Instructions: Mashed-potato mix-ins offer endless variety for tasty side dishes:

Cheese: 1/2 cup crumbled, shredded or grated blue, sharp Cheddar, feta or Parmesan.

Bacon: 1/3 cup cooked and crumbled crisp bacon.

Green onions: 1/3 cup minced green onions with part of tops.

Fresh herbs: 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil, chervil, chives, dill, marjoram, oregano, thyme or sage.

Onions: 1/2 cup chopped butter-sauteed red or white onions or leeks.

French-fried onions: 1/2 can, crushed.

Garlic: 1 tablespoon roasted-garlic puree or 4 garlic cloves boiled and mashed with peeled potato chunks.

Olives: 1/3 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed or pitted black olives.

Pimiento: A 2-ounce jar of chopped pimientos, drained.

Cabbage: 1 cup coarsely grated cooked cabbage (cook with potatoes).

Sauerkraut: 1 cup kraut, drained and chopped with kitchen shears.

Horseradish: 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish.

Sausage: 1/2 cup chopped salami, pepperoni or crumbled cooked sausage.

Sweet potato: Pierce the skin of a scrubbed whole sweet potato. Place on a paper towel on the floor of a microwave and micro-cook on high until tender. Slice lengthwise and scoop out sweet potato flesh. Mash with russet potatoes for a nutrition boost.

Turnip: Cook peeled, diced turnip or rutabaga chunks with peeled russet potato chunks. When tender, drain and mash all together. Toward spring, storage crops of turnips and rutabagas may require longer cooking than potatoes, so use a separate saucepan for each.

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