bonjourhan

Wow, it’s getting a little dusty around here! I thought I’d brush away some of the cobwebs and finally post something after 2 months of silence.

I’ve been really busy, but that’s not the complete reason. I actually haven’t cooked much since my last post, because food has been pretty unappealing lately. In fact, I’ve basically been nauseated the past 2 months straight. Why?

The Big News

It seems God gave us a little surprise…. Stephen and I are having a baby! I’m 14 weeks along and officially in my second trimester. It was pretty unexpected, but we are so excited about this new adventure!

So bear with me here as I try to ease back into cooking. The nausea is certainly not gone, but it’s not as bad as it has been, and I’ve been able to start cooking again to some degree.

Back to the Potatoes…

Here’s one of the few things I’ve made recently. Growing up, Mom often put a bunch of other stuff in with our mashed potatoes to add some extra nutrition and deliciousness. I almost feel boring whenever I make regular mashed potatoes (though they are still delicious and certainly have their place).

Here’s my most recent take on throwing a bunch of “other stuff” in with my mashed potatoes to make an awesome mix of deliciousness. You can pair these with regular ol’ chicken or fish or some other kind of meat, and it’s a complete meal.

Ingredients

Ok, I didn’t measure a single thing in here. But rest assured that you can very easily wing it on this, and it will still taste awesome. I included pictures at the bottom in case you want a visual representation of how much stuff to use, though.

• Potatoes, scrubbed and cut up into chunks (I used red potatoes because that’s what I had on hand)
• Butter (none of this margarine nonsense)
• Minced garlic (or diced, if your favorite garlic press in the world broke and you had to do it quickly by hand)
• Onions, sliced thinly (or chopped, if you’d rather not encounter your onions quite so visibly)
• White wine (I don’t care what kind. I don’t drink the stuff, so I don’t know any of the fancy names. As long as it’s wine and it’s white.)
• Chopped broccoli (I used frozen broccoli, thawed it in the microwave and drained it first)
• Sour cream

You can also substitute spinach for the broccoli. Or you can substitute anything in this recipe for anything else. It’s really versatile, if I hadn’t made that clear already…

Directions

I’m including step-by-step photos under the written directions.

1. Put potatoes in a pot and fill with water to about 1-2 inches above the potatoes. Boil until potatoes get soft and edges start to crumble.
2. In the meantime, sauté the butter, onions and garlic over medium heat until the onions are soft.
3. Add a splash or two of white wine and let the alcohol simmer out (basically, it will look like the liquid is disappearing). Let me repeat: This is not an alcoholic food. The alcohol evaporates, leaving just the flavor of the wine.
4. Drain the broccoli (if previously frozen) and add it to the onion mixture. Sauté until it starts to wilt and soften.
5. Mix in a few globs of sour cream and let gently bubble for a few minutes.
6. Drain the potatoes, pour in some milk, and mash them until smooth. You may need to add more milk, but just eyeball it.
7. Dump the contents of the sauté pan into the potatoes and stir. Try not to eat it all before you make it to the table.

The day I took the pictures, we ate the mashed potatoes with some chicken thighs I seasoned and baked (they’re super easy, but let me know if you want to know how to make them!).

Boil the potatoes…

Sauté the onions, garlic and butter…

Until they look like this…

Then add some white wine…

And after most of the liquid evaporates, add the broccoli…

Stir in the sour cream…

And mix it all into the mashed potatoes!