Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes in the Slow Cooker

I've got two out of three kids with new orthodontic work --- my eldest got braces a week ago, and her younger sister had a palate expander inserted yesterday (that expander thing kind of creeps me out).

This means we are eating an awful lot of soft food.

Garlic mashed potatoes were requested, and I was on a mission to see if I could make the whole dish directly in the slow cooker, without having to boil water or pull out a colander.

It worked! You're going to love these potatoes ---- the garlic roasts along with the potatoes in the cooker in a bit of chicken broth, then gets mashed right on in with both cream and Parmesan cheeses.

The Ingredients.
serves 8-10
 
5 pounds red potatoes, mostly skinned and quartered
20 cloves of garlic, peeled (about 2 heads)
1 cup chicken broth (you can use vegetable)
1/2 block (4 ounces) of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
(salt to taste if needed at the table)

 The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the peeled and quartered potatoes into an empty slow cooker. I left the skin on a few of the potatoes for added color and texture; it's completely up to you. Toss in the garlic cloves. Pour in chicken or vegetable broth. Cover, and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Check the potato doneness with a fork. The potato piece should slide right off, and the garlic should be a golden brown and pretty shiny. If you have a LOT of liquid in the bottom of the crock, you  might want to drain a bit of it out. I only ended up with what looked like a 1/4 cup or so accumulated (I used the Ninja Cooking System).

Add the cream cheese to the pot, and use an immersible hand blender to mash the potatoes, or you can use a whisk or potato masher if you'd like a chunkier finished product. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Salt to taste, if necessary, at the table.


The Verdict.

Delicious, creamy, and garlicky. The garlic is roasted, so the flavor is mellow and slightly nutty. There isn't any heat or bite from the garlic whatsoever, it's incredibly smooth. We brought this to a friend's house for dinner and it paired beautifully with oven roasted tri-tip and asparagus.

enjoy!

other garlicky goodness:
20-40 clove garlic chicken
roasted garlic
super duper garlic dip
roasted garlic spoonbread
honey garlic chicken
garlic baked potatoes
broccoli with roasted garlic and hazelnuts


we've got a giveaway for a new back-to-school backpack on Totally Together Journal, and LOTS of great prizes on the giveaway page!!

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Beer Braised Turkey with Potatoes

Hello there! It's summer time, and just when I think the days couldn't possibly fly by any faster, they do. I love having the girls home with me, and we've been having lots of fun playing board (bored?) games, staying up late, camping in the backyard, and running through the sprinklers.

and we're only in week number two!

Today, though, my 7-year-old has the flu, and there is nothing worse than hearing friends outside riding bikes when you're stuck inside on the couch. She's a good sport, though, and is watching RV on loop (cute movie, ages 7+; quite a few bathroom-related jokes....) while I catch up on computer work.

Although we're in June, and slow cooker fare usually conjures up snowy/rainy days and crisp fall weather, I implore you to NOT forget about your slow cooker during the summer months. It keeps your kitchen cool, and provides more opportunity to play!

Beer Braised Turkey with Potatoes

The Ingredients.

serves 4-6

2 pounds potatoes, washed and quartered (no need to peel)

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

3 pounds turkey drumsticks, or a bone-in turkey breast

4 tablespoons butter (melted, or just toss in the half-stick)

1 tablespoon dried basil (or 1/4 cup finely diced fresh basil leaves)

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer (Redbridge, by Anheuser Busch is gluten free.) If you'd prefer to not cook with alcohol, you can use a non-alcoholic beer.

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the potatoes and onion into the bottom of your insert, and add turkey on top. Frozen is okay--- and I did try to peel away some of the skin from my legs since I have weird skin issues. Plop in butter, basil, and lemon juice. Sprinkle on salt, and pour in the beer. Cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

The Verdict.

I served our turkey dinner with steamed Brussels sprouts, although if I had gotten my act together earlier in the day would have preferred to roast them or make the world's best Brussels sprouts. The turkey was beautifully moist, and the drippings made a fabulous gravy (thicken by reducing in the stove, or by whisking in a cornstarch slurry--1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water).

Save your turkey bones to make soup!

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Turkey Stew

Here's to the BEST. SUMMER. EVER!! What are your plans?

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Slow Cooker Irish Potatoes Recipe

 

Next time you're assigned a side dish for a potluck, don't roll your eyes. Bring along Irish Potatoes---

They're magically delicious!

HA!

The Ingredients.

serves 8 to 10

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, cut into wedges (I used Russet, and didn't peel; red would work great too)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 green onions, sliced

3 teaspoons dried dill

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (might want more to taste if you use unsalted butter)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the cut potatoes and water into the slow cooker (READ this carefully! only potatoes and water so far!). 

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the accumulated liquid and put the potatoes back in the crock. Toss potatoes with melted butter, lemon juice, sliced green onion, and all seasoning.

Keep potatoes on the warm setting and serve right out of the pot.

The Verdict.

This was our offering at a potluck dinner party, and they were well received. I liked the tartness from the lemon combined with the velvety coating the butter and herbs provided. These are fun, different, and memorable---all good things to bring along to a potluck!

It's the last day to enter to win a 4-quart programmable slow cooker from Cuisinart!

more potatoey goodness from the crockpot:

baked potatoes

company's coming potatoes au gratin

walnut and sage au gratin potatoes

baked potato soup

seasoned potato wedges

creamy mashed potatoes

potato leek soup

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Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup Recipe

During my call for recipes, I got emails from Jennifer, Jenny, Jenny Y., Julie, and Charlotte asking if I had made a baked potato soup in the slow cooker. I had not. I did make a potato-leek soup last year, but that's not really the same thing. It's definitely healthier, though!

Panera bakery evidently has a very good baked potato soup, but I've never stepped foot into a Panera, so I hadn't had their soup as a reference. So I googled it, and found a copycat recipe on RecipeZaar and adapted it to fit our family.

We all really liked this soup---the kids ate a ton, and we have a bunch leftover. I made a big batch so we'd have leftovers in the freezer. I'd guess this serves 10.

The Ingredients.

--5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2-inch chunks
--1 teeny onion, diced
--4 cloves garlic, minced
--1 teaspoon seasoned salt
--1/2 teaspoon black pepper
--1/2 teaspoon red pepper
--2 quarts chicken broth
--2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, to add at the end
--crumbled bacon and green onion or chives as garnish (optional)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4. The potatoes should be fork-tender. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup, or a hand-held immersible blender. I suppose you can also leave the potatoes in chunks, if you really wanted, but I wanted a smooth soup.

After smashing the potatoes, crumble in both packages of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved. Stir a few times during the 30 minutes.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, green onion or chives, and I'd assume cheddar cheese would be just delightful.

The Verdict.

When I first started hanging out on the internet, I was surprised at how much bacon talk there was. Everywhere I turned (clicked), it seemed there was somebody else going on and on and on some more about their love for bacon. Since I don't eat pork, I really didn't get it, and just figured it was a weird internet thing.

But yesterday I figured out the secret to really good turkey bacon. Fry it in a ton of butter. Now I think I might sort of get it. Although I'm not terribly pleased with how messy it is....

anyhow, this is a fantastic soup, and the bacon on top really seals the deal. My kids both ate a bowl when it was first finished around 4pm, and another later in the evening.

We're going to have BLT's with the leftover bacon for lunch. or maybe breakfast. I'm excited.

other great soups:

Jamaican Pumpkin
Thai Coconut
Corn Chowder
Harvest Stew
French Onion

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CrockPot Horseradish Scalloped Potatoes

Day 355.

This has cream in it. mmm. It's okay, though. You've got 12 days until your diet begins. These potatoes pair wonderfully with roast beef.

and pancakes and coffee.

The Ingredients.

3 pound red potatoes, washed and sliced (no need to peel, yay!)
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not the cream kind, the regular; I went with extra hot)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crockpot. Scrub your potatoes well and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Layer into a crockpot you've sprayed with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, horseradish, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour over the top of the potatoes. Stir.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4 hours, or until potatoes are fork tender. I cooked ours on high for 2 hours, then low for another 4. Garnish with shredded Parmesan.

The Verdict.

Delicious. The kids each had two bowls. The horseradish provides a bit of a fun flavor that is not spicy as much as it is different and interesting. The kids didn't think it was spicy, just tasty. These are heavy---I'd say that this could serve 6 grownups as a side dish, yet Adam and I ate them as a main course.

we're going for a run today.

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