A mishmash of food tips this week.

Love mashed potatoes, but just don’t have the desire or time to boil or bake then I highly recommend Trader Joe’s frozen mashed potatoes.

They spin out a delish dish if you doctor a bit.

For 2 servings put 10-12 round potato discs in a microwave or Pyrex dish.

Microwave for 3 minutes.

Remove and add a dollop of sour cream or half and half (fat free works) and mix well with fresh ground pepper and a pinch of kosher salt.

Microwave another 2 minutes and voila a fabulous portion of mashers.

I add frozen or fresh corn and frozen peas which I quickly sauté In a tablespoon of EVOO or butter with leeks or shallots.

Since we are not eating breakfast out and missing breakfast potatoes I bake an extra baked potato when I make a baker for dinner.

Store in refrigerator. When breakfast ready, slice cold baked potato and then cut into quarters.

Heat up some EVOO or neutral oil.

Add a pinch of kosher salt and ground pepper.

Sauté potatoes until very crispy.

They are delicious.

I have bought frozen hash browns and potato pancakes and they have an oily taste and way too much sodium.

I also serve with grilled fish, chicken or great with steak.

Another delicious meal is Salad Nicoise.

I cut up lettuce, tomato, avocado, olives, hard boiled eggs, string beans and boiled fingerling potatoes.

The key is the canned albacore white meat tuna.

Marinate the tuna with a liberal pour of balsamic vinegar along with:

1/4 cup Vermouth or dry white white

2 Teaspoons Capers

Shallots

Ground pepper

Marinate for several hours or overnight.

Dump the tuna mixture over salad and it is fabulous.

Serve it with a crusty baguette.

Bon Appetit!

BTW, for the rest of the summer I will not be cooking up any blog posts on Fridays…the Devil is looking forward to some hot and heavy weekends!