Po-tay-toe, Po-tot-oh What to do with them all?

I still have almost 1/2 a bag of a 10 pounder of potatoes bought right before Christmas. While I have kept them in a dark place, I fear they need to be eaten this week or they will soon be bound for the garbage can, and that is just not the direction I want to go and as yo can see, some are already sprouting. Potatoes of some sort will be my choice of side dish this week. Please add your ideas in the comments below. 

Helen Soup, known to most as Potato Cheddar, is a family favorite, first made in 1993 when an older colleague, Helen, shared her evening meal recipe. A particularly cold and wet fall, and a new job that added 15 minutes to my commute, with a traveling DH, and a 2 and 4 year old at home, meant my hands were full. Inexpensive, hearty, and easy was the dinner game plan. This soup is easy, with four cups diced carrots, four cups diced potatoes, cooked in 8 cups water with 8 stock cubes and 2 tsp of pepper. Remove half the soup to puree with a blender or hand mixer, pour back in, and add 1 cup shredded or cubed cheddar cheese. I still have cheddar from my Christmas shop, and a buy one get one on 2 pound bags carrots yielded a bounty there as well.

Parmesan Potatoes-Dice 4-6 medium size potatoes. Toss with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. When coated, toss in a mixture of  1-2 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of salt, 1-2 tsp of Italian seasoning, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, watching until they get crispy, and turning at least one time. 

Home Fried Potatoes are so good, my mouth waters thinking of these and a great use of leftover baked potatoes. I'm intentionally creating leftovers by baking up a bunch in my microwave. For a medium potato, dice 1/4 medium onion and fry in a tsp of butter, for a good onion to potato ration. I seem to have four leftover potatoes a lot, so usually 1 onion, 4 tsp of butter, cooked until the onion is translucent.  Add the cold, diced baked potatoes, and cook on low to heat the potatoes through. Turn up heat to get a good fry; turn gently to fry the other side, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Good old mashed- with a tsp of butter, roughly 1/2 ounce of cream cheese, and a1/2 ounce of sour cream (or plain yogurt), whipped in per potato. A five pound bag of potatoes for a holiday will have at least a stick of butter, a package of cream cheese, and a 8 ounce tub of sour cream. This method works great for reheating, or keeping warm in a crock pot. Not low cal, but a small portion does the job. Alternatively, I'll whip with just skim milk at times.

Potato Patties were a favorite as a child if we had an abundance of leftover mashed, and were getting sick of them that way. My mom would crack an egg in the potatoes, add salt, pepper, then form in a patty shape and fry on both sides in a little butter. When I do this, naturally as I do to most of my cooking, I add a ton of garlic and Italian seasoning, and if I have any cheese remnants, I'll throw that in as well. 

We'll be eating a lot of chicken this week, along with hamburgers, Sloppy Joe's, and eggs. Carrots will be the vegetable of choice due to the sale mentioned above. some of these potato sides can be frozen, like the patties and even the mashed potatoes for next week if we get tried of them. The humble, yet versatile potato.  What's your favorite way to serve?