If you have had enough of plain potatoes, try this Jenn Original Recipe using sour cream and rosemary to spruce up your spuds. You could certainly use low-fat or fat-free sour cream and milk, but the richer the ingredients, the richer your potatoes will taste. Fresh rosemary can be substituted for dried, but be sure it is finely chopped (use about 1 tbsp).

2 lb potatoes, any variety
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp salt

Wash and scrub potatoes. Peel if desired and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place potatoes in a large stock pot and cover with water (the water line should be at least an inch above potatoes). Set over medium to medium-high heat and cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are very tender.

Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add sour cream, milk, rosemary, and salt. Whip potatoes using an electric mixer on high speed for several minutes, until potatoes are very smooth and all ingredients are combined. Serve immediately.

A small update to a classic side dish, this recipe adds just a touch of sour cream to golden potatoes.

1 1/2 lb golden yukon potatoes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream

Rinse and scrub potatoes and cut into chunks. Place potatoes in a large stockpot and cover with about 1-inch water. Bring pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Drain water and add butter, milk, and sour cream. Using an electric mixer, beat for 3-5 minutes over medium speed, until potatoes are light and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve with gravy of your choice.

Based on a tasty Fall recipe from www.MichiganApples.com, this dish combines tart apples with onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnips with light seasoning. The original recipe called for all of the apples and vegetables to be peeled, but I feel that peeling vegetables is a bit of a waste. I did peel the carrots and parsnips, but I wasn’t meticulous about it – a little bit of peel isn’t going to hurt anything. The recipe makes about 8 servings, so it can easily be halved if that is too much food.

3 cups tart apples, cored and cut into wedges
2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 lb small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks 
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine apples, carrots, onion, red skin potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize. Remove from oven and serve.   

Root vegetables on a baking sheet:

Bake and serve:

Appropriately, this recipe is from the Fall section of Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. Sweet potatoes are roasted in the over with some festive spices then combined with fresh pears. Again, select pears that are just ripe (not over-ripe) so they maintain their shape.

2 sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
pinch of salt
2 Bartlett pears

Preheat oven to 400F

Wash and scrub potatoes. Quarter lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2 inch-long sections. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, ground mustard, ginger, pepper, and salt. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet or roasted pan. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are almost tender.

Quarter pears and scope out the core. Cut in quarters in half crosswise. Toss with potatoes and remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes or until pears are warmed through and potatoes are tender. Serve immediately.  

An adaptation from my Mexican Potatoes, this recipe combines the tastes of chili, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic and cayenne pepper with onion and potato.  

6 large potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 olive or vegetable oil
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425F

Wash and scrub potatoes. Use a knife to remove any bad spots and cut into wedges. Place all ingredients in a large, heavy-duty zip locked bag. Turn or shake bag until potato wedges and chopped onion are well coated in seasoning.

Grease a 13×9 inch baking pan. Spread potato mixture into an even layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender (depending on the size of the wedges), stirring every 15 minutes or so.

To serve: top with sour cream, green onions, cheese, salsa, tomatoes, peppers, and/or bacon bits.