Shredded Hash Browns

 

There are many versions of breakfast potatoes and here is another way of cooking them.  These are shredded hashbrowns, similar to the ones often served in restaurants.  However, the biggest difference in preparing these at home, and cooking your family a "restaurant style" breakfast at home is that you can control the amount of sodium and fat that you are feeding your family.  You may be surprised at the difference in taste as well as healthiness of the final product when you prepare these at home.
The picture above is a breakfast I prepared for my husband, featuring shredded hashbrowns with bacon, cheesy eggs w/onions and multi grain toast.
So, to begin, scrub and rinse one potato per person (2 in this case - one for my husband and one for me).

 

I love to use paper products to save on cleanup.  You know, there is always a trade off: paper towels (sanitary and disposable) or real towels (using water and soap to wash).  Which is better?  You decide.  Anyway for this dish, I try to keep it simple, as I am usually preparing the rest of breakfast at the same time.

 

 

So, I place the grater on a paper plate to grate the potatoes onto.  The paper plate is a little more rigid than a paper towel and is able to hold the shredded potato easily.

 

 

Grate the potatoes on the larger of the shredded sides of your grater.  Be careful not to shred the potatoes too close to your fingers or you may end up with some extra protein in your hashbrowns (not recommended).

 

 

Once potatoes are shredded, heat a nonstick skillet and add some olive oil (start with less, you can always add more).   You can substitute canola oil or butter instead of olive oil, if you prefer.  You can also choose other oils from the variety out there as potatoes accept flavors very easily, so this is a great time to try those unusual oils that you may have purchased in the past.

 

 

When oil is hot, add shredded potatoes in a single layer in the pan.

 

 

Salt and Pepper to taste.  If desired, spice these up with some granulated garlic or onion powder or even a dash of cayenne pepper (extra spicy).

 

 

Cook potatoes on medium heat for about 10 minutes, then flip with a spatula or a flip of the wrist (you CAN do it!).  This is the point you may want to add a touch more oil, as this is what makes them brown and crispy.

 

 

Allow to cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat and test for doneness by testing a small piece of the potatoes.  They should be tender to taste, and at this time you can adjust the seasonings if you would like.

 

Voila, ready to serve with the rest of your breakfast (or dinner)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick & Easy Chunky Hashbrowns

This is an easy way to make hashbrowns to go with a full breakfast.  If you start the potatoes first, by the time you have the eggs & breakfast meat done you will have a complete breakfast!
First, choose potatoes based on how many people you will be feeding.  Once again consider the size of the potato as well.  I am preparing three small red potatoes for my husband.  Begin by washing them well and scrubbing with a vegetable brush as I will be leaving the skins on for this dish.

Place potatoes on a paper plate and pierce with a fork four or five times all around.  This will prevent the potatoes from exploding in the microwave.  Put potatoes in microwave and cook for about one minute per potato.  I cooked these three potatoes for 3 minutes on high in my microwave.

Once the potatoes are cooked to fork tender (you can insert a fork with some resistance), they are ready for the next step.  Using caution (they will be hot from the microwave), carefully cube the potatoes into similar size pieces (I like them pretty chunky).

Using an appropriate sized pan (I use a nonstick small pan for this portion), drizzle it fairly generously with olive oil. You may need to add more if your potatoes start to dry out.

Place chopped potatoes into skillet and cook on medium heat until they begin to brown.

Then flip often until brown on all sides.  Since they are already cooked from the microwave, all you are trying to do is brown the edges.

Once they are browned as much as you like (the longer you cook them, the crispier they will be), they are ready to serve.  Here's a pic of my lucky husband's breakfast today!

Over medium eggs, bacon, link sausage, hashbrowns and multi grain toast, Voila!  Less time than it would take to go out to breakfast and he got to eat in his comfies!

 

 

 

 

 

Oven Baked Home Fries

One of my family's very favorite way to enjoy french fries without the deep fat frying mess and calories!
By the way, I forgot one extremely important part of cooking anything, wash your hands!  Before, during and after handling any food product.  Don't underestimate the bacteria that lives on everything that is fresh, including potatoes.
So, first things first:  remove excess jewelry, use hot water and antibacterial soap.  Sing your favorite song, say the Lord's Prayer, do whatever it takes to be sure every part of your hands is clean.  Dry with paper towels.

I love serving these fries with any type of sandwich or fried foods.  Everyone seems to love them and they are a welcome change from the tasteless french fries from your local fast food restaurant.  They do take about one hour from beginning to end (including prep and cooking), but this just gives you time to relax for a minute and prepare the rest of your meal!

 

First, I have purchased a 10 pound bag of russet potatoes (the most common in my area).  The cost at my local grocery store was $1.50 for the bag. 

 

Tonight I am feeding five people, so I have chosen five medium potatoes from the bag.

 

You may choose to peel them, but I never do for this dish.  Therefore, they must be washed carefully.  If you don't have a vegetable brush, use a new toothbrush or even a clean washcloth.  Remove all excess dirt.

 

 

Since these are going in the oven to cook, you will need to use an oven proof pan.  It can be a cookie sheet (as pictured) or a cake or glass pan, whatever you have that will provide room to put the potatoes in a single layer.

 

Drizzle the pan with some olive oil.  You can use regular vegetable oil, but I prefer to use Olive Oil because it seems to crisp up the outside of the potatoes better than regular canola or vegetable oil.  Drizzling the pan creates a cushion for the potatoes to sit on so that they don't stick while cooking.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Begin slicing potatoes into wedges.  Start by cutting a potato in half longwise, then sectioning each half into four wedges.

Lay the potatoes out on the pan, making sure they are in a single layer.  Drizzle again with some olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste.  I recommend waiting until potatoes are at least half cooked before adding garlic or other seasonings, as the seasonings tend to burn before the potatoes are cooked.

 

Put pan on center rack in 425 degree oven.  Put timer on 15 minutes and ignore until timer goes off.

 

 

After timer goes off, use a flat spatula to toss the potato wedges around on the pan.  Be sure they are in a single layer again before putting them back in the oven and setting the timer to 15 minutes again.

 

Continue cooking the potatoes in 15 minutes increments until fork tender and your desired crispiness.  It can take as little as 30 minutes for the potatoes to cook, or as much as a 45 minutes to an hour for a larger pan of potato wedges.

 

I hope your family enjoys these potatoes as much as my family does!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Mashed Potatoes

You may use any type of potato for making mashed potatoes, but for this particular recipe I am using some russet and some red potatoes.  It's what I had in the pantry.
First of all, my personal taste runs to unpeeled potatoes for my family's mashed potatoes since most of the nutrients are in the peel.  However, sometimes you want the perfect, visually appealing bowl of mashed potatoes, so here is a step by step guide to make perfectly mashed potatoes!

Begin with approximately one large or two small potatoes per person.  If you are leaving the skins on, be sure to wash your potatoes with a firm vegetable brush and be sure to trim any spots or bruises before cutting.
If you are peeling your potatoes, use a small paring knife or peeler to remove the skin, then rinse potatoes thoroughly under cold running water.

Chop potatoes into bite size pieces by cutting the potato longways, then sectioning in several long slices.  Cut across the slices, making uniform pieces for boiling.  Be sure to add a small amount of cold water to the bottom of the pan before adding potatoes (this will prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

Place cut potatoes in a large pan, then cover with COLD water, adding approximately one inch of water above the level of the potatoes and place on stove on medium heat, bring to light boil.

Boil gently for approximately 30 minutes, testing doneness with a fork (when the fork slips easily into a piece of potato).

Drain potatoes into a strainer or colander placed into the sink, allow potatoes to drain for a minute or two, then put potatoes back into pan.

 

 

Add about 1 Tablespoon of butter for each serving of potatoes to the pan, allowing the butter to begin melting before beginning to mash them.

 

 

Using either a manual masher or an electric mixer, mix (or mash) potatoes well, incorporating butter and salt to taste.

Add milk as needed to make potatoes creamy.  Less is better, until you get a feel for the correct creaminess.  Mashed potatoes should have the consistancy of very thick whipping cream.

Salt and Pepper to taste, then serve!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Welcome!

Potato, potatoe, spud, tater - whatever you want to call it, is one of the most amazing, versatile vegetables available today.  Priced reasonably across the country, potatoes are one staple that should be in everyone's pantry, and if it isn't, go out and buy some today and let's start to cook potatoes!
The main ingredient that you must have is potatoes.  Russet, Yukon Gold, Red or even sweet, on this blog I am going to attempt to show even beginner cooks what a versatile vegetable the potato is.  It can go from an appetizer such as potato skins to a side dish or even a full course such as a loaded baked potato.
Each post will contain a recipe, with full directions, on how to make a potato dish.  So I hope you enjoy this journey and in this time of tight grocery dollars - go ahead, spend a couple of bucks on a 10 pound bag of spuds and have a go at some of these recipes.  I guarantee they are all simple and can be prepared by anyone!