A Heart Attack Guarantee

No, I am not talking about that monstrosity of a Health Care Debacle. Don’t get me started or I won’t ever finish and I might just have the above mentioned attack.

No, I am think that today we need to talk about comfort food. Food that makes you warm and fuzzy and makes your tummy go, “Oh YES!”.

What sorts of dishes in your house qualify as “comfort food”? PB&J? Fried Chicken? Broccoli? Well, in this household the list is long and varied. But one of the favorites, that is requested for most birthdays, is Party Potatoes. Or as we like to call it “A Heart Attack in a Bowl”.

These are all the ingredients. What dish wouldn’t be good with the addition of sour cream, cream cheese AND butter. We can see that I have been shopping at Wally Mart. I used red skinned potatoes in this dish because…that is what I had available. And I didn’t skin them. You can use whatever kind of potato your little heart desires.

Ah butter, I sing a song to you. Of all your creamy goodness. The joy you bring.

First thing you do is cut up the potatoes and put them on to boil. I forgot to take a picture of the cutting and dicing. I think you guys have that all figured out…at least I hope you do.

Don’t have a heart attack at all the salt. Remember that you really need to salt the water the potatoes are cooking in or you will never be able to get the salt right in the rest of the dish. I know….I have forgotten the salt before…..it was bad.

When the taters are done cooking, drain them and throw them in the bowl of your mixer. Or just throw them back in the pot and use a hand mixer. I would say that you need some sort of mixer to do this dish. To mash all the stuff together by hand is really difficult.

Eat a piece of potato or two here, just because you can.

Add salt.

Add pepper.

Add garlic powder. If you use garlic salt then omit the other salt.

Add the milk. I just usually add a “glug” but I will give a measurement with the recipe just so that Lauren doesn’t hyperventilate. I want her to make this because the girls are so going to love it.

Add the butter. Yes the whole thing. All 1/2 cup of it. Go on. It isn’t going to kill you….at least not right now. And what a way to go.

Add the cream cheese. Yes the whole thing. Look at all that creamy goodness. You can use a lower fat cream cheese but you CANNOT use the no fat cream cheese. It doesn’t taste the same.

Don’t try it. I will know and I will not be happy. Remember, an unhappy Debbie is a bad thing.

Add the sour cream now too. I forgot to take a picture of this step. The brain went haywire for a minute.

Now turn on your mixer and incorporate everything together. Just remember not to work the potatoes too much. If there is a lump or two that is OK. If you beat the life out of them they get gummy.

Just remember that if you are, hmmmm, over exuberant about turning on the mixer the potatoes tend to fling themselves out of the bowl. Of course, these cannot be returned to the bowl. Guess I will just have to eat them.

Darn.

When you use red skinned potatoes it does tend to clog up the beater a bit.

There all clean. Washed it in the sink? Are you nuts! I licked that sucker clean is what I did. I didn’t want to be wasteful.

Then put all of it into a prepared baking dish. REMEMBER to grease the dish before hand. It is a real mess later if you don’t. '

I should know….

And then spread the potatoes out all nice, and maybe taste them a bit just to make sure that they are OK. You wouldn’t want to serve an inferior product would you?

Sprinkle with paprika and you are good to go. At this point you can actually refrigerate the dish for a day or two. If you are thinking ahead enough to have done the prep that far in advance. It can then be baked at your convenience on the day that you are serving it.

This is the link for the recipe.

LINK-> Party Potatoes <-LINK

Now go forth and make them. You won’t be sorry.