One of my favorite potato recipes in mashed potatoes.  Comforting, frugal, easy, no-fail, and oh, so delicious.  Plus, they’re easy to dress up and make something special from.

Basic Mashed Potatoes:

Potatoes (about 3-5 small, 2 to 4 medium, or 1 or 2 large potatoes for each person, depending on if youre using this as a side dish or a main meal (we eat a lot of mashed potatoes on their own)
Butter or margarine (if you want to have vegan, or if you’re poor like me right now)
milk (or soy or rice milk)
salt (and pepper if you want)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you prepare your potatoes
2. Peel and roughly cut up (or chop…I always cut my potatoes in my hand.  But you a use a cutting board) .  They shouldn’t be tiny pieces, but you want them small enough to cook quickly.  The main idea is to get them about the same size, so they’re all ready at the same time.
3. Add your potatoes to the boiling water and let them boil rapidly until they’re soft.  For best results, cook until they’re soft enough to pierce with a fork, then cook about 5 minutes longer.  Especially if you don’t have a potato masher.
4. Drain your potatoes in a colander, and mash with a fork, potato masher, or potato ricer until there are no lumps. Add butter (or margarine) and milk (or soy or rice milk) and salt (pepper, if you want it) and whip them with a fork until they’re fluffy and creamy.

Fancier mashed potatoes:

When I want to serve just mashed potatoes, I try to add something special so we don’t feel so deprived.  Precooked bacon, cheese, and chives tastes good.  Also sour cream and chives, or garlic powder or other herbs and spices mixed in, especially with cheese or extra butter.  When we’re living on the cheap, I love to eat mashed potatoes with chili powder and cheese.  Tastes like baked potatoes with chili on top.

Gravy is great on plain mashed potatoes (skip it if you’re adding other stuff).  Making gravy is pretty simple.  White gravy is a simple white sauce, good for all kinds of situations.  Melt and brown a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over low heat.  Add enough flour to soak up all the butter, and let it brown a bit.  Add milk just a bit at a time, giving it time to thicken before adding more (if you add all the milk at once, it will leave you with lumps).  Your gravy should be thick, not runny. If it’s too thin, just cook it a little longer (you can up the heat a bit, but don’t boil it!).  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  This southern style white gravy can be served over mashed potatoes, biscuits, chicken, etc. as is, or you can add herbs or cheese for a special flavor.