.
Tastes best if you chill 4+ hours prior to serving.

Rosemary & Oregano Chicken

Simple and delicious!  We all loved this meal.  (I adapted this recipe from here.)

Rosemary & Oregano Chicken

2-4 chicken breasts (I used 2 large breasts from Costco)
5-6 small, red potatoes, quartered (enough to fill the dish)
1/3 c. olive oil
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (I used dried)
1.5 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped (I used dried)
1.5 tsp. garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Place chicken and potatoes into a large bowl.
Pour olive oil over top, and stir to coat.
Place coated chicken and potatoes in a large baking dish.
Sprinkle remaining ingredients over the top.
Bake for 1 hour, uncovered.

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

This easy dinner received RAVE reviews from both boys... and it made great leftovers the next day!  (I adapted this recipe from here.)

Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

6 pork chops, 0.5” thick (I used 3 thick Costco chops, that I sliced in half to get 6 thinner chops)
1 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (I used Healthy Request for the lower sodium)

(Instead of the suggested Parmesan Mashed Potatoes below, I just made my traditional mashed potatoes... but I used peeled and cubed yellow potatoes, 3 tsp. minced garlic from a jar, 1/2 c. Costco shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 3 Tbsp. butter, 1/4 c. milk, and 1/3 c. light sour cream... and I used my hand mixer to whip them up.)

4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes
5 Tbsp butter
1 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves roasted garlic (see below)
1-1.5 c. milk
1 Tbsp. salt, or to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Place pork chops, ranch seasoning and soup into a crock pot on low heat for 5.5-6 hours.

About 45 minutes before pork chops are done, place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stove top over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Drain and transfer to a bowl and use an electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, Parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed.

For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consistency.

Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. Garnish with a little parsley on top.

Serves 6.

Roasted Garlic – Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place bulb of garlic with skins on, wrap lightly in tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove from foil and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove garlic from skins, place in a bowl and mash with a fork until completely mashed. Set aside. One garlic bulb will have around 12 cloves.

Best Baked Potatoes

I know baked potatoes aren't rocket science, but I always seem to forget these basic, little tricks... so I thought I'd better immortalize them here.

Best Baked Potatoes

SALT THE SKINS - Wash and poke holes in the russet potatoes, and then generously rub them with kosher salt (all over the skins).  This will create a delicious, crispy skin.

FLUFF IT - Bake the potatoes at 400F for 1 hr.  While each potato is still hot, cover your hand in an oven mitt, pick up the potato and smash it on a cutting board (just to break up the fibers inside).

Margene's Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

The classic, perfect recipe for your ham leftovers!

Margene's Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley (1 Tbsp. dried)
1 qt. cubed, cooked potatoes (4 c.)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I use medium cheddar)
1.5-2 c. ham, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook onion in butter until golden and translucent.

Blend in flour. 

Take off heat, so as not to burn. Then put back on stove when adding the milk. 

Gradually add milk to make a white sauce. Heat until it thickens, stirring constantly.  (Make sure it thickens here in the pot, because it won't in the oven later.) 

Add salt, pepper, cheese & parsley. 

Put 2-3 spoonfuls of sauce in a 2-qt casserole dish, then layer 1/2 of the potatoes and 1/2 the ham.  Pour in 1/2 of the remaining sauce, the remaining potatoes and ham, then finish with the rest of the sauce.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  (You may want to protect your oven, it often will boil over.)

Margene's Famous Potato Salad

This is mom's recipe as she gave it... this variation of the recipe has some ratios and other details in it.

Margene's Famous Potato Salad

Potatoes

Celery
Cucumber
Dill Pickle
Green Onion
Miracle Whip
Mustard
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Paprika

Boil some potatoes, then peel and dice.
Add chopped: celery, cucumber, dill pickle, green onion
Mix with Miracle Whip and mustard.
When well mixed, add chopped egg.
Garnish with a sliced egg and paprika sprinkled on top.
Chill.

Instant Pot version here.

Roasted Rosemary & Garlic New Potatoes

Roasted Rosemary & Garlic New Potatoes

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped  (I use minced garlic that I keep in the fridge - about 1-2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves  (I use dried rosemary - just under 1 Tbsp.)
2 lbs. small red potatoes, rinsed and quartered
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In large bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, and rosemary.
Add potatoes and toss until well coated; season with salt.
In large, shallow roasting pan, arrange potatoes in a single layer.
Roast, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are crisp tender.

Serves 4.

Crash Hot Potatoes

These are perfect with steak or barbeque chicken!

Crash Hot Potatoes
by Pioneer Woman

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Margene’s Sweet Potatoes

Margene’s Sweet Potatoes

1 sweet potato per person (buy long column-like ones, rather than fat, round ones)
Butter
Brown sugar
Marshmallows

Peel and slice them about ½ - ¾ in. thick.
Boil them in water until just fork tender. Don’t over cook them or they become mushy. Drain them.
Put them in a baking dish. Put pats of butter/margarine all over them, and sprinkle brown sugar over the top. (Make a syrup.)
Warm in the oven.
Just before serving, sprinkle marshmallows over the top, and toast them in the oven at about 400 degrees or more. Keep an eye on them!

Margene’s Funeral Potatoes

Margene’s Funeral Potatoes

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1 32-oz. pkg. shredded froz. potatoes, thawed (hash browns)

½ c. melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
12 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I use less, maybe 8-10 oz.)
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 8-oz. sour cream
2 c. crushed corn flakes

Place potatoes in 9x13 baking dish.
Saute onion in butter until translucent.
Then stir in can of soup, cheese and sour cream. Mix well.
Pour over potatoes.
Top with crushed corn flakes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

(You could divide this between 2-3 baking dishes & freeze some for another time. I would suggest lining your dish with foil and then preparing the recipe. Leave the corn flakes off to add before you bake at a later date. After it is frozen, you can take it out of your dish, wrap it tightly in foil. Then slip it in a freezer bag. Then remove the foil before you let it thaw. Slip it back into the baking dish & let it thaw, add the crushed corn flakes, then bake.)