Potatoes Archives | Embracing Motherhood

How to Make the Best Potato Fries

As a busy mother of four little ones, I love making healthy food that the kids love that fits our budget. These potato fries do all of those things, and this is why I make a big batch of them at least once a week. I try to make enough so that we’ll have extra, but they don’t usually last very long!

Ingredients

6-8 Potatoes (Organic are best, they are one of the dirty dozen!)
2 T. Coconut Oil
Real Salt
Pepper
Optional: Garlic and Onion Powder

Directions

Preheat the Pan: A cast iron skillet would probably be ideal, but for convenience sake, I use a plug in skillet like this. Add coconut oil to the pan and warm it up on a low to medium heat until the oil is nice and hot.
Cut the Potatoes: Wash and cut potatoes. I like to cut mine into strips to make into potato fries, but you could also dice them into little potato cubes or potato circles.
Raw Potatoes Cut Into Fries
Add the Potatoes to the Skillet: When you add the potatoes, the oil should be hot enough to pop.
Cook: Cook with the lid off for about 20-30 minutes on low to medium heat. Flip and stir often. If you leave the skillet uncovered, the fries will be crispier, but take longer to cook. If you cover them, they will cook more quickly, but the fries will be softer.
Potato Fries Cooking
Season: Add the seasonings of your choice, stir, add a little more, stir, and add a little more. I usually just add a bunch of salt and a dash of pepper.
Serve: My kids like their fries with ketchup of course. For me, I like loading them up like I would a baked potato with cheese, sour cream, and chives. Yum!
Potato Fries with Ketchup

July 3, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

How to Make the Best Potato and Egg Salad

Eggs, General, Potatoes, Recipes

There are lots of recipes for potato salad out there, but I’m not kidding when I say that this is the best! It’s all about the simplicity of the recipe and the quality of the ingredients. When you buy organic potatoes and pastured eggs and use Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, Hellman’s Mayonnaise, Real Salt, fresh organic parsley, you have the makings for a winning recipe. Not only does this recipe, taste good, it’s good for you too. So, let’s get to it!

Ingredients

4-5 Medium Sized Organic Potatoes
10-12 Eggs (Preferably pastured)
8 T. Mayonnaise (Hellmann’s)
1 T. Mustard
2 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 t. Real Salt
1 t. Dill
½ t. Pepper
1 t. Celery Seed
*1 t. Cayenne Pepper (If you like things on the spicy side.)
Extras: Chop up any of these items to give it a little pizzazz.
- Fresh Organic Parsley
- 1-2 Chives
- 4 Small Pickles
- ½ c. Celery
- 2-3 Pieces of Bacon

Directions

Cut the potatoes into cubes. (I don’t bother to skin them, but you could.) Make sure they are covered by about an inch and a half of water, and heavily salt the water (this brings out the flavor of the potatoes).
Raw Potatoes with the Skins On
Bring the water to a slow boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 12-15 minutes. Check the potatoes at about 12 minutes. (If you cook them too long, they will lose their firmness and texture and it will be more like mashed potato salad.) Dump them into a strainer, and run cold water over them to stop them from cooking any further.
Cooked Potatoes in a Colander
Boil your eggs. Check out my blog here to learn how to boil the perfect egg that’s easy to peel.
Chop up the eggs into cubes. I just use a basic egg slicer.
Cubed Hard Boiled Eggs
Mix in the mayonnaise, mustard, and apple cider vinegar.
Add the potatoes. I don’t mind if the eggs get mashed up a bit, but I like to be gentle with my potatoes so that they’ll hold their shape.
Eggs, Potatoes, Mayo, Mustard, and Apple Cider Vinegar
Add the salt, pepper, celery salt, and dill. I really never measure out my spices, especially salt. I just add a little, taste a little, add a little more, and taste again until it’s just right.
I like to add finely chopped fresh parsley, chives, and pickles to my potato salad, but add whatever extras suit your fancy.
Parsley, Chive, and Pickles
I just so happened to have some crispy freshly cooked bacon around after making this potato salad, and I thought, what the hey, everything’s better with bacon! So I crumbled some up, and sprinkled it on top of my potato salad. It was amazing.
Bacon Topped Potato Salad
So what are you waiting for? Go make some dang egg and potato salad already! (*Note: since 2018, I have used a keto diet to help me maintain a lower weight, so I don’t use the potatoes anymore.)

April 11, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

How to Make the Best Baked Potato

General, Potatoes, Recipes

Who doesn’t like a steaming baked potato loaded with fresh toppings? Potatoes are very high on the glycemic index, so I always thought it was best to steer clear of them. But then I learned about their wonderful benefits, such as being high in vitamin C and B6 (almost half of the daily recommended amounts), and discovered how they can be a vehicle for other good foods such as butter, sour cream, and cheese which drastically lowers its glycemic index, and now I am a big fan! There are so many good options for a baked potato, so get creative and dig in!

Organic potatoes are one of the dirty dozen, meaning that they contain a large amount of pesticides. In fact, according to studies, 81% of conventionally grown potatoes contain pesticides, even after being washed and peeled. We pay $3.50 for a 3 lb bag of organic potatoes at our local grocery store, which I think is well worth the price.

Ingredients

1 Potato
2 T. Butter (Kerrygold)
4 T. Sour Cream
½ c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Chives, Chopped
Real Salt (I buy my Real Salt in bulk here, you can buy a shaker here, or a refill pouch here.)
Pepper (Buy it here.)
Optional Toppings: Crumbled bacon, chili, or broccoli

Directions

Cook the Potato.
1. Microwave: Poke holes in the potato and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Bake: Wash your potatoes, rub with olive oil or coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 350˚F for 1 hour. (Flip halfway through.) Bake a whole bunch so that you can keep extra in the fridge so that you won’t need to wait for an hour the next time you want a baked potato! *Throw these in the oven when you’re making a roasted chicken!
  Baked Potatoes
Cut it up, smother it with butter, and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on the top. Pop it in the microwave for 1 minute.
Then, smother it with sour cream, top with chopped chives, and sprinkle generously with salt and a little pepper.
Baked Potato with Butter, Melted Cheese, Sour Cream, Real Salt, and Chives
Now tell everybody to leave you alone because you have some serious eating to do!!