by Shirley Love

Created on: September 12, 2010

Do not toss those leftover mashed potatoes!  They can be magically transformed into fantastic, delicious dishes with minimum effort.

The most common use for leftover mashed potatoes is potato salad.  The exact amount of the ingredients you need will depend on the amount of the potato dish itself.  For the mouth-watering picnic potato salad just add finely grated onion, chopped dill pickles and hard-boiled eggs.  The addition of mayonnaise will depend on the texture you want to achieve.  Also, a small amount of tangy mustard will greatly enhance the flavor.  If you prefer sweet potato salad, substitute sweet relish for the dill pickle and omit the mustard. Other options are chopped celery and bell peppers for a slightly different salad. Remember to keep this dish refrigerated or in a picnic cooler in warm weather since it spoils easily.

A favorite in our home is the potato pancake.  This quick and easy dish can be great for breakfast with maple syrup, or as a side dish with hamburgers or hot dogs, embellished with catsup instead of the syrup.  Simply add a slightly beaten egg to the leftover potatoes and enough milk and flour to make a thin batter.  Pour on a hot non-stick griddle and brown on one side, carefully flip, and brown on the other side.  If you make these as a side for burgers, you can add minced onion and hot peppers to taste when you make the batter.  They are a welcome change from French fries or tater’ tots.

A new twist on the old potato fritters is simple to make with leftover mashed potatoes. For each cup of the potatoes, add I egg, slightly beaten, one half cup cracker crumbs or Italian bread crumbs and just enough milk to form a thick batter.  Using a tablespoon, scoop batter and form into a ball.  Drop into hot oil.  The fritter will brown and return to the top of the oil when done.  Remove immediately and drain on paper towel.  For variations on this you might want to add minced onions, chopped bell peppers or jalapenos.  They are delicious served with beef stew or bean soup and are similar to hush puppies.

No collection for the use of leftover mashed potatoes would be complete without America’s versions of the Shepherd Pie. This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.  You can saute onions, brown ground beef of stew meat, add as many vegetables as your taste demands, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer in beef broth until

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