Monday, October 27, 2008

Homemade Frozen Hash Browns





Back when it was just the two of us, I would take the time to make homemade hashbrowns. I would just shred raw potatoes and cook them. Well that got to be really time consuming once we started having children so I would just buy Ore-Ida frozen hash browns by the 6 lb bag at Sam's every month!

I have been buying them for years! And it seems now that there is 7 of us eating I end up being short for one or two times I want to fix them at towards the end of the month.

So instead of going to the store just for hash browns and since I currently have over 20 lbs of fresh potatoes in my food storage. I took the time to do some research to find a homemade hash brown recipe.

Well what I found were recipes where people cooked their potatoes whole either with the skins on or off, then let them cool for several hours or overnight and then shredded the potatoes for hashbrowns.

So over the weekend, I took the time to go through the peeling and cooking of the potatoes. I peeled them and boiled them whole for the smaller ones and cut the bigger ones in half. Once they were tender-just enough to stick a fork through them. I drained the water and let them cool til after the kids were in bed(about 5 hours). Then I shredded them on a cookie sheet with a piece of wax paper and put them in the freezer to do a flash freeze of them. Once they were slightly frozen I left them on the wax paper and stuck them in a container back in the freezer where I can use them a "sheet" at a time or all at once.

HAH! Frozen hash browns!! The potatoes being cooked there is no browning or anything of them! They look very similar to store bought frozen shredded hash browns!

You can do this method for diced potatoes as well. I would par cook the whole potatoes, cool, dice, and put in freezer bags. :)

You can do this homemade french fries too...par cook then slice then deep fry for about 5 minutes(just so they are a little crispy on the outside--not brown) and cool and freeze.

For other kitchen tips, head over to Tammy's Recipes!

Also go check out this new to me blog, Blessed with Grace that hosts Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays because there is more kitchen or food goodness! Also go to Freezer Food Friday for other freezing recipes!

**updated to answer questions that was left in the comments**

18 comments:

Kate @ A Simple Walk said...

I LOVE this idea! I am definitely going to be making a few bags of these next month. Thanks so much...and my husband and kids thank you too.

Anonymous said...

Great idea, I am going to try this.

Lynn said...

Great idea. I am going to try this. Thanks.

mub said...

Neat tip! I was just having hashbrown cravings the other day.

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

YUm! My kids have been craving some hashbrowns lately, so I might have to surprise them. :D

Have a great Tuesday!
Sherry

Anonymous said...

Did you boil them whole or bake them? How did you cook them?

Sonshine said...

Dana,

I updated the post to answer your question about cooking them. HTH! :)

Live.Love.Eat said...

Hi there. Came from TMTT. Awesome idea!!!!! I love hash browns

Tammy said...

Hey like the new look - it has been awhile since I stopped. I will have to give this recipe a try. We do not eat a lot of hashbrowns but I am sure the boys would enjoy something different. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad somebody finally told me how to do this. Thank you! We haven't purchased hashbrowns for a LONG time, because I kept saying I'd figure out how to do them on my own...

Nicole d. said...

Do you think this would work for making home fries (diced potatoes) as well? I have more use for the diced than shredded.

Thanks for sharing a great tip!

Jamie said...

Ohh, I love this!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Oh and I tagged you!! Read here to see what I mean!!

http://thriftyinthecincy.blogspot.com/2008/10/ive-been-tagged-3-times.html

Linda said...

I recently bought some hash browns and I've been thinking that I should make my own. Now I know how. Thanks for the tip.

Sonshine said...

Nicole,

yes you can do this diced potatoes as well. Just make sure that you par cook them first. I would par cook them, cool, dice, and put in freezer bags. :)

You can do this homemade french fries too...par cook then slice then deep fry for about 5 minutes(just so they are a little crispy on the outside--not brown) and cool and freeze.

Anonymous said...

A great way to use the automatic apple peeler...(just don't forget to remove the corer part)
~Gwen
(via Tammy's recipes)

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

WOW. I am impressed with the effort. I am SO glad that you joined us for our Tempting Tuesday :o) I do hope that you will keep coming back!!!

Anonymous said...

I love homemade potatoes made anyway and these look really good. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. Thanks for sharing it on Freezer Food Friday!