I don’t know if there is any greater feeling in the world than when you nail a recipe. There’s a major sense of accomplishment in your work… and then you get to eat delicious food. Euphoric.
Euphoric. That’s how I felt after making these mashed potatoes. I started with the idea of mashing roasted garlic and green onions in with the potatoes. I often like to add a little cream cheese (for, you know, the creaminess!) in addition to milk and butter, but I didn’t think I had any on hand today. t
Then I remembered that tub of Herb and Garlic cream cheese sitting in the back of my fridge. It got me thinking… Green onions are an herb and garlic is garlic; this is a perfect match!
It was. You know your mashed potatoes are good when you can’t resist licking the beaters after making them.
Why It’s The Smart Choice
According to research done to determine the fullness factor in foods (which foods keep you feeling full the longest), boiled potatoes (with the skin) come out on top! I think everyone, even the researchers, were surprised with this revelation. It’s thought that the fullness is due to the fibre in the skin and the large size of the starch granules. Lessons learned about eating potatoes:
1) Eat the skins.
2) Boil potatoes instead of baking.
3) Don’t go crazy eating a ton of them. Portion control is still important!
If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations! Knowing someone has enjoyed one of my recipes always makes my day brighter.
Perfect Herb & Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- One whole bulb of garlic
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 2 lbs of potatoes I used red skinned
- ½ cup of milk
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 stalks of green onions chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons herb and garlic cream cheese
Instructions
- 1. Remove the outer papery layer off the garlic. Place the bulb of garlic on its side and slice the top tips off.
- 2. Place a square of tin foil on a baking sheet. Place the garlic stem side down on the tin foil. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the cut tips.
- 3. Wrap the tin foil over the garlic.
- 4. Place in a 400 degree oven (a toaster oven works great if you have one!)
- 5. While the garlic is roasting, cut your potatoes into evenly sized chunks and place in a large pot. Pour water over the potatoes until they are just covered.
- 6. Place on stove on high heat until the water boils. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until they are soft.
- 7. Drain the water and place the potatoes back on the stove. Shake the pot until the potatoes dry up a little bit. I consulted my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook for the cooking part of the potatoes. Bettty says this step helps to create even fluffier mashed potatoes.
- 8. Once the potatoes have dried a bit, dump them into your stand mixer (if you have one). If not, mash in the pot with a handheld mixer or a potato masher.
- 9. At this point, your garlic should be nice and soft. Remove from oven and squeeze the garlic cloves onto the potatoes, leaving the papery skins behind.
- 10. Mash potatoes and garlic until no longer lumpy then slowly start adding the milk. Add as much milk as you need until you get the texture you prefer.
- 11. Then add the butter, salt, green onions, and cream cheese. Mix until smooth.
Notes
- You can leave out the cream cheese if you don’t have any. They won’t be perfect then but they’ll be close 🙂
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