Thanksgiving is over and you realize that you have enough leftover mashed potatoes to feed an army. How can you possibly find enough recipes to use them up? Here are a few ideas to get you going.
Gnocchi
Measure out 2 cups of potatoes and 2 cups of flour. A pinch of salt and Add one egg and knead into a dough. Add more flour as needed. Roll out and cut into rolls approximately thumbs width. Cut these rolls into about 1 inch chunks and score with a fork. Boil in salted water until they float to the top.
Serve with any of the following: spaghetti sauce, pesto sauce, butter garlic sauce or anything else you can think of.
For a change of pace you can also add some Parmesan, cheddar cheese, garlic, leftover vegetables mashed or fresh chopped spinach leaves.
Perghoies
Make a noodle dough out of 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of salt and if needed a few drops of water. Roll out thin and cut with a biscuit cutter.
Fill one half of each noodle with any of the following:
mashed potatoes
grated cheese
bits of meat
other vegetables
We like to fill ours with mashed potatoes, grated cheese and a bit of garlic.
Fold your noodle over and crimp the edges with a fork to seal them shut.
Boil in salted water until the float to the top of the pan.
Serve with melted butter, grated cheese and crumbled bacon.
Potato Soup
Place mashed potatoes in a pan and add just enough water to thin them into a soup. Add some chopped celery, chopped onion and if desired some crumbled crisp bacon. Heat through making sure to stir frequently to prevent scorching.
Fried Potato Patties
Mix 2 cups mashed potatoes with about 1/2 cup of flour. Flatten into patties and brown them on both sides. Serve warm with fresh butter or margarine.
Leftover mashed potatoes can also be frozen and used at a later date. Simply thaw and stir gently over a medium low heat until they are heated through. Add some butter, cheese and garlic for extra flavoring.
My children love all of these recipes and often ask me to make extra mashed potatoes just so that they can enjoy these recipes after the holiday meal.