Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Weather grilled, roasted, baked, fried or mashed, people often call potatoes comfort food. Potatoes, number one vegetable crop in the world.

Potatoes were brought to Europe by Spanish explorers who "discovered" them in South America in the early 16th century. Potatoes are good sources of vitamin C, they were used on Spanish ships to prevent scurvy. They were introduced into Europe via Spain, and while they were consumed by some people in Italy and Germany, they were not widely consumed throughout Europe, even though many governments actively promoted this nutritious foodstuff that was relatively inexpensive to produce. The reason for this is that since people knew that the potato is related to the nightshade family, many felt that it was poisonous like some other members of this family. In addition, many judged potatoes with suspicion since they were not mentioned in the Bible. In fact, potatoes initially had such a poor reputation in Europe that many people thought eating them would cause leprosy.

It is thought that the potato was first brought to the United States in the early 18th century by Irish immigrants who settled in New England. People in this country were slow to adopt the "Irish potato" and large scale cultivation of potatoes didn’t occur in the U.S. until the 19th century.

Research Source: WH Foods

 

Tasty side dish, home style potatoes top with cheese. 

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Copyrighted 2013, Christine’s Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes, unpeeled and chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1 (1 oz.) package dry ranch dressing mix

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons chives, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray sheet pan with cooking spray. Place chopped potatoes on sheet pan. Dot with butter; sprinkle dry ranch dressing mix.

Cover, bake 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, uncover and stir. Cover again, and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. Sprinkle with cheese and chives. Serve immediately. Enjoy!