Roasted Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes

I got so excited to see that the Recipe Swap theme this time was in the form of the Secret Recipe Club.  In the Secret Recipe Club, you swap blogs with someone and you get to make anything that you want. For this swap, I received Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations.

I perused Mary Ellen's blog for quite awhile, looking at all of her amazing food.  Something to know about my husband and I is that we eat side salads with about 90% of our meals.  They are easy to put together, especially after a long day at work.  After looking at her blog for awhile, I stumbled upon the side dishes.  They all sounded so good, and made it difficult to choose, but one of the comments on the Roasted Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes was: "OMG, these were THE BEST mashed potatoes I have ever tasted."  I love mashed potatoes, so because of that comment, I knew I had to make these potatoes.

Roasted Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes
slightly adapted from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations
Ingredients
2 lbs red potatoes
2 jalapenos, roasted, peeled, seeded, chopped, then mixed with 1/4 c half and half and a few dashes salt to puree
3 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons reduced fat onion and chive cream cheese
1 tablespoon reduced fat sour cream
1/2 pint fat-free half and half
Salt to taste
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Chopped chives

Directions

1)  Preheat oven to 375.

2) Wash potatoes, halve them, and put in a pot of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 12 minutes (this takes about 45-60 at high altitude). Drain.
3) In the meantime, transfer the jalapeno/cream/salt mixture to a blender and puree. 
4)Add jalapeno puree, butter, salt, and half and half to potatoes. Mash until creamy using a handheld masher adjust salt as needed, add more cream and butter if you want to get them lighter/creamier. 
5) Mix in the sour cream and cream cheese and transfer to a baking dish.
6) Top with the shredded cheese and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese has completely melted into the potatoes. 

I do have to agree with the comment on Mary Ellen's blog.  I do think these are the most flavorful mashed potatoes that I have ever had.  I loved the flavor of the jalapeno in the potatoes, it was present, but not overpowering. I served it with Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops though, and the creaminess in the sauce made the mashed potatoes not seem as strong.  My husband loved these too, and we ate all the leftovers very quickly.  This was a great side dish.


To see all the other SRC style recipes that were swapped, visit A Taste of Home Cooking.