Tasty Tuesday: Garlic mashed potatoes

Last night, Indy had Wood Sprite go to the store with him to plan her own menu. Then he helped her prepare it, from the barbecue chicken to the mashed potatoes, broccoli and corn on the cob. It was absolutely delicious, and she was so proud. She’s made simple dishes before—including mashed potatoes—but never a whole meal. If you think seven is too young to do that (with parental help), she’s proof that it can be done! Kids can peel and mash potatoes, marinate meat and vegetables (before adding to heat), help chop vegetables and much more with supervision.

If you have been reading since the beginning, you already know that Indy’s not a fan of recipes. He cooks very intuitively, and he’ll use some basics from recipes but usually modifies things to his own taste and almost never measures. That’s why I do the baking and he does the rest of the cooking! So I thought I’d try to find a recipe similar to the one he made. I like Alton Brown, so here’s his recipe for garlic mashed potatoes—and it even has Parmesan cheese in them, which is what Indy included! We had leftover fresh cheese from another meal he made so he thought he’d include it.

For the barbecue chicken, they just used a Jack Daniels marinade. We are such Jack Daniels people here when it comes to sauces; I love it on broccoli, myself. Wood Sprite has to have her broccoli plain, though—she won’t eat it otherwise.

And I know I’ve probably shared this recipe for cheesy, crispy chicken before, but it’s so worth repeating.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia