Jan 28 2009
What I do with all that food…Recipes
You’ve probably noticed that some things I purchase in bulk. (Like when there is a good sale on something and I have coupons making it free or nearly free.)
One week I purchased 2 dozen eggs, 4lbs of cheese, and 10lbs of potatoes. Yes, it’s just my hubby and I…no kids, so what on earth do I do with all that food? I freeze it! I make party sized batched items and single serve sized items and pop it in the freezer! Luckily we have a deep freeze so there is room for this stuff.
Most cheese freezes great. I freeze mozzarella, provolone and Monterrey jack cheddar. I’ve learned that sharp cheddar doesn’t freeze well. I’m pretty sure that Velveeta or Feta won’t freeze well either…ew. Some things you may just have to experiment with for yourself. It’s also a personal preference. I freeze bread too, but some people thinks it tastes stale after that.
And no, I don’t freeze the eggs, but I had a LOT of baking to do since our holiday season wasn’t quite over yet. (Lot of friends/family are spread out.) So I used a dozen eggs in 1 day just from baking!
A good investment: Ziplock vacuum freezer bags!
I LOVE these things! They really keep out the freezer burn and items keep longer! I got tons of these free on my 1st KMart doubles trip so I’m well stocked for a while. I only use these on items that I need to freeze long-term. I use regular freezer bags on items I know I will use within 1-2 weeks.
I love to experiment with new recipes. I kinda just read a recipe to get the gist of measurements or servings then make it my own.
Here are 3 potato recipes I came up with from my 10lbs of potatoes:
1. Bake potatoes for 1 hour at 450 on a cookie sheet. I like to poke small holes in the potatoes also.
2. Let cool. Scoop out the middle into a mixing bowl.
*I have 3 recipes from this batch. You can do a few things with your baked potatoes. You can make: mashed potatoes, twice baked potatoes and potato skins. Then nothing is going to waste!
Potato Skins: (These freeze great and make awesome appetizers!)
1.Place shredded cheese of your choice (I prefer Monterrey Jack) on scooped out potato skin. Add bacon on top. You can use bacon bits (I prefer since it’s easier.) Or make your own bacon and chop it up.
2. Place in your vacuum freezer bags! Lay the potatoes size by size (not overlapping) in the bags. You can make a gallon size for party sized appetizers or quart size for a snack.
Twice baked potatoes: (These also freeze great!)
1. Separate a small amount of the scooped out potato parts into another bowl. Set aside for now. Add milk, butter, salt, & pepper to the original batch in the mixing bowl. I also added bacon bits and shredded cheese. Mash all together and spoon out to fill the rest of the potato skins. Again, lay the potatoes size by size in a vacuum freezer bag, not overlapping.
Mashed potatoes:
1. Don’t add bacon or cheese to the mix listed above and wha-la! You have mashed potatoes for dinner!
These are super easy! That also wasn’t the end of my potatoes!! I made homemade fries! They were excellent!
Home Fries:(baked - not deep fried)
1. Leaving the skin on, slice up raw potatoes into eighths. (Kinda like steak fries but a little thinner.)
2. Put into a large bowl and add olive oil. (A little bit goes a long way so start small if you have a small batch of potatoes.)
3. Mix well, but don’t smash.
4. Add seasoning. I use Lawry’s season salt. It adds a little kick.
5. Mix well, again without smashing.
6. Bake at 425 for 10 min, flip and bake for another 10 min. (Depending on how thick your fries are, you may have to bake for 15 min on each size. If your fries are frozen, you may need to bake at 450.)
*The olive oil keep the potato moist and helps the seasoning to stick to the potato better.
*These also freeze well! I have a HUGE bag in my freezer…not sure if I’ll ever buy french fries from the store again!
*I don’t know how these will turn out if they are deep fried. You probably wouldn’t use olive oil and add the seasoning after they are cooked. Just don’t think it would turn out as tasty, but you can try it!
