Fried Mashed Potato Patties

No photo of today's dish- we were too hungry and just ate it. 
This is something my dad used to make when I was a kid and I always remember really liking it. I feel like I tried to make it once and it failed miserably and I had to toss it...... but honestly, I'm not THAT bad of a cook so I'm not sure how I would have messed it up so much?

Yesterday (Thanksgiving) when we were making the mashed potatoes (my job) we were discussing the leftovers. One of my kids loves mashed potatoes more than just about anything, but only freshly made. Once they've been refrigerated, this child doesn't want anything to do with it. sigh. 
My dad said "but leftover mashed potatoes are great. You can also make the potato patties." YES. Tell me how!! He said to mix some egg into it and fry it in a little butter. 

Today, after a lot of nibbling on mostly sweet Thanksgiving leftovers, we needed some dinner! I decided to make the potato patties, and have everyone get some left over meat (we had turkey, ham and pork kabobs) and some kind of vegetable and made a potato patty for each of us. 

I googled "how do you make fried mashed potato patties". I got a dozen results and I read four recipes before deciding to proceed. 

Ingredients: 

Leftover (cold) mashed potatoes (mine already have sour cream, salt and veg broth)

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Heaping handful shredded cheddar

Butter 

I put approximately a serving of mashed potato, per person, into a mixing bowl. I beat an egg with a fork in a small bowl and poured that over it. I added the flour and some cheese. Then I mixed it up like I do with meatballs- with my bare hand. yum.... I shaped it into five patties and then melted some butter, enough to cover the frying pan. I could cook three at a time, in the pan and I added butter as needed. I just cooked them maybe 7 minutes on each side and voila! Dinner! 

They need to cook longer than you think, to get brown and crispy, but everyone seemed to like it a lot! 

Apple Pie Spice + Chex Mix!

In an on-going attempt to have "normal" foods while still avoiding "issue" foods, we've been eating some chex mix! I forgot how much I LIKE sweet chex mixes. Personally, I really don't care for savory mixes...... 

This is a blend of several recipes, and is the faster variety, ha, so here you go: 

Apple Pie Chex Mix!

Ingredients:

9 cups Chex - any variety

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tbsp Apple Cider 
1 tbsp apple pie spice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions: 

Measure the chex into a large, microwaveable bowl. 

Melt the butter, add the sugars and spices, blend thoroughly. 

Pour butter mixture over cereal, stir to coat as much cereal as possible.

Microwave for five minutes- stirring every minute. 

Spread onto a cookie sheet to cool.

Store in an air tight container.  

*I have thought about adding chopped dried apples, but I forget every time...

To make Apple Pie Spice: 

1/2 cup cinnamon

2tbsp allspice

4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cardamom (which I don't have, so I just leave that one out.)

Refrigerator Kosher Dill Pickles

This is a keeper. The original recipe can be found here: www.food.com/recipe/refrigerator-kosher-dill-pickles-380632. Of course, I made some slight modifications.

Pickles

You can pickle just about any vegetable, but my favorites are cucumbers, English (long) cucumbers, white onions, and purple onions. You will need enough of the vegetable, cut up in whatever chunk you want, to fill the jar up to a 1/2 to 3/4 inch head gap at top of the jar. 

Pictured in this batch are English cucumbers, sliced into 1/4 slices, on a mandolin with a wavy pattern.

Pickling Brine - Per One "1 Quart" Jar

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

Bring both the water and vinegar to a boil in a saucepan, then take off the heat and let cool completely before using.

Pickling Spices - Per One "1 Quart" Jar

You can put the spices into the jar before adding the vegetables or on top of them. It won't matter once the liquid is dumped in and the you shake it up.

• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp dill seeds
• 1 tsp dill weed
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped. 
• Use fresh garlic here not the pre-minced stuff in a jar. You want the full strength of the garlic on display. 

Put one batch of spices in each jar of pickles. Add the cooled pickling brine and fill the jar to the top, covering the pickles best you can. Leave at least a 1/2 inch air gap at the top between the liquid and the top of the jar. Screw on your lid on your jar and shake for a few seconds to distribute the salt and spices evenly.

Refrigerate for 7 days, shaking the jar for a few seconds every day. These will last approximately 6 months in the refrigerator. If you can't wait a full 7 days, let the jar sit for at least 24 hours before trying your pickles. I recommend making at least two jars. The first jar can be ready to eat in 24 hours, which, hopefully, will last a full seven days so the second jar will be fully matured.