When God gives you a gorgeous bowl full of leftover mashed potatoes, one is required by law and the rules of Celtic decorum to do something with them!
So I did.
And they're not on anyone's diet, LOL. But it was delicious.
We had a rotisserie barbecue last weekend.
I ran out of bread.
I ran out of gas for the grill.
I was a hot mess of crazy. Where is my brain?
Anyway, I did a big kettle (I love that word) of potatoes to mash to make Dave happy. There is too much work around here right now. Making men happy is an important thing!
And a gorgeous rotisserie pork roast (remember those pork loins at Sam's club for $1.68/lb???) Well, I'm still buying one a week to stock the freezer!
So the next day, I took the leftover mashed potatoes, warmed them, whipped them with about 1/2 cup of Ranch dressing (this is never a bad thing, think stuffed potatoes, simply marvelous!) and when they were nice and smooth, I layered half into a casserole dish.
Then I cut up a few slices of leftover pork.
Then potatoes and pork and topped by potatoes.
So right now you've got a "mashed" scalloped potato casserole.... and then I topped it with shredded sharp cheddar cheese...
And baked it until hot, about 25 minutes at 350°.
We Were Happy.
It took about 8 minutes to prepare, Dave loved it (he suggested it, actually) and he had enough for lunch the next day.
And of course, there's always room for help in the kitchen! Leftover bread crusts and hot dog buns become fresh bread crumbs to tuck into the freezer, with help from "Z-Z":
This is how Z-Z looks when I say, "Just look natural, honey... " This was our third attempt at natural. :)
Then our beautiful and beloved Casey turned 16 in August! So we celebrated her birthday this week when we had a houseful of helpers:
You are never too young to learn the fine art of cake decorating! Great job McKenna, Brooke and Cole!
And here's Casey, surrounded by her admiration society!
I've had her in my arms since before she was two....
I love her to pieces.
I love being a part of their lives, their stories, their memories.
God is good... He has surrounded me with amazing families, beautiful children and the rare chance to make a difference in a child's life.
And the chance to write beautiful books!!!
Refuge is available just about everywhere now, and I'm beyond delighted. And moreover, I am just crazy happy by people's reactions to this beautiful story.
I'm sharing Mary Curry's photo here:
God is good... And when His goodness is revealed through our actions, it's such a stinkin' good blessing!
Feel free to "pop in" and chat with us... I love hearing folks' ideas and opinions!
Ruthy
Multi-published, best-selling author Ruth Logan Herne lives on a small farm in upstate New York, she loves God, family, her country, people, coffee, chocolate, dogs, doughnuts and kids! You can e-mail here HERE , friend her and pray with her on facebook, and visit her website http://ruthloganherne.com where we're giving away 3 copies of "Refuge of the Heart" this week! Go to the "blog" page and leave a comment to be entered!
Gah -- and it's still not available in Canada...what's up with that? BUT I got notification from Christianbook.com that my order has been shipped. Woohooo -- any day now!!!!!! So excited.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of mashed potato casserole - minus the pork, of course. But what about tossing in some garlic? Had garlic potatoes at a posh restaurant once years ago and always wanted to try it. Yum. And I would never have thought of adding ranch dressing. Ohhh wonder if you could whip in some cream cheese instead? I have cream cheese in my fridge right now. And potatoes and garlic. And the humidity is supposed to break today. Might just have to give this a whirl.
Sure, why not??? And I should have said that they were garlic mashed potatoes, because garlic mashed potatoes should be a thing!!!! So yes, skip the pork... and you know what would work with this, Kav? A package (or half a package) of frozen mixed veggies like we use on Shepherd's Pie.... And then the cheese. How delicious would that be???????
DeleteAnd I'm so excited that Refuge is ALMOST IN YOUR HANDS!!! HAPPY DANCING!!!! SPINNING IN JOY!!!! CLIMBING ON MY ROOF AND WAVING TO YOU ACROSS LAKE ONTARIO!!!!!!!
I hope you love it, dear Kav!!!!
Kav, you are in for such a treat (and not of the edible variety) when your book gets there. YOU WILL LOVE IT!
DeleteI did not pay Tracey to say that! The check in the mail was to thank her for... er... umm.... (thinks hard, very hard!) Something else!
DeleteOkay -- now I'm a tad on the hysterical side about reading that book! LOL Praying for a speedy delivery because I just finished a book and am ready to start something new........
DeleteHaha Ruthy, I am turning into your front woman, or maybe stalker reviewer. I tell anyone I can (for free) to read this book,
DeleteMY FAVORITE RUTHY BOOK EVER!
I love a mashed potato casserole, but I sometimes cheat and buy the Bob Evans ready made when it's just hubby and I. I love short cuts in the kitchen. Not having the pork on hand I would fry up some bacon and what's not to love about a layer of melted cheese. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteI love the way the light is hitting the cover of Refuge in the photo. It looks like it's really coming in, just beautiful.
Tracey, I'm trying that next time. Wright's bacon is on sale here this week and I missed it, so Beth is stocking up while she runs my house of crazy this weekend. I love Wright's bacon!!!
DeleteTracey, we've been buying Bob Evans for several years now. The kids liked them better than my homemade ones! So I said forget cooking. LOL Have you tried the scalloped potatoes as well (the container is flatter and longer). They're amazing!
DeleteMissy , I agree on any unnecessary cooking, any and all short cuts are the way to go now that our fam of five is down to two, except for special occasions and when everyone's home. Bob Evans are as good as homemade so why not? I haven't tried any of the other flavors but I'm putting the scalloped ones on my grocery list right now, thanks for the tip!
DeleteRuthy, those are my kind of leftovers. Yum. I know my hubby would be just as happy.
ReplyDeleteSo excited your book is doing so well. It is a wonderful story and will bless manyl
Sandra, thank you! When I make mashed potatoes, I always make extra for the next night. I love potatoes... I would make a horrible "paleo" diet person. I miss potatoes when I'm trying to lose weight... Shh... I promised myself I wouldn't worry about that until next week. And then ... I'll pay attention again!
DeleteRuthy, that looks right up my alley!! I love that combo!! Yum. I'll just have to make potatoes for that use someday since we rarely have any leftovers. LOL
ReplyDeleteMissy, I do double the day before so I have them leftover. Not just for this, but for any kind of fun mashed spud side dish. This was just easy and crazy delicious... I love using the rotisserie for meat.
DeleteSometimes you just NEED a big dose of carbs! I've been wondering what to fix for dinner, and I have potatoes just waiting to be used.
ReplyDeleteI'll add the garlic and cream cheese, too. And it will have to be chicken instead of pork. But who's counting?
I have to go to Amazon right now and move Refuge from my cart into my "orders shipped." I can't wait to read it.
Although I'm falling behind in my reading. Ruthy, you write books faster than I can read them :)
I'm behind too, so we'll catch up on our reading together this fall... when there's less outside work to do around here. I love sitting down and reading a Jan Drexler book!!! That still makes me grin!
DeleteLOL. This looks JUST like the dish I tried to make over the campfire when we were camping for a few days at the coast. I burned it... and it smelled so bad that the people in the next yurt started shouting about the terrible smell, got in their car and LEFT. HAhahahaha!
ReplyDeleteWhen they came back, I went over with a "so sorry I ruined your summer evening" gift certificate to Mo's (the fun , iconic seafood restaurant). They were German and had never heard of Mo's so all was well after that. (And I stopped trying to cook in a Dutch oven over a hot fire).
They didn't really do that, did they???????
DeleteOh, man that needs to go in a book. Our "Moe's" here is a Mexican restaurant, and I'm just in awe that you actually got them a gift card because your cooking scared them away.
OH, Virginia, that's priceless.
They really did! It was that bad. LOL.
DeleteAnd I had the gift certificate already. A friend had given it to me before we left and it didn't have a name on it so... God provides. :) We made some new friends and they discovered Mo's on the way up the coast to Portland so, win-win.