Potatoes "with Everything" Pancakes

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 1/4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup sour cream (i use lowfat)
• 1 egg
• 4 ounces bacon (about 5 slices, cooked till crisp, drained and crumbled)
• 2 chopped green onions (i usually substitute about a tablespoon of dried chives)
• salt
• pepper

Recipe

• 1 place potatoes in a large pot, add enough water to cover. boil potatoes till tender, about 20 minutes.
• 2 drain potatoes well and transfer to a large bowl. cool a few minutes.
• 3 mash potatoes till smooth.
• 4 mix in all remaining ingredients. salt and pepper to taste.
• 5 refrigerate till well chilled (can be prepared 1 day ahead - i usually am impatient and put it in the freezer for about a half hour).
• 6 these are easier to handle if they're cold.
• 7 shape potato mixture into patties, using about 1/3 cup for each.
• 8 (the original directions say to form these and put them in the refrigerator for an hour, but i'm always too impatient to do it that way. it probably does make them easier to handle.).
• 9 spray a large non-stick skillet with non-stick spray (using oil just makes them too greasy).
• 10 heat skillet over medium high heat.
• 11 add potato pancakes in batches. don't crowd the pan - you need room to flip.
• 12 cook till golden brown - about 3 minutes each side (timing can vary, depending on how quickly your skillet heats up, the consistency of your mashed potatoes - lots of things).
• 13 basically watch them till they start to look a bit browned and dryish around the edges, then carefully turn to brown the other side.
• 14 be patient - these can be tricky to flip. i generally manage to mangle at least one of them.
• 15 serve immediately.