Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Pancakes

What do you do with leftover mashed potatoes?  I mean, really – who does much with them??  There are recipes out there, of course, but if you are like me, you aren’t going to a darn thing with leftover potatoes, except eat them, and then 3 weeks later, after you’ve forgotten they are in the back of the fridge, throw them out.

This recipe is a perfect and easy solution.  Perfect for leftovers from Thanksgiving, or that roast you made on Saturday. It’s a quick put together for a weeknight meal, or with a breakfast of eggs on a Sunday morning.

I’m really trying to practice the frugality that I’ve learned over the years, and this recipe is great on the pocketbook.  Use leftover mashed potatoes – the remainder of the ingredients are usual pantry staples, with the cheese being about the only thing you might not have on hand.

Enjoy!

Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter

Mix together potatoes, egg, salt & pepper, flour and cheese. You can either make patties, by hand, or drop spoonfulls onto a hot pan, and then flatten with a spatula.  They should be about 1/2 inch thick, and around 3 inches diameter.

Melt the butter on a non-stick pan.   Cook anywhere from 5-8 minutes per side, until golden brown.  I prefer about 8 minutes, as they get nicely crispy.

Notes:

There are a lot of additions that can be made to these:

• green onions or scallions
• chives
• minced onion
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• minced bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green)
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• diced ham
• bacon bits
• Parmesan