Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Still Life, With Potatoes

....because they were on sale, buy one bag get another one free....

BOGO gets me every time!

So - what to do with all these potatoes. In some households, not a big deal, but there's just two of us here, and one of us much prefers rice as a "staple."

OK - we had pot roast the other night, which included potatoes and was delicious, and I have another piece of that meat (it was buy one get one free also).

And, I splurged on fresh parsley, the curly kind. Now, for flavor, they say to use the flat parsley, but that stuff costs three times as much as curly. I'll settle for curly and make parsley potatoes with .... something....

And here's something Caroline taught me. She's very good at quick meals, as opposed to my sometimes over planned, over prepared and over cooked (she says) way of doing things.

Grate a raw potato, skin and all (wash it first), or chop it finely in a chopper or food processor. I use our handy cheese grater, which is metal and has four sides, each with a different kind of grating surface.


Now, squeeze out the excess moisture, using your hands or a dish towel, whatever. Make a patty out of the raw potato and toss it  into a frying pan on a little bit of oil (even if it's no-stick) and, voila, you have restaurant style hash browns with your morning eggs! Or Sunday night omelet. Or, whatever!



Thanks to recipematcher.com for this picture. I haven't used the site before, but it seems to have a lot of simple recipes, presented in an organized format. I intend to check it out more thoroughly in the future.


By the way, if you're someone who limits your egg consumption because of cholesterol, here's my take on that:
  • eggs are cheap and easy to cook, high in protein, iron, and certain vitamins
  • there are lots of high fat foods which have little nutritional value and raise people's cholesterol levels. I do limit them somewhat, like baked goods, etc.
  • our bodies make cholesterol anyway, and how much they make is affected in large part by genetics
  • God gave us scientists who have created these wonderful little anti-cholesterol pills, and
  • life's too short. I'll be damned if I'm going to make it miserable too by worrying about every little thing that goes into my mouth.
So relax and have eggs and hash browns once in awhile! Love ya!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I honestly can not remember the last time I had hashbrowns. Those look really tasty! Might I suggest another way to eat potatoes? Wash and dry, slice longwise in 8 pieces (like large french fries), put on cookie sheet and sprinkle with good olive oil and seasonings. I like italian seasoning. Put in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minues, or until soft. Yummy!

Carol Shoemaker said...

Caroline makes something like that; I think she just drizzles them with italian salad dressing! I'll have to ask (grin).

Anonymous said...

Woner what that tastes like? Hummm....I just use EVOO because it is supposed to be really good for my heart!
Jude *

Anonymous said...

The sweet potatoes in your picture reminded me of what I'm making in the crock pot tonight:

Wash, peal and cube 3 sweet potatoes and dump in crock pot
Chop one large onion and into pot
Mix 1tsp salt, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1tsp curry powder, 1/2tsp ground ginger, and 1tsp paprika and sprinkle over 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs. Put chicken into crop pot.
Top chicken with a cup of peach or apricot preserves (I'm using apricot).
Mix 3tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1tbsp soy sauce and pour over chicken.
Cover and cook low for 8 hours.
Mix a little water and corn starch and dump in crock pot (turning heat to high) for last 10-15 minutes of cooking to thicken sauce.

I'll let you know how it goes after I try some tonight. :)

- Paul

Carol Shoemaker said...

Paul, that sounds delish! I gotta tell the truth - you had me at the apricot preserves (grin). And it'll be enough for a couple of meals, I'm guessing. I do want to hear how it tastes!

Anonymous said...

The chicken and sweet potatoes came out great. I give it two thumbs up and will definitely be making it again. The yield from about 3 pounds of chicken thighs was two plates of food tonight and three more in the refrigerator for tomorrow/Sunday. Went well with a bit of steamed green peas.

Next time, I might experiment with a little more cayenne pepper to give it just a little kick (right now it just cuts the sweet and gives it some depth).

Paul

Anonymous said...

Dang Carol! My nephew is a chef?! I am quite impressed! Well done Paul.
Jude *