Crispy Potato Cakes

We love potatoes at our house. The potato is like water to us. If I served mashed potatoes at every meal my husband would be in heaven! My second son could live on potatoes alone and be one happy camper. At least a couple times a week you can expect to find some sort of potato on our dinner table. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, twice baked potatoes, cheesy potatoes, hash browns, shepherd's pie, french fries, roasted potatoes, potato soup.... you get the point, we LOVE potatoes. So, I've been trying to come up with some new ways to use potatoes and I came up with this little crispy, creamy treasure. My family inhaled these puppies. They completely outshone the main dish - which I actually don't even remember! It's really, really easy to make.
I peeled and boiled enough potatoes for my family, about 6-8 medium potatoes. Before I mashed them I drained them and added, 4 TB butter, 1 egg, about 1/3 c sour cream, 1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic (depending on how much garlic you like) and sprinkled in salt, pepper, onion powder, and a TB or so of dried dill. Mash you potatoes with an electric mixer or by hand till there are no big lumps and potatoes are nice and creamy. You want the potatoes to be thicker than regular mashed potatoes so don't add milk unless you think they really need it.
Add enough oil to a pan to generously coat the bottom, you're going to pan fry the potato cakes. Heat to medium-high heat. Add Panko bread crumbs to a bowl or shallow dish and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little paprika.
Using two spoons, scoop a big spoonful of potatoes back and forth between the two spoons till a ball forms. Drop into panko mixture and gently roll potato ball around. Gently press down on the ball till it's about 1/4-1/2 an inch think. Remove from panko and set on a plate. Continue making your cakes till all potatoes are used up. Once your cakes are prepared and you oil is hot, (you can tell if the oil is hot by sticking the end of a wooden spoon in the oil. If little bubbles form around the spoon, it's hot.) then you can begin frying your potato cakes. Depending on the size of your pan, place as many as you can comfortably fit in the pan at one time. Fry for a couple minutes on each side till golden brown. Adjust your heat as needed. You want it hot enough that your cakes fry quickly and get a nice crispy outside, but not too hot or you'll burn the outside before the inside is warmed. If your oil isn't hot enough your cakes will be greasy inside and out. Once your cakes are beautiful and golden, let them drain on a paper towel. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with a little more dill on top. Enjoy!