The price of Russet potatoes is pretty hard to beat when I can get them at .79 for a ten pound bag fairly regularly. In the theme of CheapCooking, how can you go wrong? But for the sake of variety, red potatoes are awfully nice now and then and I picked some up today to go with the pot roast. I had already decided not to cook them with the pot roast. I’ve been less than thrilled with the way potatoes come out in pot roasts, although I love the meat and carrots.

Initially, I thought I’d just scrub them and microwave them. Very easy and very good. But then I made the often fatal mistake and thumbing through a few books, including a Cooking Light collection. It called for cooking the quartered potatoes in oil in a frying pan the whole time. I microwaved them until almost done, then fried in olive oil with minced garlic until crisp.

8 medium sized red potatoes, quartered

1 Tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 tsp dried parsley

Scrub the potatoes and microwave them in a covered dish until almost cooked. (Poke them with a fork and make sure they’re tender.) Heat the oil and fry the garlic a minute until soft, then add the potatoes. Cook, stirring, until browned on all sides, about 10-15 minutes on medium. Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley.

Goes great with pot roast!