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!