Cooking with Sam: Add potatoes to your menu

Potatoes. Let’s talk about them – or, I suggest that we just eat them and not talk about them.

To me, potatoes are delicious any way you prepare them. Here are some easy potato recipes.

Spiced-up Sweet Potatoes

4 small sweet potatoes

3 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons brown sugar

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I use any spice I have – whatever you like)

Microwave the sweet potatoes on high for 10-13 minutes or until tender.

Beat cream cheese, butter, brown sugar and spice together.

When potatoes are done, make a slit in each one and fluff slightly. Put a dollop of cream cheese mixture in each. Serves four.

Sometimes I will add crushed pineapple, about ½ cup, to my mixture, too.

Instant Potato Bake

7-ounce package instant potatoes

1 pint sour cream

6 green onions, chopped

5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

Prepare potatoes according to package directions. Spoon into greased casserole dish. Spread sour cream on top. Sprinkle with green onions and bacon. Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serves eight – unless I am there, and then it will only serve four.

Lazy Day Potatoes

4 potatoes, peeled and sliced

3 tablespoons dry onion soup mix

1 stick of butter

In a medium buttered casserole dish, layer the potatoes, salted and peppered to taste, the onion soup mix and butter slices. Cover and bake in a 325-degree oven for one hour, uncovering during the last minutes.

Sometimes I will cover with cheese in the last 10 minutes.

Hot Roasted Garlic Potatoes

5 medium potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch chunks

3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 teaspoon of salt

Toss all together till potatoes are evenly coated. Bake in roasting pan at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until tender, stirring once mid-cooking. Serves four to six.

Miss Daisy’s Hash Brown Cheese Cups

These are crispy on the outside and so delicious. Reheat them the next day, and they are still tasty. Oven is the best for cooking these – not the microwave.

4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, partially thawed

3 eggs

¼ cup milk

½ onion, chopped fine

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Mix all together well and fill cups almost full.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

It’s tasty to add bacon or tiny ham chunks. You could also add red, orange or yellow bell pepper or tomato and avocado, which adds a lot of flavor.