[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here Saturdays to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]

Oy VEY!

This week. Well. Yeah. Where to begin?

This week hasn’t been anything like I expected it to be. As a matter of fact, I actually already had a post written for today and I pushed it to the side and decided to save it for another day. Because when I wrote that post I thought my week was going to be a lot different than it actually was.

My girls went to camp this week! Yay!! All three of them. At the same time. Together. No one was home but me, Bob, and the animals. Which I faithfully fed, just like I promised the girls I would. It was crazy quiet here, in case you were wondering. Bob and I spent two full days being uber productive.

Bob and I had planned a week of eating nothing but potato chips, ice cream, and turkey sandwiches on plain white bread. Seriously. We were. It’s true!! I wasn’t going to cook anything.

Then, well, as an online friend of mine likes to say; it became a plan “B” week since camp called on Tuesday night. Babs had fallen and was hurt.

We drove through the night to meet camp staff and Babs at the hospital and this morning, after meeting with the orthopedic surgeon, this is how the week ended.

Can you believe her? Smiling like that?!? Meh.

Well, anyhow, I couldn’t very well feed Babs potato chips, ice cream, and plain white bread all week. I mean, I could have, except Bob and I had already eaten it all by Wednesday afternoon (we’re nervous eaters, do you know stressful a call like that is?).

So, I had to cook. Good thing too, cuz I was itching to get back in the kitchen and pretty darn sick of crappy bread. Unfortunately, Bab’s arm hurt a lot and she wasn’t really up for running all over the place to get groceries, so I had to make due with what I had on hand.

These rustic smashed potatoes are great for days (or weeks) like this. They don’t use anything particularly special in the ingredients, although adding crispy bacon and shredded extra sharp white cheddar makes them scrum-dilly-icous. Hey, does that word have a copyright on it? Well, no matter, what I mean to say is . . . YUM. All you need is a few potatoes, some butter, sour cream, and a little milk. They take all of 30 minutes from start to finish, so if you have a sick kid who wants your attention (as mine does now) they’re ideal. So, since Babs is wanting my attention, I guess I should get on to the recipe and get out of here. Have a great weekend everyone!

Smashed Potatoes

2 pounds of small thin skinned potatoes (such as red potatoes or yukon gold)
4 Tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup milk, half and half, or cream
1/2 - 1 tsp salt

Wash potatoes thouroghly and remove any large eyes or blemishes. If you don’t have scales, I have found that about 7 or 8 very small potatoes will make about a pound.

Place them in a heavy pot and add enough water just to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil and cook until tender; about 20 minutes. If you aren’t sure if they are done, just use a sharp knife and stab into the center of the potato. It should easily move through the potato. When they are done, remove from heat and drain well.

Add sour cream, margarine, and milk to the pan and return the potatoes.

Use a potato masher, or a large fork and “squish” the potatoes roughly. Leave large pieces, but mix the milk, butter, and sour cream in well.

Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.

Without the pictures:

Smashed Potatoes

2 pounds of small thin skinned potatoes (such as red potatoes or yukon gold)
4 Tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup milk, half and half, or cream
1/2 - 1 tsp salt

Wash potatoes thoroughly and remove any large eyes or blemishes.

Place them in a heavy pot and add enough water just to cover the potatoes.

Bring the water to a boil and cook until tender; about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and drain well.

Add sour cream, margarine, and milk to the pan and return the potatoes.

Use a potato masher, or a large fork and “squish” the potatoes roughly. Leave large pieces, but mix the milk, butter, and sour cream in well.

Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.

[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here Saturdays to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]

As repayment for the non-posting of a Saturday Side for too many weeks I will now give you my numero uno favorite green bean recipe.

What it’s not:

It’s not very healthy.

It’s not pork free.

It’s not super-duper fast.

It’s not incredibly simple.

What it is:

It’s knock-your-panties-off good.

It’s gorgeous.

It’s something you will make for company.

It’s something you should print multiple copies of for your friends because I promise they’ll be asking. On second thought, just write “www.angiespangies.com” down on a piece of paper. It saves time. That way, you can make some more green beans.

O.k. here’s a peek . . .

These are AMAZING! This is the perfect combination of flavors, sort of like a BLT, without the “L” and with a “GB” for green beans . . . so a “BGBT”, um, well, that doesn’t really work, does it? Well, you get the picture. Bacon, green beans, and tomatoes mix together in this slightly crunchy and delicious side to make your taste buds scream - “FEED ME SEYMOUR”.

Please don’t even try to take my word for it, just go make some. Please.

Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes

Adapted from Recipezaar

3 strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

After trimming the green beans, wash thoroughly and steam over one inch of boiling water for 5-6 minutes.  To learn the vegetable steaming processing read about steaming broccoli in the Citrus Broccoli recipe.   Steam the green beans just until the color turns bright green. If you overcook the green beans, the color with become washed out and dull, and they will become mushy.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Did you know that bacon crumbles are much easier to make if you cut the bacon before you cut it? By cutting the bacon into little pieces the bacon cooks faster and you don’t have to try and cut hot, greasy bacon. To be a real kitchen diva, use scissors to cut the bacon. Ingenious!

Look, aren’t they pretty? Ohhh, I think I just felt my cholesterol climb while looking at these little tidbits of heaven. You could use turkey bacon, I suppose. I didn’t do that.

To the bacon drippings, add green beans and saute for 10 minutes. If you prefer your green beans a little on the crunchy side, you can saute them less time. Either way, watch your green beans carefully, and use a moderate heat level, because they can scorch and that’s not tasty at all.

Add the garlic; cook 2 minutes. Don’t let it burn! Burnt garlic is bitter and also not tasty.

Stir in tomatoes, bacon, salt, and pepper. Heat through. I just want you to look at these tomatoes. Some of us, here in the United States, have been without tomatoes more than we choose to be over the last couple of weeks. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all.

Without the pictures:

Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes

3 strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

After trimming the green beans, wash thoroughly and steam over one inch of boiling water for 5-6 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels.

To bacon drippings, add green beans and saute for 10 minutes.

Add the garlic; cook 2 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, bacon, salt, and pepper. Heat through.

O.k., so I have a question for you.

Do you buy, and use, these?

Hmm. Well, so did I. But, I always felt a little funny about it. I mean, it’s just oatmeal, which is cheap and easy to make. And, when I checked the ingredients there was that heinous “artificial flavors,” which could mean . . . well, anything, right?

So, I quit buying it one week and just decided to make it from scratch. No big deal. Except. Sort of a big deal. Minus the “sort of” part.

What I mean to say is this: my kids didn’t like it. And I didn’t like making it. It’s actually really convenient to, you know, rip open the bag, pour the stuff in a bowl, dump in some water, nuke it for a while, stir and eat. Instead, I was measuring this and adding that and, well, jeez, what a pain in the behind.

Plus, instant oatmeal is more of a powdered oatmeal than the stuff we buy in the big round cardboard container. Which means instant oatmeal is softer and less chewy that non-instant oatmeal. Those of us who have always eaten instant oatmeal will make the other stuff and assume it’s undercooked. People who love chewy oatmeal will tell you that instant oatmeal is “icky” and paste-like and proclaim themselves oatmeal snobs.

The problem, of course, is that my kids like oatmeal paste and since none of the nutrients are lost in any version (whole, steel cut, rolled, quick cook, and powdered/instant oats all have the same thing inside) I’m going for something that my kids will eat.

So, I went back to buying instant oatmeal. And I was happy again. Except. It kept bugging me. I was paying for the convenience and in the meantime feeding my kids “artificial I don’t know whats” and “caramel coloring.”

And then, I found this recipe. Basically, you premix the oatmeal and the (not artificial) flavorings, put it in a bag, and you know, open the bag, pour the stuff in a bowl, dump in some water, nuke it for a while, stir and eat. Brilliant! And, when I’m feeling really froggy I’ll portion it into small snack sized bags so it’s all premeasured.

How smart is that?! And, since I’m really lucky, sometimes, my completely competent teenager can even manage to, you know, open the bag, pour the stuff in a bowl, dump in some water, nuke it for a while, stir and eat . . . all by herself!

Of course, my slightly autistic ten year old, and her younger 7 year old sister have no problems making it either. I tell you this because I feel it is very important information for those of us who are stay in bed Moms to know.

To deal with the consistency issue I toss the whole batch in the food processor or blender to break it down into smaller pieces. If you like a chewier oatmeal, you can completely skip this part.

Oh, and guess what?! It tastes as good - if not better - than the stuff from the store, since it’s got all the goodies mixed in. Which means . . . my kids like it! Hooray!

Here are some pictures from a new batch together I put together for the kids - since they are now home all day, every day, oh my goodness when-does-summer-camp-start? Actually, I’m just kidding, I’m one of those weird Moms that actually looks forward to having their kids home all summer.

And this summer, we’ll be eating oatmeal by the pool . . . well, until summer camp starts anyhow. So, perhaps you should make a batch and see what you think.

Homemade “Instant” Oatmeal Mix

Adapted from Recipezaar

6 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped dried fruit, optional

In a large bowl, combine the ingredients. If you prefer a smoother, less chewy oatmeal grind the mixture in a blender or food processor until the oatmeal is cut into smaller pieces. The longer you allow the oatmeal to process, the smoother the oatmeal will be. Leaving some larger pieces will give it some texture.

Store in an airtight container, or a zippered bag in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

I like to leave the dried fruit out of the mix and just add in the fruit by the bowl. This way I can add apples to mine, raisins for Katie, blueberries for Babs, and leave it plain for Lilly. I just add a couple pieces of dried apple, cut into small pieces.

To prepare oatmeal: Shake mix well and measure 1/2 dry oatmeal into bowl, add 2/3 cups water, and microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Or on a stove top, in a saucepan, bring water to a boil; slowly stir in 1/2 cup mix.
Cook and stir over medium heat for 1 minute.

Here we have chewy oatmeal (with apples).

And here we have smooth oatmeal, plain.