Home Cookin'

This weekend I demanded mashed potatoes so I could finally post about something I actually ate. My boyfriend, Branden, and I went to the supermarket and picked up some potatoes, along with tons of stuff we didn't plan on getting. I will be honest and say that I didn't think much about what type of potato I was going to buy. I headed for what was on sale which turned out to just be the store brand of Idaho potatoes.
Branden's dorm has a full kitchen in each suite so most weekends there we end up cooking a lot and often times have mashed potatoes. Our meal this weekend was not one of our most creative, but it still tasted good. The mashed potatoes were the only things that did not come packaged. We had chicken tenders frozen from a box, corn from a can, and the mashed potatoes. The first time we were making mashed potatoes together, Branden took over and added in milk, butter, and a little salt and pepper after we had mashed the potatoes up. His explanation to how he prepared them was "don't worry, you'll like them, this is how Grampa makes his" to which in my head I responded with "isn't that how everyone does it?" But, I have realized, everyone probably adds in a little twist. My mom, for example, actually gets out an electric mixer and beats every little lump imaginable out of the potatoes.
After dinner we had some potatoes left over and offered them to one of Branden's roommates, Travis. Travis commented on how good they tasted for coming out a box. Apparently he was shocked that we took the time to peel, wash, cook, and mash the potatoes. I do not think he understands how simple it is to cook real potatoes. When the meal was done I went to close up the rest of the bag and realized that printed on the package was "Great for baking!" I may not give too much thought to picking my potatoes, but they still tasted just as expected.

Before dinner we got a movie at Blockbuster and Branden, a huge Harry Potter fan, got those jelly bean things from the books that taste like all kinds of gross things like sardines and grass and some better choices like tutti frutti. I was really hoping there would be one that tasted like potatoes, but sadly there wasn't. Just for humor, here is when Branden discovered he was tasting the earwax flavor.