Quick & Easy - Garlic Bacon Mashed Potatoes

I haven't had a steak in over 8 weeks & I am still kind of not supposed to have it.  But he wants a steak, & I couldn't just make him one & leave myself out; that just would not be fair.  So knowing I can only eat about 20% of my steak, I needed to make something that would make me feel full as well as help me feel not so deprived.  What better to fulfill these goals than thick, rich, garlic'y mashed potatoes strewn with crispy bacon?!?

Get together...

     2.5 pounds red potatoes

     2 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

     4 large cloves garlic, skin removed & slightly squished

     0.5 cup low-fat milk

     2 tablespoons butter

     Salt & black pepper to taste

And then...

     Scrub the potatoes to remove the surface dirt & cut them into 2 inch pieces

     Put the potatoes & garlic into a large pot & cover them with just enough water

     Bring to a boil & reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are tender (~10 min)

     In a pan, cut the bacon over medium heat until crisp & then drain off the fat

     Drain the potatoes & return them to the warm pot

     Mash the potatoes up with the butter, milk, salt, & pepper

     Stir in the bacon

I didn't know how to serve this on the dinner plate because it was too stiff to form into a nice little pillow like @ restaurants.  Then I remembered I always liked how chefs form their ice creams into cute little oblongs (or quenelles) so I took out 2 spoons & scooped away.  The first few didn't turn out very well but I think the trick is to make sure the spoon that is doing the scooping scrapes against the other spoon to form a clean edge.  The Boyfriend says it tasted better than a baked potato (which is his favorite) but I thought the flavor wasn't quite there yet.  I especially had problems with the garlic which couldn't be mashed up & didn't really give any flavor to the mash.  A few things I am probably going to change up the next time I make this are to peel half of the potatoes, use more bacon, & make a garlic butter beforehand.  Oh, I also found shallots to go really nicely with the potatoes so another recipe idea might be shallot & parsley mashed potatoes with olive oil.