I’ve laughed out loud three times in the last week reading a few posts online that have declared food staples in my life (cupcakes, for one, the horror) “old-fashioned!” and “snooze-worthy!” And it’s made me realize, as if I didn’t know it before, that food does not have to be flashy and trendy and all the rage to win me over or keep me loyal. Maybe they aren’t the most exciting things swirling around the food world, but give me cupcakes and slow cooker oatmeal and baked pasta any day over a recipe with 12 ingredients I can’t pronounce (or afford) or a recipe that started out promising but had to get over-accessorized. While I can totally swoon at and appreciate over-the-top recipes and dream of someone someday making me a gourmet, 7-course meal with the extra time I can’t seem to find (namely to wash all the pots and pans), I’m kind of at the point in my life where I want pretty solid standards. Classics that I’ll still want to make in ten years.

Basically, what I’m saying is: cupcakes forever.

And. Smashed potatoes forever. I know these are, like, so last summer, but these babies are incredibly delicious and they aren’t going anywhere – not in my world. The process couldn’t be simpler. Steam those red potatoes until tender and then smash them on a baking sheet and broil with several non-negotiables. Bacon and cheese, of course. Oh, and garlic butter.

These smashed red potatoes have been my go-to side dish for three or four meals in the last couple weeks (served them with this chili-rubbed apricot glazed pork tenderloin subbing peach jam for the apricot — so amazingly yummy, and if I remember right, they also made an appearance with grilled hamburgers and then again with my one, true love: this sweet baked ham).

I heart them big time. They are versatile (see the notes in the recipe), simple and amazingly tasty. While others valiantly strive to take good ol’ spaghetti to a new level with jellyfish tentacles + burnt butter fig streusel + kale (of course), I’ll tuck this smashed red potatoes recipe away in my neon pink trapper-keeper to make for the rest of forever.

Cheesy Bacon and Garlic Butter Smashed Red Potatoes
Yield: Serves 6-8

This recipe is so adaptable — if your potatoes are really large, you may want to increase quantities overall (decrease for really small potatoes). You can add more or less of what you like and even change it up with a little blue cheese (yum) or other different cheeses and toppings.

Ingredients

• 6-8 medium red potatoes

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• 6 slices turkey or regular bacon, cooked and crumbled

• Chopped green onions or chives for sprinkling

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water by about an inch. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain well.

2. Preheat the oven broiler.

3. Lightly grease a large, rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Carefully place the drained, hot potatoes on the baking sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. Using a potato masher (or the bottom of a small, heavy pot or something similar), smash the potatoes until flattened to about 1/2-inch or so (it's really up to you how much to smash them).

4. Melt the butter and stir in the garlic powder. Drizzle over the potatoes.

5. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Broil for a couple minutes until the cheese is sizzling.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the green onions or chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed (I give a light sprinkle of both). Serve immediately.

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (after my friends Hollie and Makita brought smashed red potatoes to a lunch we were serving and I couldn’t stop thinking about them after they told me how simple they were)