Healthy (ish) Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

John wanted our dinner a few Sundays ago to sustain him for the whole week, since he would be busy with meetings and travel.  Yes! A cooking objective. I love those.  I grilled salmon and a few of these for later in the week, and then I made mashed potatoes that were creamy enough to feel indulgent on a Sunday, but healthy enough that you could eat them throughout the week without feeling like a tub of lard. Success! I think. Just a touch of butter and cream cheese give these taters tons of flavor, but the addition of chicken broth, skim milk, and broccoli lighten it up. 

Recipe

• 6 huge baking potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 oz reduced fat cream cheese (about ¼ of the boxed package)
• ¾ cup skim milk
• 1 broccoli head, florets chopped
• S&P
• Shredded cheddar and sour cream for serving (optional)

Boil the potatoes until soft. Drain the water, then return to low heat to allow the potatoes to dry out.  Mash them, while mixing in the chicken broth, butter, cream cheese, and milk. Stir and mash until smooth.   Steam the broccoli florets for about 3.5 minutes in the microwave.  Chop into smaller pieces, then stir into the potatoes.  Serve potatoes with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

By the way, some of you may be horrified that my ‘light’ potatoes still contain 4T butter and 2oz cream cheese. All I can say is that I don’t really know. Normally I use at least a full stick of butter, plus sour cream and/or cream cheese for good measure.  So, my only qualification for making something light is that I use less of the good stuff than I want.  Plus all the broccoli in here must count for something. Although I have to admit the whole time I was thinking how great these would be loaded with bacon.