Potato Bake with Peppers and Onions

We love potatoes, especially our home-grown ones (which are almost gone, boo-hoo!).  But we still have sweet potatoes to look forward to in a few more months!  Getting creative with potatoes is one of the fun things we do in the kitchen.  They go well with so many meals, and we always try to use ingredients that are readily available from the garden.  Here’s one we came up with on a rainy Saturday afternoon.  It made the whole house smell good!  If you’re using really fresh potatoes, there’s no need to peel them for this recipe.  Otherwise, you might want to.  This serves about 6 to 8.

Potato Bake with Peppers & Onions

Ingredients

6 medium red potatoes cut into 1” chunks

1 tbl. butter

1 tbl. olive oil

½ large onion, chopped

2 large Cubanelle peppers, chopped

3 large banana peppers, chopped

1 large clove of garlic, peeled, crushed and minced

2 tbl. sour cream

1 tsp. baking powder

good dash of ground black pepper

good dash of sea salt

1 tbl. parsley, coarsely chopped

Olive oil cooking spray

1 tbl. butter

2 tbl. Parmesan cheese

dash of Hungarian Paprika

Directions

·         Steam the potato chunks until tender, then drain

·         While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter & olive oil in a skillet over medium heat

·         Add the onions, peppers and garlic, and increase heat to high

·         Cook until lightly browned, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn, then remove from heat and let cool

·         In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, sour cream, baking powder and salt & pepper to taste

·         Mix until potatoes are mashed and ingredients are well blended

·         Using a spatula, stir in the parsley and pepper/onion mixture

·         Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray

·         Spoon the potato mixture into the casserole dish

·         Dot with 1 tbl. of butter in several places over the top

·         Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top off with the Paprika

·         Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, then broil for about 3 minutes more