Skinny Texas Cheese Fries

Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes (2/3 lb total), russet or yukon gold, washed and dried, skin on
2 t olive oil
1 t smoked paprika
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/3 t garlic powder
1/8 t cumin
coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 slice center cut bacon, cooked and finely chopped
1/3 C sharp shredded cheddar cheese
2 T diced scallions
1 T sliced pickled jalapeno (jarred or canned)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up.  Lightly coat with cooking spray.  Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4 thin slices, then cut each slice into 1/4 inch fries.

In a large bowl, combine cut potatoes and oil; toss well. Add seasoning (paprika to salt & pepper). Toss to coat.

Place potatoes in a single layer on a lightly greased large baking sheet. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp, turning once half way through (depending on thickness, this may require more or less time).

Remove from oven, place fries into two small oven safe dishes (or one large dish for sharing), top with cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos, scallions and bacon bits, and return to the oven for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Serve warm with low-fat buttermilk ranch dressing.

In RS Program April 8, 2012.

Light Baked Potato Soup

Yield: 4 servings
From Cooking Light Oct 2010

4 (6 oz) red potatoes
2 t olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion
1 1/4 C lower-sodium chicken broth
3 T all-purpose flour
2 C 1% low-fat milk, divided
1/4 C reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 t salt
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
3 bacon slices, halved
1/3 C shredded cheddar cheese
4 t thinly sliced green onions

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.

While potatoes cook, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 3 minutes. Add broth.  Combine flour and 1/2 C milk in measuring cup; add to pan then add the remaining 1 1/2 C milk. Bring to a boil; stir often, being careful to not let the milk boil over. Cook 1 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt and pepper.

Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.

Scoop potato into soup and discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup using a potato masher. Ladle soup into four bowls and top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

In the RS program March 18, 2012.

Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4 to 5 lbs potatoes
8 oz creamed cheese
1 C sour cream
Garlic powder to taste
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook potatoes. Mash with creamed cheese and sour cream. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.

These can be made ahead of time and heated in oven, microwave or crock pot before serving. They will keep several days and unlike regular mashed potatoes, reheat beautifully.

August 16, 2009

Easy way to peel potatoes

Bring water to a boil, wash potatoes and score with knife all the way around the middle. Drop gently in boiling water and boil for about 15 minutes. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Remove one of the potatoes from water with tongs and place in ice water. Move it around in the ice for about 10 seconds. Remove from water and take the skins right off. See a demonstration on Youtube.com - "Dawn Wells Potato Peeling Video".

May 2, 2010

Also on Helpful Hints blog.