Potatoes

[acrosstherange]

We didn't get our potatoes dug before a couple heavy frosts so some ended up freezing in the ground. We were left with potatoes in three catergories: inedible, partially edible, and edible. Stefan and Sherra dug some and then Erin and I did the rest and put them in the garage. Each group we let sit overnight so we could tell the affected ones more easily. The good ones we put in our root cellar and then we separated the rotten ones which left us with a pile of semi-good potatoes. I looked online and tried to find out how I could preserve them so they wouldn't go to waste. Thankfully most of the potatoes in that pile ended up being whites/russets as those were the type recommended to freeze. I was thinking about mashed potatoes but anywhere I read said that they thaw out to mush. So, I scratched that idea off my list. I was then thinking maybe about fries or potato wedges and ended kind of making up a recipe. A friend suggested a recipe they used and I just added more seasonings.

I cut the potatoes in wedges and stuck them in water while I was waiting for the frying pan/dutch oven to heat up on the range top. I mixed flour, paprika, garlic salt, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning in a ziplock bag and then added the potato wedges.







I probably put 1/8" - 1/4" of olive oil in the pans to heat up. I saw that amount suggested because it will help keep the potatoes from sticking together. Some recipes suggested butter but I like cooking potatoes in olive oil.








Most recipes I saw said to cook them between 3/4 of the way and fully done. I cooked mine until done and then set them in a strainer to drain any excess grease (there wasn't much from them though). I then set them on on a flexible cutting board (with a cookie sheet underneath for stability) and then placed them in the freezer. After they froze, they easily slid off the cutting sheet into the zip lock bag. Now we have several bags of oven ready potatoes wedges in the freezer. :) I cooked one batch already and pulled them out of the freezer right before sticking them in the oven. I baked them at 400* for about 15 minutes.

Comments

[ruhamah.livejournal.com]

Ah! Did you have to post pictures? Now I want some! They look so good.

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

They were good. You should have come for some. heh heh! ;)

[jesswrite.livejournal.com]

I love potato wedges! Those look really good :)

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

They were tasty! I like potato wedges too-especially dipped in sour cream.

[delightinginhim.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you could do that! Cook them ahead of time and then
warm them up later? Were they still just as crispy and yummy?

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

They weren't *quite* as crispy as when you bake potatoes wedges and eat them right out of the oven but they were still pretty close. They weren't limp or soggy by any means. :)

[delightinginhim.livejournal.com]

I think I may have to try them!

[annejisca.livejournal.com]

Oh!!!!! Looks SOOOO YUMMY! I WANT SOME! LOL! =D

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

You should have come for dinner and you could have had as many as you wanted. ;)

We could swap cooking-potatoes for your Christmas baking. j/k! I think I'd be on better end of the deal. :)

[annejisca.livejournal.com]

I don't know! Ready-made oven potatoes??? Sounds like a good trade-off to me! ;-) hehe Too bad we don't live closer! =D Maybe some day. We just might end up living out West in a few years. =)

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would be fun if we did. :) Are you really thinking about moving West?? Any specific location?

[annejisca.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, we are "thinking" about it - eventually. =) Josiah's dream is to teach in a Bible college. Most of them are out West. A few in MB, many in SK and AB. I guess that doesn't mean we'll end up out there, but it wouldn't be a surprise at all!! We both went to college in SK. No specific location in mind at this point, nor planned anything soon, but it's in the future "plans/ideas". =) First, he's got to finish school. ;-) hehe

[swedish-maiden.livejournal.com]

Do you ever can potatoes? We ended up doing that with a lot of our from last year so they wouldn't all spoil before we could use them up. :)

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

I didn't can them because we hardly had any canning jars and they would be probably next to impossible to find jars this time of year.

I've seen them canned before but have never looked into it myself. Is it very time consuming?

[annejisca.livejournal.com]

I did it last Spring when our potatoes were starting to get really soft. Our basement kept them nice and firm until about March/April. =) I just cubed them, put them in cans, sprinkled some salt on top, filled it with water, and canned them. It was easy. The down side is that those potatoes are pretty much only good for mashed now. They're so "cooked" from being canned that they're soft. It's a fast way to have mashed potatoes though! =) Maybe I didn't do them right, I don't know, but it saved my potatoes.

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good idea. How do you prepare them for mashed potatoes after getting them out of the can?

[annejisca.livejournal.com]

I just pour the canned potatoes with their liquids in a pot, warm the up, drain them a bit (not too much 'cause the potatoes are kinda mushy by then and you'd loose half of the them! lol) and finish mashing them like usual. They need less liquids than if you made them from fresh potatoes though. Just as yummy, I think. =) And SO quick!

[wifeofjoshua.livejournal.com]

Those look great, Lindsey!!

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

I was happy with how they turned out-especially after putting that much work into them. :)

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

Let me how you like potatoes if you decide to make them! :)

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for sharing this! I've been looking for something to do with potatoes because we tend to buy them and they go to waste because we just don't eat them enough, and I didn't know of any good recipes for freezing. This will be perfect! :)

Tiffany
allthatblooms.net

[peacefulmeadows.livejournal.com]

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. :) Hope you like the results of this recipe. We've enjoyed ours several times this winter. I find the quick heating up time very convenient, especially on busy days.