{foodie friday} — colourful “pey”tato casserole

sometimes “foto friday” morphs into “foodie friday” – and by sometimes i mean there is a first time for everything 🙂

it’s getting to be that time of year, when i just want to load up on comfort food like this and be lazy and gain 10 pounds of winter weight and not even sweat it — i’ll take it off in february.  for now, bring on the fireplace, the couch, and the spuds!

this is about as basic as it can get, though… of course, with a little audrey flair!

this recipe was originally intended to be different – i was going to {and did} boil the potatoes and then i was going to scoop them out and add in the meat, cheese, garlic, onions, and bake them until slightly crisp on the outside… like little stuffed football potatoes… this was my plan. this was the original idea for my “pey”tatoes i made last week… but, plans don’t always unfold the way one hopes…

did you know it’s really kind of hard to scoop the insides out of creamer potatoes?  that skin, not-so thick at all – my spoon tore right through them, it made me sad. but then i was like, “oh NO!  i ain’t wasting these amazing ingredients, including the organic, 100% grass-fed, local ground beef i bought!”  once again, not something i normally consume.  very rare that i eat red meat, and when i do i only buy the GOOD STUFF!  and once again, i bought it on a one-day sale for about half off.  normally it’s about 8.99/lb. or more for organic beef, let alone grass-fed.  why grass-fed, you ask?!  well, for one – most cattle in the food supply is fed a diet consisting mainly of corn and grain, which isn’t what they would normally “graze” upon in the wild. they eat grass, we’ve always known this.  but we seldom question what our food is fed before we eat it, and the truth is WE SHOULD!  just as i’m concerned about the kind of soil my tomatoes are grown in, i’m equally as concerned and compassionate about the way my meat is handled.  and i’m even more interested in what it is being fed.  because i seldom eat any red meat, i of course prefer the best-tasting!  whole foods market offers a rating system for their meat, and this was of the highest rating, for a few reasons. mostly because of the ethical treatment of the animal and farm, and because it is also locally produced here in colorado — i LOVE to support local!!!

so after my epic fail, and in my “no food left behind” attempt here, i just put all the ingredients together :

2 pounds creamer potatoes, boiled

4-5 cloves garlic, shaved

3/4 pound ground beef, browned

cream cheese, softened at room temp

i mixed it together well and then smeared it onto a casserole dish… i baked it at around 400 until golden brown on top, then served it up with fresh chopped chives.  i am pretty sure i had seconds…

the colourful creamer potatoes made for a nice presentation, even for a simple meat and potatoes dish.  the chives really brought it together. i just have to see natural colour when i look down and eat, or i don’t feel right about it 🙂

happy friday!  GO BRONCOS!

Tags: casserole, comfort food, easy, foodie friday, local, meat and potatoes, organic, simple