I first saw these potatoes on The Pioneer Woman’s site.  I thought they looked good.  And then I started seeing them on a lot of different sites and figured it was time to try them myself - even with the weird name.  Instead of boiling I took a short cut and cooked my potatoes first in a Glad Microwave Steamer Bag.  And I made a couple of minor changes just to save on calories from the oil.

Crash Hot Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs small potatoes (I used Yukon gold and I had about 9 small potatoes)
1 Tbs olive oil
sea salt
coarsely ground black pepper
seasonings of choice

Preheat oven to 450.  Wash the potatoes.  Place in a microwave steamer bag and nuke - it takes 8 minutes in my microwave.  Take a sheet pan and spray with non-stick spray.  Measure out 1 Tbs of olive oil in a small bowl.  Take a soup spoon and dip out a small amount of oil.  Take a potato - careful - they are hot! and dip the bottom in the oil and place on the pan.  Repeat with the rest of the potatoes.

You should have more than half the oil left.  Take your potato/egg masher and press down on each potato until they burst and flatten - not too thin, maybe about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick.  My potato masher was the kind with a grid on the bottom so they didn’t look as pretty as the Pioneer Woman’s.  Take the spoon and dribble the rest of the oil on the now crushed potatoes.  This way, you only need  a small amount and none of it gets wasted on the pan.

Sprinkle with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and seasonings.  Fresh herbs would be good but I didn’t have any.   I sprinkled mine with thyme.

Bake at 450 for about 20-25 minutes.

Serves 4

Nutritional Info
Calories: 196
Fat: 4.7 g
Carbs: 35.6 g
Fiber: 5.4 g
Protein: 3.8 g

Weight Watcher points: 4

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I had wanted to make these potatoes, but the night I was to make them, I was also making baked chicken and my oven is kind of small.  So I improvised.  Instead of baking them I microwaved the potatoes in a Glad Steamer Bag (love those things!) and then finished off the potatoes in a skillet.  The potatoes came out great.

Garlic Potatoes

2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbs dried parsley
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

Wash the potatoes and cut into 1-1.5 inch chunks.  Put in a Microwave Steamer Bag.  Glad and Ziploc both make them.  Microwave 6-9 minutes.  My microwave takes 8 minutes in the steamer bags.  In a large skillet, heat the oil and add the garlic, saute for about a minute, then add the potatoes.  Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, parsley and lemon rind.  Cook about 5-7 minutes, turning the potatoes occasionally, or until the potatoes are as brown as you like them.

Serves 4

Nutritional Info
Calories: 154
Fat: 3.6 g
Carbs: 28.3 g
Fiber: 4.3 g
Protein: 3.2 g

Weight Watcher points:3

I love mashed potatoes.  I think it is one of the best comfort foods out there.  Combine mashed potatoes with corn and cheese and it is unbelievably good. The original recipe is from recipezaar.

Mashed Potatoes With Corn & Cheese

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoons light Smart Balance
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed & warmed
1 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Place potatoes in water in a microwave safe dish.  Cover and microwave on HIGH for 12-14 minutes or until tender and then drain. Alternatively, you can boil your potatoes on the stove as you would for any mashed potato recipe or even cook them in a steamer bag - your choice - you just needed cooked potatoes.

Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl. Mash with milk, Smart Balance, salt and pepper. You can use a hand mixer but I like to use a potato masher as I like lumpy potatoes. Stir in corn and cheese.

Nutritional Information:

Serves 6
Calories: 156
Fat:  5.1 g
Carbs: 21.6 g
Fiber: 3.1 g
Protein: 8.1 g

3 Weight Watcher points (but really, who just eats one serving of mashed potatoes?)

I found this recipe in the Weight Watchers cookbook “Mix It Match It”. It sounded interesting so I gave it a try the other day.  I would make it again but use less feta the next time.  I like feta but I thought the amount of feta in relationship to the other ingredients was overpowering.  I also had to cook mine longer than the recipe said.  I am not crazy about onions and peppers so I left those out and added a few extra potatoes.  I will put my changes in parenthesis.

Greek Isle Breakfast Skillet

2 tsp olive oil (left out and used non-stick cooking spray)
1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped onion (left out)
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (left out)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 large eggs
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups crumbled fat-free feta

Spray a large nonstick skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.  Add the
potatoes, oregano, salt  and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are tender, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs and egg whites in a medium bowl. Reduce the heat under the skillet to  medium; add the eggs and cook until almost set, lifting the edges frequently with a spatula to let the  uncooked egg flow underneath, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the feta over the frittata. Cover the skillet;  reduce heat to low and cook until the cheese melts slightly, about 3 minutes more. Cut in 4 wedges

Nutritional Information:

Serves 4
Calories: 165
Fat:  4 g
Carbs: 15 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 10 g

3 Weight Watcher points

I don’t usually use the microwave to cook, only to heat things up.  but I finally tried the Glad Simply Cooking Microwave Steam Bags and I love them! They cook vegetables to perfection.  Even potatoes.

Microwaved Baby Potatoes

24 oz baby potatoes (or you could probably use cubed potatoes
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp seasoned salt (I used McCormick’s Season All)
1 microwave steam bag

Wash your potatoes.  Drizzle oil over them.

Stir to coat in oil.  I use my hands.

Sprinkle on the seasoned salt.

(My 1st action shot!)
Again, stir to coat.  Again I used my hands.

Place potatoes into the steam bag.

Close bag and microwave per instructions on bag.  I nuked mine for 8 minutes.  Let the bag stand for about 2 minutes - if you open it immediately, you could burn yourself with the steam.

Your potatoes are ready to serve!

Nutritional Information:

Serves 4
Calories: 161
Fat:  3.5 g
Carbs: 29.7 g
Fiber: 3.7 g
Protein: 3.4 g

3 Weight Watcher points

I guess technically my version of this potato recipe shouldn’t be called “chips”. They were not cut as thin as they should have been and I didn’t bake them until crispy.  I prefer my potatoes (even French Fries) non-crispy.  This was a tasty alternative to oven fries. This makes a nice sized side dish for not too many Weight Watcher points.

Oven Parmesan Chips - originally from the Taste of Home magazine (Feb/Mar ‘94)

4 servings
3- 4 medium unpeeled baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tbs Parmesan

Cut potatoes into thin slices, place in a mixing bowl and add the oil.  Toss to coat.  Add the seasonings and toss to coat with the spices.  Spread the potato slices on a greased baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes until tender and golden.  Turning once during cooking.  Bake a little longer if you like them crispier.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 173
Fat:  4.3 g
Carbs: 30 g
Fiber: 3.9 g
Protein: 4.5 g

3 Weight Watcher points

Seasoned Baked Potatoes

4 servings

4 medium baking potatoes (about 1 lb)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4  tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Scrub potatoes and cut into wedges.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleaning.  Spray the foil with non-stick spray so the potatoes won’t stick.  Brush with oil.  Sprinkle with seasonings. Bake at 400 for 40-50 min.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 135
Fat: 3.5 g
Carbs: 24 g
Fiber: 2.5 g
Protein: 2.8 g

2 WW points

1 serving of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 egg
1 egg white
2 Tbs skim milk
thinly sliced tomato (I used a Roma tomato)
1 oz of reduced fat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a ramekin that holds about 15 oz and spray with non-stick spray. Layer the hash browns in the bottom of the ramekin. Beat the egg, egg white, milk and salt and pepper in a small bowl with a fork. Pour over the potatoes. Lay thinly sliced tomato on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until almost set. There will still be some liquid in the middle of the dish. sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.

This dish can easily be doubled, tripled, etc either baking each serving in separate dishes or in one big casserole, although you will definitely need to bake it longer, more like 45 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 237
Fat: 7 g
Carbs: 25 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 20.5 g

4.5 WW points