Leek Mashed Taters

As mentioned in THIS POST we signed up for Farm Fresh to You organic produce delivery and couldn't be happier!! I promise to try and post recipes for everything we make using the contents of each package- so far you've seen the Soup Noodles we made first, and next week I'll post the green  smoothie breakfast I made using the rest of the chard...this is a Nate creation- he made us a delicious dinner of steak, mashed taters and I made a kale salad for the side.

We still had some of our "pound of red potatoes" and 1 of the "2 bunches of leeks" - these were easy peasy and DELICIOUS. We made them WITH the steak, as you'll see in my description- but of course I'll include a side note on how to make these solo and with out the steak involved~

Here's what we did:

In a medium pot boil 4-6 cups of water, add in about 1/2 to 1 whole pound of small red potatoes- cut in quarters (we did 1/2 a pound- which is enough for 2 people and a portion for lunch the next day).

Check the potatoes after about 5 minutes in boiling water- poke em with a fork- you want them cooked all the way through so you can mash em up. They should be done and ready to drain after about 7-9 minutes.

When the potatoes are all cooked- drain the water all away and put the potatoes back in the pot. Set aside, off of the heat.

Meanwhile....

Heat 1 T butter & 1T olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet, over medium heat- add 1 bunch of leeks (chopped & rinsed WELL), 3 cloves of garlic (chopped), 1/2 a shallot (chopped) stir/cook for about 5 minutes.

Two options here- you can just simmer/sautee the above goodness, set it aside in a bowl to mash into the potatoes OR at this point add some seasoned/marinated steak (or even chicken!) to the pan- sear on both sides then finish in the oven- use a meat thermometer to be sure it's cooked through in the case of the chicken, and cooked to your preferred "done-ness" in the case of the steak- remove meat from pan onto a plate to rest.

NOW, take the leak-y goodness that is also all mixed up in the meat-cooking goodness and add to the potatoes. Add in about 1/4-1/3 cup milk and mash up using a potato masher.

IF you didn't involve the meat step- season with salt and pepper and maybe even a pinch of red chili flake- to your liking...if you involved the meat your potatoes should be totally well seasoned from the juices.

Our next farm box delivery comes TODAY and I can't wait to see what's inside!!!