As a child, I remember traveling with my family north to Idaho. It was seldom, but the memory of standing in a potato field and watching them unearth goodness. It was magical. As I grew into an adult, potatoes became my weakness. It’s one of the most versatile foods on the planet! We eat them often..for dinner, as a side, for breakfast, baked, sliced, diced and fried.
I’m leading my children down the same path of taste. We received a coloring book from the US Potato Board. It’s more than a coloring book it’s heaping with delicious recipes that are simple. That weekend it rained, and the kiddos decided it was the best day ever to make ALL the recipes!
To get us out of the house, we headed to the grocery store. The kiddos had an amazing time searching for every potato they could find. They were disappointed we didn’t discover the coveted PURPLE potato mentioned in the coloring book! We brought home quite the variety:
potatoes, baking potatoes, finger potatoes, red potatoes, golden potatoes and Idaho potatoes!
We washed the potatoes and talked about how potatoes grow in the ground. While the potatoes dried, we looked through the book. The kiddos were set on making as many potato recipes as they could so we started with Alex’s Favorite Fingerling Potato Recipe. We sliced our finger potatoes lengthwise and then the kiddos began the gourmet goodness:
Li’l Man and The Divine Miss M add oil and garlic to the finger potatoes
The recipe required three ingredients and was easy enough Li’l Man, and The Divine Miss M did it on their own, while Mom read the fun facts in the coloring book:
Alex’s Favorite Fingerling Potato Recipe
We pulled them out of the oven, and the kiddos couldn’t wait for them to cool.
Alex’s Favorite Fingerling Potato Recipe Fresh Out of the Oven
Fun Fact: Potatoes are very good source of vitamin C, a good source of vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, vitamin A, thiamin, niacin, folate, riboflavin, calcium, zinc, copper, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and dietary fiber
Rather than have the kiddos grow antsy in anticipation, we moved on to the next recipe.
Potato Smashers Recipe
This recipe was my kiddos absolute favorite. They even declared that before they tasted one. I think it had something to do with the preparation being so much fun and hands-on!
Li’l Man and The Divine Miss M Smashing Potatoes!
After the kiddos had smashed the potatoes, I cooked them in the pan:
smashed potatoes in the pan
The kitchen smelled delicious, and the kiddos ate the smashed potatoes by dipping them into ranch dressing! Declaring them, “Yummy-delicious!”
Smashed Potatoes ready to eat!
Fun Fact: One medium size potato contains only 100 calories
Next on the menu was Elena’s Favorite White Potato Recipe or Confetti Mashed Potatoes.
These were festive:
Our confetti potatoes
And our least favorite. The kiddos just couldn’t get behind ALL the vegetables nestled together.
Fun Fact: A baked potato (with skin) is a good source of dietary fiber (4 grams).
Finally, we created Ashley’s Favorite Russet Potato Recipe aka Twice Baked Potatoes:
Li’l Man and my husband LOVED these potatoes! They were baked then the insides were mixed with broccoli, sour cream and cheese making them gooey goodness.
Twice Baked Potatoes
The best part–we got to eat all the fun!
Fun Fact: The potato is a highly nutritious food. They are fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium free. It is an excellent source of Vitamin C and provides important B Vitamins plus minerals like potassium, copper, magnesium and iron. Potatoes are also one of our best sources of complex carbohydrates.
We only made a handful of the recipes that day. Visit www.potatogoodness.com and download your own PDF copy of this great coloring book that has recipes your family will enjoy making together and eating!
The recipes don’t stop with this coloring book, be sure and sign-up for the weekly recipe email from The US Potato Board and connect with them on Facebook and Pinterest!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. This post enters me in a contest to win a gift card. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this by the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.