Brunch (or anytime) Potatoes

I want to share this potato recipe I made up with you.  Most people think potatoes are unhealthy because they're starchy, but the truth is they're not.  You need starches and carbs in your diet, they are your body's number 1 source of fuel.
(Read more in this article by Mike Geary, The Truth About Abs - http://www.truthaboutabs.com/glycemic-index-carbohydrates.html)

No, that doesn't mean you can go out and load up on pasta and pizza and things like that.  You need to be smart about it.  There's a difference between good and bad carbs.  Now don't think that also means you can't ever eat pasta or pizza.  They say everything in moderation for a reason.  Every 5-6 days or so, it's good to "cheat" because it confuses your body and that's what weight loss is all about.  And face it, pasta makes you happy, and life is still about being happy.

 First I should start off with my cooking background....as in I have none.  It's not that I never knew how to cook, I just never did.  When I was in high school and college it was only my mom and I in the house, and between school and us each having 2 jobs, we didn't exactly sit down for home cooked meals every night.  My cooking background is a little more advanced than Kraft Mac and Cheese, but it wasn't much.  I could saute some stuff, bake some chicken, make mashed potatoes from a box, you know the deal.  However, I knew nothing about flavoring and seasoning and other fancy cooking terms like that.  

Then I met my fiance Mike.  He used to be a chef making fancy dishes like sauteed scallops, stuffed chicken breasts and beef wellington.  He started to teach me how to cook, and I am happy to say I almost don't need him anymore.  Thanks to him, cooking has become one of my biggest loves.  Spending time in my kitchen cooking and prepping (with a glass of wine in my hand, of course) is one of my favorite things.  The thing is, he didn't just teach me to cook, he taught me flavors and food pairings so that I can be creative and make up my own recipes.

So this a recipe I made up randomly when I was making brunch one morning and wanted something more than just scrambled eggs and bacon. (No, bacon is not bad for you! But that's for another post!)  I had a few potatoes in the fridge so I though I'm going to do a sort of saute-potato-home fry thing.  Now bear with me, because I am not a baker.  I am a self appointed chef.  I do not measure when cooking.  I eye ball everything, or just go by what I like.  So this recipe is not going to tell you exactly how many potatoes you need, how much onion you need and so on.  Everything is estimates and I will give my best estimate on the amount that I usually use when making this.

Ingredients:
Potatoes - any kind will do.  My favorite are Yukon Gold because you don't even need to peel them if you don't want too.  But Red Bliss, Russett, etc., work perfectly well.
When I'm making enough for 2 people, I usually use about 5-6 small to medium Yukon Gold Potatoes.  (Also take into consideration that 1 of the 2 servings is a big man sized portion.)
Onion - again, any kind will do.  I am a huge fan of spanish onions.  They caramelize well, they're a little sweet and they also sweat out very nicely.  Depending on how much you like onions, I would say a 1/2 to 1 whole onion, diced.  I LOVE onions, I put them in pretty much everything, so I use close to a whole onion for 2 servings.
Garlic - use your own discretion here.  Everyone knows that when you eat garlic, it comes out of your pores.  However, saying I am a garlic lover is an understatement.  For me, it doesn't matter too much because my fiance loves it just as much, and as you may know, 2 garlic's cancel each other out.  So for this (and probably all my recipes) I use way more garlic than you will probably like.  I use about 3-4 cloves for this.
Olive Oil -   a few turns of the pan, just to saute the onions and garlic.
Nutritional yeast - this is totally optional, but I recommend it.  For those of you who don't know what it is, it sounds a lot worse than it is.  Nutritional yeast is an ingredient vegans use in a number of dishes to give things a cheese-y or egg-y flavor, and many other flavors depending what you put it in.  You can buy it in the bulk section of your health store (I know Wegmans sells it also.)  It just brings a little extra healthy to this dish.
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Recipe:
Cut the potatoes in equal size quarters and boil until they're just almost done.  Pour into colander to strain.

When the potatoes are done, heat a saute pan on the stove with the oil.  Throw in the onions, salt and pepper to sweat the onions out.  I cook the onions for about 5 to 10 minutes or so before throwing in the garlic.  You don't want to caramelize them, but you want to get enough of the natural sugars.  When the onions are translucent, add the garlic.  A trick I've learned from Rachael Ray (you'll hear more on my obsession with her later) is to grate the garlic in, then you don't bite down on any huge chunks of garlic.  But go ahead and chop it if you'd rather.  Continue to saute until the garlic is fragrant, but not burnt.

Add just a little more oil and throw the potatoes in.  Depending on your preference, you can break them up a little more or just keep them the sizes they are.  Add a little more salt and pepper to taste and saute for about 10-15 minutes.  Add a sprinkle of the nutritional yeast.  As much or as little as you'd like.  If you haven't tried it before, sprinkle just a little, mix it it up and taste, add more if you'd like.  

Plate and serve and enjoy!