Spinach & Herb Smashed Topatoes

spinach & herb smashed topatoes...

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta go with a big ol' bowl of comfort food for dinner and for me, that's mashed potatoes. Yes, it's a stereotype: girl of Irish descent loves potatoes. Can you blame me? But these aren't the mashed potatoes of my childhood, made with starchy russet potatoes and lots of milk and butter. Nope. Mine are made with the less starchy, waxier red potato, are much chunkier (thus "smashed" instead of "mashed") and they're not just potatoes (thus "topatoes"- a term that entered my vocabulary back in my college days). With a friend sharing dinner and football tonight, one of us had the vegetarian version, while the other bowl was topped with diced turkey bacon. It's like a hug for the soul... or your stomach. You know what I mean.

Spinach & Herb Smashed Topatoes

... with turkey bacon

Ingredients:
2 large red potatoes, skins on, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 cup of cauliflower, chopped
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 ounces of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbs. goat cheese (cream cheese would work well here)
1 Tbs. sour cream (I usually have the fat-free stuff in my fridge)
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped (fresh is best, but dried would work)
1 Tbs. basil, chopped (fresh really is best here)
1 tsp. dill (fresh or dried, whatever you have on hand)
1 Tbs. chives, chopped (I usually just snip my chives with kitchen shears 'cause it's easier than using a knife)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large pot over high heat, cover the potatoes, parsnip, and cauliflower with water, add 1 Tbs. salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook the vegs until fork tender, about 13-15 minutes. (Stating the Obvious: The smaller everything is diced, the quicker it will cook.) Drain the vegs, and return everything to the hot pot (now over low heat) before adding the olive oil and spinach, covering with a lid to allow the spinach to wilt and heat through. When the spinach has wilted, lightly mash the vegs with a fork (NOT a potato masher), leaving things relatively chunky. Stir in the goat cheese (or cream cheese) and sour cream, then finish with the herbs and salt & pepper. To keep things vegetarian, stop here and serve the smashed topatoes as is. If, however, you want to take that extra step, top the smashed topatoes with some crispy bacon; in this case, I used a slice of turkey bacon, diced and crisped in the toaster oven.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Tacos

Okay. I admit it: Tacos are one of the few foods that I will occasionally "cheat" and use the box dinner kits that include those crunchy taco shells and a spice packet. So what? They're tasty and still better than the fast-food version you get through the late night drive thru because I can make them with ground turkey, chicken, or tofu and top them however I want. That being said, for the most part I make tacos from scratch and the quickest of the variations I like to make are these black bean tacos because all the ingredients come straight from the pantry and my freezer.

Black Bean Tacos

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup of onion, diced (yes, I have diced onions in my freezer)
1/4 cup of red/yellow/green bell pepper, diced (again, I keep a bag of peppers in my freezer)
1/4 cup of salsa or tomatoes, diced (I had leftover diced tomatoes with jalapenos in the fridge from a can opened earlier in the week)
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
splash of water (veggie stock or tomato juice works well here)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika (sweet or smoked, whatever you have on hand)
1/4 cup sweet corn (yes, from the freezer again)
salt & pepper to taste
splash of lime juice
soft flour tortillas (I prefer the smaller taco size, but these can just as easily be made into larger burritos)

Directions:
Cook the onion, peppers, and tomatoes in olive oil over medium-low heat until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the beans, splash of water, and all spices. Using a fork, lightly mash some of the beans to release their starch, leaving most of the beans whole. Simmer until the beans are warmed through and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 3-5 minutes, before adding in the corn. Finish with a squirt of lime juice and build your tacos however you want. Today, I kept things simple and just spread a smear of sour cream on the tortilla, added a sprinkle of shredded Mexican cheese, and topped it with the bean mixture.

Enjoy!