thursday. jam & mashed tater pancakes.

so this last weekend proved to be quite productive, both inside and out. and by productive, i mean, we played outside in the yard and garden all weekend and ate good food. that's my kind of weekend.

mmmmmm ... strawberry huckleberry jam ...


i'd been receiving complaints the last couple weeks from the peanut gallery that there wasn't any strawberry freezer jam left and that the store stuff doesn't taste as good. so, i mustered up the strength this weekend to make a batch. if you've never made freezer jam, it's about the easiest thing to make ... other than the pb & j sandwich you put it on (or in my case, the spoon i shovel it onto).

i like to put it in glass jelly jars because they're cute and fun to give away, but plastic ones work, too. all in all, it takes about an hour to make enough jam to last your family the whole year. sure-jell pectin recipe is the best—the one right off the box. i added huckleberries to this years' and then couldn't find my food processor blade (i put it somewhere i WOULDN'T lose it) to puree them in, so it's chunkier than normal, but still good! i highly recommend it (they have no sugar added recipes too)!

the highlight of my weekend, however, was my mashed potato pancakes. they sure don't look like much, but there's not much that tops em'. my dad makes em' best, but i did my best to compete! remember when i said they don't look like much? they really don't. it's hard to take a decent picture of a flat pancake ... i did my darndest and it just didn't quite work. but still, you get the idea.


homemade mashed tater pancakes.

ingredients.
10-12 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 C sour cream with ranch dressing packet mixed in
butter—as much or as little as you'd like
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg
2-3 tbs flour

how-to for mashed tater pancakes ...

1. Boil a big ol' pot of water with some salt thrown in (you can add garlic cloves to the water, too, if you like). Toss the potatoes in the boiling water and let them boil until tender enough to mash—check with a fork after 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain water, leaving just the taters, and mash. Add sour cream, butter, salt & pepper, and mix with electric mixer.
3. taste. adjust flavors as needed, and then refrigerate overnight (or make a double batch, eat some for dinner and save the rest for the next day for pancakes!)
4. add egg and flour and mix well.
   
5. xcoop small pancake-size dollops onto a hot oiled griddle or skillet. let cook for 1-2 minutes (until brown) and flip to the other side.
6. once flipped, add a slice of cheese to melt.
7. if you're not hungry yet, you shouldn't be reading this blog. this is the epitome of comfort food!
   

mashed potatoes take on a whole new meaning ...