The Baking Queen

Whether it is Thanksgiving, a different holiday, or just a big family gathering, when the meal is over, there are plenty of leftovers. And the thing you always seem to have the most of is the mashed potatoes. Sure, everyone loved them, but there are just so many. Rather than let them go bad and having to throw them out, maybe you should consider a good potato pancake recipe.

Plopping leftover mashed potatoes on peoples plates for the next three days might be met with groans, if not a downright mutiny. Well how about transforming those spuds into a treat that is easy to prepare and will sure to be a hit with your friends and family? In fact, you just might end up discovering that you wished you had more leftover potatoes to keep up with demand.

To start the ball rolling, be sure you have on hand all of the necessary ingredients. You will need vegetable oil (canola, corn or a blend works just fine), salt and pepper to taste, flour, an egg, milk, onion, and of course, those mashed potatoes. For a different taste, you can substitute bacon drippings for the vegetable oil.

To make four pancakes you will need two cups of potatoes. Add to the mashed potatoes one egg, 1 / 2 cup of flour, three tablespoons of diced onion (more to taste) and 1 / 4 cup of milk. Thoroughly mix together and form four equally sized patties. If the mixture is too sticky, shaping the patties on wax paper or tin foil might make things easier for you.

Fry the pancakes in hot (not smoking) oil or bacon drippings that generously covers an electric or traditional skillet. Fry for approximately three minutes on each side or until each side is golden brown. Be sure the patties are hot throughout and the minced onion is tender. To avoid the mixture sticking to your spatula as you press down the pancake in the pan, try spraying it with cooking spray.

Top them off with salt and pepper to taste. You may also get creative by topping them with ketchup, butter, sour cream, gravy, hot sauce or melted cheese. You may also want to try experimenting by adding your favorites to the mixture, such as shredded cheese and crumpled bacon. These pancakes will make great side dishes to serve with chicken, beef, fish or pork. They also make nice appetizers.

This is the mashed potato variety of pancakes. You may also want to someday try making the German style potato pancake recipe which calls for grated potatoes. With these, you will get a pancake similar in texture to hashed browns.

Find many more recipes like this recipe for potato pancakes on Andrews pancake website. If you like you pancakes made with vegetables and salty you can also try ham&cheese pancake recipe. It\’s delicious and none of the recipes are hard to make!