This week I picked up two 10 pound bags of potatoes.  The potatoes were buy one get one free so both bags were only $4.00!  Great deal!!  There was no way we were going to be able to eat that many potatoes in a week or two and freezing them was my best option.  I peeled all 20 lbs of potatoes at once while sitting on the front porch watching the boys play on the driveway and ride their bikes.  ( I figured the neighbors already think I am nuts so this is really ok!! )

I decided to make hash browns for the freezer as well as mashed potatoes.  Mash potatoes were super easy to make.  I just made my normal recipe and placed the potatoes into freezer bags.  It will be nice to have these on hand to pull out as side dishes to go with meals once the baby comes.  Typically when I cook frozen mashed potatoes I place them in a baking dish ( after thawing) and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  I add cheese to the top and place the potatoes back in the oven until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

Freezing Hash Browns:

Ingredients:

• Peeled Potatoes, cut in half
• large pot of  water

Directions:

• bring large pot of water to a boil
• once water is boiling, place potatoes in the water for approximately 7 minutes to blanch the potatoes ( potatoes will still be firm)

• shred potatoes ( I use the shred disk on my food processor)
• place in freezer bags

I made several different size bags of hash brown potatoes. The smaller quart size bags will be great to pull out for breakfast and the larger gallon bags will be perfect to use in recipes!

Another item knocked off of my list of things to accomplish this week