Life has been extra turbulent lately. My little family is moving across the country in an effort to live our biggest lives, even when it’s scary. My husband’s new job is one that we hope will bring him more joy over the course of his life and contribute to the overall happiness of our family. He’s working for an organization that he believes in and feels good supporting. We don’t know anyone in our new town, but we love the location, because of all of the outdoor adventures available to us. We are excited to make a new home here.

It was a wild trip driving across the country with a toddler and a baby in the middle of COVID. Did you know they sell pop up tents to put around a travel potty? I am now the proud owner of one.  We also hit some bumps when our rental house we had all lined up (that was in a perfect location: triangulated between my husbands work, the big city park, and downtown) ended up having chipping lead paint over carpet that they refused to appropriately fix. We had to find a new rental, in the middle of busy season with very little available. We were applying to houses that had 40 other applicants! This was something I was completely unprepared for. We finally found a house that will be perfect, got approval, and are just waiting for it to become available. We found a nice, family-friendly air bnb rental for the month we’ll be waiting. Hope our downstairs neighbors aren’t too bothered by a toddler that just learned about tap dancing and loves dance parties. . . there is only so much corralling I can do right now.

We are excited to explore our new city, but are lamenting not being able to do most things because of COVID. Thankfully, there are plenty of outdoor spaces we can explore for the time being. I will enjoy being able to go to the library all the more when things are different.

It’s been so nice planning and dreaming about our future for our family. It’s an exciting time for the True Coffmans.

All that being said, I have not spent much time in the kitchen. Our air bnb is serviceable, but I do not have much physical space or mental space these days for creative kitchen endeavors. This recipe is for when you want delicious crispy potatoes, but either don’t have a large sheet pan or are already using it for another component for dinner.

I boiled these potatoes first, to make the inside decadently soft. Then I crisped them up with a considerable amount of oil, with plenty of room (to avoid steaming and promote aforementioned crisping action). I am limited on spices, and have been using mainly a cajun blend that has all my usual suspects (chili powder, salt, garlic, red pepper, black pepper) plus extra garlic.

I would usually make a large pot of these, because they reheat so well and are delicious cold. However, my pots and skillets are tiny in this little rental. I can’t wait to unpack our kitchen boxes in less than a month! In the mean time, bear with me.

You want to make sure all of your potatoes are flesh down (not skin side down), so that they will crisp up better. The skin side will crisp, but not quite as well.

They came out amazing! It was exactly the thing we needed after a weekend of adventuring in the outdoor spaces of our new home city. Crispy potatoes make me think of home and our old house. They seemed to be comforting for my toddler as well.

We paired them with crispy chicken thighs, salad greens, and leftover roasted cauliflower. It was nourishing and filling. Wonderful Sunday dinner that reminded us all of home in this nomadic time in our lives.

One important note. You may be tempted to stir these potatoes, but let them sit. This will help develop the yummy crispy crust we are looking for. If you stir them too much, they will simply keep cooking and become mushy.

Crispy Skillet Potatoes

Ingredients

1.5 lbs red potatoes (yellow works well too)

2-3 Tablespoons avocado oil (enough to liberally coat all potatoes)

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 Tablespoon cajun spice blend (I like Tony Chachere’s)

Instructions

1. Chop potatoes into large cubes.
2. Boil potatoes until soft and poke-able with a fork.
3. Drain potatoes. Coat in oil and then seasoning.
4. Cook in skillet, using two pans, if necessary so that the potatoes don’t touch.
5. Cook on medium-low heat until lightly browned and crispy on bottom.
6. At this point you can stir to crisp another side, if desired, or you can remove from pan and eat!