I confess, I have been guilty of wasting food. I never do this purposely, but I end up buying too many fruits and vegetables, then forget they're there and before I know it, they are starting to go bad. I have really tried to get better about using veggies that are a little past their prime. Sometimes I even buy fruits and vegetables that aren't very attractive. Even if it doesn't look perfect, most of this food can still be used and enjoyed. I recently bought a bag of potatoes at the grocery store. I don't know about where you shop, but at our stores the potatoes come in a dark colored plastic bag so you can't see what's in there. When I came home and opened up my bag of potatoes, I saw that one was quite weird looking. Having a full bag of potatoes, it would have been very easy to just discard it. But I looked closer at the potato and simply cut out the small misshapen part and the potato was as good as new. I also had some green onions that had seen better days, but I decided to use my imperfect produce to make my favorite side dish - Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes. Be sure to also check out our Easy Loaded Smashed Potatoes.
Hidden Valley®, who is sponsoring this post, wants us to think differently about food that is near expiration, misshapen or bruised. Their Taste Not Waste program supports the USDA goal of reducing food waste by 50% by the year 2030. Hidden Valley® hopes to inspire families to enjoy imperfect food, like my potato.
One of the ways to help previously "unlovable" produce taste great is by using Hidden Valley® products on them. Hidden Valley® is so committed to this mission that they are releasing limited edition bottles of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch®. These bottles have a different label and feature less than perfect produce. They will be sold on eBay with all proceeds benefiting Great Nations Eat©.
The recipe I will be sharing will serve four generous side dish helpings. If you are feeding a crowd, simply double the recipe.
The addition of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® really give the potatoes a creamy, tangy taste, while the bacon adds a nice crunch.
Looking at this beautiful dish, you'd never know that a misshapen potato and wilted green onions went into it. That's what the #TasteNotWaste program is all about!
I love to serve these potatoes with burgers. Next time you make burgers, skip the fries and try these cheesy bacon ranch potatoes. Your family will thank you!
Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pound russet potatoes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- cooking spray
- ⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® dressing
- 6 strips of cooked bacon crumbled
- 2 tablespoons of chopped green onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
- Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and add potatoes.
- Spray the potatoes with cooking spray and add salt and pepper.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- When done, remove from oven and pour potatoes into a greased casserole dish.
- Add cheese, crumbled bacon and Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® dressing, mix and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top with chopped green onion.
Nutrition
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley. The opinions and text are all mine.
Iryna
This is what I call a comfort food! These potatoes would go quickly in my house. I'm sure even my picky eaters would devour them in no time.