Pioneer Woman Potatoes

As obvious as it is that I enjoy cooking (first item submitted  for evidence: I started a cooking blog), there are definitely lots of occasions when I'd rather send my husband outside to throw some meat on the grill while I catch up on episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and/or any of the Real Housewives who hail from California (there's just something more interesting about those west coast women).  

This weekend, we were hosting some family for Sunday night dinner and I was searching for a side to accompany the chicken skewers that my grill-master was busy preparing outside.  Awhile back I had come across a Pioneer Woman recipe for smashed potatoes that sounded really good and gave you a great potato side dish without all the cheese, butter and sour cream.... Not that I'm saying it's necessarily a healthy dish...but it's delicious and I find it much easier to justify to myself :)

So, here it is: Crash Hot Potatoes via Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman

Pin: 
http://m.pinterest.com/pin/103793966384903520/

Or Direct to Pioneer Woman:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Ingredients

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes- I used Russet's because it's what I had)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
•  Kosher Salt To Taste
•  Black Pepper To Taste
•  Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender. (about 30 mins)

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil. ( I like to remove some of the skin from the middle of the potato after I mash them- see my pic of my mashed potatoes before removing the center skins.)

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

This recipe is super easy and a great option in case you felt like buying one of those big bags of a small variety potato at Sam's was a brilliant idea...not that anyone ever buys things in bulk that they don't need...I'm sure that I've never done that...you either? Good, glad we're not "those people".

Hope you enjoy these potatoes and please thank Pioneer Woman for being consistently awesome when it comes to the kitchen.