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I think this might be the earliest that I have had the Christmas Tree up and decorated.....EVER! I had to put decorating into overdrive to get it done before Cassi leaves for Florida. That's right, the princess is off on another adventure.
She will be going to college with one of her friends that she met in Belgium last year. It's kind of crazy how much alike those two are.....very adventurous and determined!! I am very excited for her to start the next chapter in her life, I just wish it wasn't going to be quite so far away! At least she had the honor of placing the angel on the tree one last time.....
The kids have been taking turns putting the angel on top of the year every year. I'm not exactly sure who's turn it was this year, but Alex has his own house now to start his own traditions. 🙂
I did manage to get Alex back last week for ThanksChristmas dinner. We are not huge turkey lovers around here, so Cassi made the suggestion to have our traditional Christmas dinner on Thanksgiving. Beef Wellington is one of her absolute favorite meals!! I make the same exact meal every year.....until this year. Cassi didn't realize that the roast potatoes were from a can, in fact she didn't know that you could buy potatoes in a can! So time for a new tradition, Crispy Herb Roasted Potatoes.
How to make Crispy Herb Roasted Potatoes
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Slice potatoes in half, then slice into quarters. Place in a large bowl. (Do not peel the potatoes).
Add the olive oil and toss together to coat.
Add the panko/spice mixture and toss to evenly coat potatoes.
Pour potatoes onto a large baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft inside and crispy outside.
I have made several versions of these potatoes in the past year, and I love each and every one! Much better than the traditional roast potatoes that I grew up with.
This version incorporates Herbs de Provence, garlic and onion powder mixed with panko flakes. I wanted simple flavors to go along with the uber delicious Beef Wellington, that really is the star of the show after all!
Crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. They are the perfect side dish, they go with everything!
More delicious potato recipes:
- Crispy Italian Roasted Potatoes
- Baked Parmesan-Bacon Garlic Potato Wedges
- Baked Potato Wedges
- Traditional Crispy Roast Potatoes
- Bacon Potato Salad
- Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Now for my question about ornaments - What do your do with 25 years worth of ornaments after a divorce? I have purchased ornaments every year that represent something that we did that year.....new home, vacation, some major milestone. What am I supposed to do with all of those ornaments now? Store them in a box? Get rid of them? Split them up? I am being totally serious here, I am not sure what to do!! I really need your help. 🙂
The kid's also have their own ornaments representing something special that they did or accomplished that year. Do I keep the kid's ornaments and continue to put them up every year, or do they kids take their own ornaments with them and put them on their tree? This whole empty nest thing is new territory for me. Are there rules in place that I have never heard of?
UPDATE - I have ALL of the ornaments in my garage here in Arizona. The memories are still there in the plastic boxes if anyone wants to see them again. I have purchased all new ornaments and moved on!
Enjoy!!
Crispy Herb Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes cut into small cubes and wedges
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup panko flakes
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Slice potatoes in half, then slice into quarters. Place in a large bowl. (Do not peel the potatoes).
- Add the olive oil and toss together to coat.
- Add the panko/spice mixture and toss to evenly coat potatoes.
- Pour potatoes onto a large baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft inside and crispy outside.
Claire @ A Little Claireification says
OMGosh those potatoes just made my mouth WATER. And and Rob my Dad would LOVE them.
I am making a spin on my own Beef Wellington this Friday {God help us} and for real... I may have to add your potatoes to it. My people will call your people. 😉
Pinning this NOW and may I never forget these potatoes! xoxo
Cindy Eikenberg says
Lisa, this dinner looks absolutely amazing - the potatoes look fantastic and the Beef Wellington is a major WOW! Ok, as far as the ornaments go for the kids, having one out of the house and married - I've kept all of their special ornaments, for now. I know I will pass them on to the kids at some point, but not quite yet! 🙂
heather says
My idea for the ornaments is keep all you can, give the kids all they want and if there are any you just need to get rid of try and find a family that's had recent house fire or similar loss and pass them on. This was our first Christmas after our fire and we had a hodge podge tree of donated ornaments and it meant the world to us. Just an idea.
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) says
I have no ideas or answers for those ornaments. If it were me, I'd be like you and not know what to do. Maybe keep them and pass them along to your daughter when she has her own home??? Now about those potatoes. I have a half sack of potatoes left over from Thanksgiving and I will use some of them to try this recipe. I've never roasted potatoes with panko and look forward to that, plus the spices sound perfect. Thanks for the recipe. Love that little Beef Wellington, what a great dinner.
Seana Turner says
First, I'm laughing because I thought you were writing about how to make potato ornaments (from the title, which I loved!) Second, I would give the kids the option of taking their ornaments with them so they can relive the memories. In terms of the family ones, that is harder. I always tell clients to keep things that they love and make them feel good. If these ornaments are hard to look at, I would let them go (maybe offer them to kids). If you feel sad, you can always photograph them and keep the photos for a time when you are ready to look at them. For sure, start buying new ones for the new memories you are making! (just one organizer's point of view!)
NCSue says
I found a great panini recipe you'd pinned, and wanted to let you know - I just started a new group board, Paninis, Anyone? I'd like to invite you to share great panini recipes but the only way I know to send the invite is via email. If you're interested please leave a comment with your email address on one of the posts on that board. Oh - and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Deb@CookingOnTheFrontBurner says
I love your tree Lisa and the picture of your daughter putting the topper on... The potatoes look pretty fantastic too and I would love to make a Beef Wellington some time... I've made Chicken but not beef. For your ornaments... I'm sure what I would do. If there are some you really love because they are pretty, keep them. I would probably just store them away and start buying new ones. Start with something with cooking since you are blogging now... Have a good week! Deb
Gloria // Simply Gloria says
All sounds like fun! Always sad to see them go, doesn't it? My oldest lives only 45 minutes away from me. He used to live 10 hours away ...so sad! So much better when they are closer...now if I can get him to just live right next door to his mommy, I'll be happy! Loving these potatoes, by the way, Lisa!
Andi says
The potatoes AND beef look freakin' incredible!!! And the ornaments? I'm not a super-sentimental gal, so, even though I have lots of ornaments the kids have made over the years, I've done several "themed" trees that didn't include those ornaments at all. I think if it were me, and I didn't necessarily want the "25-years' worth of ornaments," I'd give them to the kids. 🙂
-andi
Leslie says
I love any kind of potato. I'll be using this the next time I make a roast. I think these will be perfect. I'm stopping by from Marvelous Monday link up & I'm a new follower through Bloglovin.
Sharon says
We eat a lot of potatoes in our house. I've made them in the oven a couple of times but am always excited to try a new recipe. These look fantastic! I'm pinning these and hope to try them during the Christmas break when the kids are out of school.
Julie @ This Gal Cooks says
Now these are my kind of potatoes, Lisa! YUM!
Is your daughter going to FL State? I think I remember seeing a pic of her with a FL State shirt on. Hey, now you have an excuse to visit a warm state during the cold months, am I right? 🙂
Thanks for sharing these rad potatoes at MM. Pinned! Have a great remainder of the week!
Angela C says
Oh my ! these potatoes look great, we love roast potatoes in our house and now I am away to check out that beef wellington 🙂
Cynthia says
It's always great to get the kids back. These potatoes look delicious! Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you next week
Robin says
I have always bought my kids an ornament every year since they were born, and Santa brought all of their other presents. The kids know that I pick out ones that reflect who I see them as, and they know that when they move out and have a home of their own that they will have enough ornaments for their first tree. My oldest is 25 (and back home from being laid off his job) and the youngest is 14 (I have 6!), but they still love getting them and talk about what they are going to get this year!