Spice up your mashed potatoes

Here are three ways to take your spuds for boring to extraordinary!

1. Roasted Garlic - this simple addition can really enhance your mashed potatoes! You can add it to soups, stews, spaghetti sauce!

Recipe: 1 -2 heads of garlic, peeled of all outer layers

2 TSP olive oil

Cut the top 1/4 off the head of garlic. Place it on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Close the foil around it loosely. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400˚ F for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven.

To use, pop the cloves out and add to your cooked potatoes, mash together! How much? The roasting mellows the flavor of the garlic. I suggest trying 3 cloves and taste. Add more if you prefer.

**Shortcut - no time to roast? Peel whole cloves pf garlic and throw them in the water with the potatoes as they cook. Drain and mash as usual!

2. Pesto either store bought or homemade, pesto adds more dimension to your potatoes. I use about 2 - 3 tablespoons for 2 pounds of potatoes.

3. Cream cheese - yup, take out that cheese and mix it into your hot potatoes. In addition to the milk and butter you normally use, the incorporation of cream cheese adds a bit of creaminess and tartness that really helps! I have also added Boursin- cream cheese on steroids! The extra flavor from the herbs in Boursin are lovely!