Mashed Potato Cakes with Broccoli and Shallots

I was planning on blogging a healthy dinner yesterday, but what I ended up making was kind of boring. There was nothing wrong with it…it just wasn’t exciting.

I think lime juice and cilantro would have helped it tremendously, but I didn’t have either of those things in the fridge. I roasted some butternut squash with smoked paprika, cooked some farro, and sauteed onions, bell peppers, and celery, then added black beans. Lots of healthy stuff, but not enough in the flavor department.

This on the other hand, was a lot better. I mashed up a bunch of red potatoes (with the skins still on) with a few white beans, added an egg, and baked it in little cakes. Then I topped them with roasted broccoli and shallots, cooked in butter with a little balsamic.

I’m SO glad I’m not the girl who avoids butter anymore. I don’t need to pull a Paula Deen and add a stick and a half to everything I make, but I’ve come to appreciate it so much more than a few years ago, when I was convinced eating it would instantly make me fat (but for some reason I didn’t worry about what the beer and late-night Taco Bell runs were doing to my figure. Logic fail.)

Hanging out with Ellie all day, every day this week is pretty awesome, but I’ve gotta say, I don’t know how stay-at-home moms do it. I love her, but the hours sort of dragged today (especially when she was fussy). I need to work on appreciating these moments though, because she is growing so fast. She has a whole new range of sounds and is trying so hard to talk! It’s pretty adorable.

I’m almost done with her stocking, and I’m glad I went for the tougher pattern. I was totally intimidated by wrapping and turning, and almost made a pattern that just used two regular needles, but I figured I should try and push myself to do something new, and it’s working out well. I only had to watch three different YouTube videos to make sure I was W&T-ing correctly…

I found the pattern on Ravelry and I love it!

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