A Few Tidbits on My Blog E-Mails, and a Few Others

   I'm sure you all have seen how horrible the posts arrive in your mailbox.  When they are written, they are formatted for the actual blog.  Then, somehow when they drift through email land, they arrive looking a bit stretched out and unruly.

    I don't know that there is anything I can do about that, if there is let me know.  I'm really sure that if I made it look nice for the email, then it would look horrible on the blog. 

    One item to note, the post arriving in your email has no advertising, no blog buttons, or links.
I haven't added any new links lately, I will as I do more blog posts, or if I come across something that I think is great. 

     We are still trying to figure out where to start on this damage to our house.  All the specifics will drive us nuts first though.  Buy a new tub while the bathroom is empty, or keep the old tub.  Putting in a tub is not easy work.  Especially when they weigh a ton. Plus, if we do put in a tub, then we will have to tile the wall around it.  You know how that goes, one job creates a million more. 

   I did find a way to organize my clothes.  13 gallon kitchen trash bags.  All the clothes from my closet fit into five of those.  I do have a dresser for my foldable clothes, and a tiny little bureau for underclothes and other things like that.  I think I could probably thin it down a bit more but I don't really want to get rid of good clothing.  I don't want to be spending money on anything new either.  My goal is to make some of my clothing, and I've got a lot of ideas.  I admit, I did get a shirt from the thrift store a couple weeks back.  I wasn't even looking at the clothing, barely anyway.  As my daughter walked up to pay for her purchases, the shirt was just right there in front of us.  We both noticed it, the size was right, and besides, she was paying.  I mean, $2.99 for a shirt isn't too bad.  Better than Macy's clearance racks.

   So, don't forget to check out your local thrift stores.  If you sew then it opens up an entire new area to look through for repurposing your clothing.  We found designer jeans with the most expensive pair at $20.  Considering that they are well over $100 new it was a good deal.  A brand new Goodwill Store not too far away just opened and hopefully it will come in handy. 

   Happy deal hunting this weekend, or beach bumming, or honey dooing. 

Many of our armed forces will be deploying in the next few weeks so I'd like to wish them well. 

 

Easy To Make Frozen Hash Browns

      I used to love those frozen hash browns from the store.  It seemed to make breakfast a bit easier.  But the truth is, comparing the cost to a bag of potatoes,  it loses.  That's why I needed to know how to prepare these and keep those handy bags of shredded potatoes for a busy day. 
     Hash browns can have so many different meanings depending on who you talk to and where they are from.  Our family likes them any which way, whether they are diced, shredded, or filled with corned beef.  I decided for plain simple shredded hash browns for my freezer.  I do it a bit backwards and will explain that, but not sure if I can explain why.

First I peel my potatoes, or not, it's really up to you.  If they are perfect fresh potatoes there really is no need to peel them.  I then feed them into my food processor to grate them.  They can be grated using a hand grater, although that will take a little bit longer. 

When they are grated they should look like this.      

I then dump them into a bowl of cold water since shredded hash browns can turn brown very quickly.  I don't like when they do that.





Then using a slotted spoon, or drain them in a colander, put them into a pot of boiling water.  Boil them for about three minutes, no more than five or you will have mush.  Or rather, mashed potatoes for your next meal.  Pull them out, placing them into a bowl of cold water, or a colander and rinsing with cold water. (Did you notice how I put the proper way and the lazier way?)  Yeah, I use the rinsing method.  Either way, I let them sit in the colander for a short time to drain, shaking them a little to get them somewhat dry. 

  I then load them onto my trays as flat as possible kind of pushing them together to get rectangular flat shapes.  You can choose to keep them looser, and you can also use waxed paper on your tray. They don't seem to stick to my tray.  Then I load both my trays onto the shelf closest to the ice dispenser/bin so they will freeze as quick as possible.  When they are frozen I break them in half or quarters and put them into a gallon size freezer bag. 

When it's time to cook them, I preheat my cast iron or stainless frying pan for a minute or two.  I then add my expeller pressed coconut oil and sometimes I add in a few onions.  I then throw the amount I want into the pan and spice it up.  Salt and pepper is an easy one, but sometimes I like a bit of dill.  I let them fry until brown and then flip them over and brown the other side.  With a couple of eggs on the side and bacon or sausage it makes a great brunch.                                                                                                            

Now I'll explain what I do differently from some of the other recipes.  They cook the potatoes first, then they shred them.  I'll be trying that sometime soon.  I'm sure it makes it easier so you aren't trying to drain or scoop out a bunch of shredded potatoes.  It does make sense totally, but if you've ever seen me make potato salad you would understand why I do it this way.  

Another thing, is some people prefer to cook the potatoes all the way, which is fine.  Some prefer to blanch, or heat through enough to stop those enzymes from turning the potatoes brown, which is what I do.  It's just a personal choice and either way you will have a handy food for breakfast or breakfast for dinner.

        

Spuds Are Tasty

        Now that I have a large gallon size bag of frozen diced potatoes, it's time to do some other things with all those extra potatoes.  I filled a large casserole dish with the rest of the diced potatoes.  I didn't use a recipe.  Sometimes I just like to just see what happens.  If your new at cooking, or haven't had much practice with this type of dish then I advise you to use a recipe at least the first time around so you understand the basic procedures of whatever you are cooking.  It's good to know cooking times, temperatures, which spices work together and things of that nature.

    Unless your like me and just throw in what sounds or smells good. 

  

For my oven potatoes this time, I started with the diced potatoes.  Then I added oil and mixed it around to  distribute it.  For oil I used expeller pressed coconut oil, but feel free to use butter or the oil of your choice. 

I tossed in some of those onions I had in the freezer all chopped and ready.  Any kind of onion will work, and if you wish to saute' it first that makes it taste great.  I then added some celtic sea salt, pepper, parsley, garlic, cilantro, frozen basil cubes, dulse granules,  and a mixed seasoning.  This is where you can add whatever spices that you like.  Just be careful not to add too much.  Paprika, chili powder, lemon zest would also taste good.  Even just salt and pepper would be fine for this. 

   Then pop it into the oven, I like to cook it at around 350 degrees in my oven.  I like for the potatoes to cook on the inside and then start to get brown slowly.  I usually stir it after about 15 minutes or so to redistribute and check them.  If they start getting a bit soft to stir, they are done.  Or, you can do what I do, jack up the temperature on the oven and get the outside a little more golden brown.

   I was going to show you how delicious these looked when they were done.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  You see, I kept the camera handy so I could remember, but when I pulled the potatoes out of the oven we all converged on them and ate them, and well, it wasn't until later I spotted the camera just waiting for me.  I'll have to work harder at not eating until I get the picture, or at least get a picture of us eating it. 

   There are a ton of variations of oven browned, everyone I'm sure has their favorites.  I sometimes add milk, butter and flour along with the spices to make a creamy casserole.  Throw in some cheese to make it au gratin style.  Add meat and vegetables to make it a complete meal.  That's one of my favorites.  If the casserole is delicious, and you happen to have any leftover, freeze it for an easy reheat meal. 

     Don't forget, cooked potatoes can be frozen, and heat up quite well later.  I first started with mashed potatoes.  It was by accident, or rather, give a man a potato peeler and he just doesn't know when to stop.  So, next time you find good deals on potatoes, stock up on a few bags and start your freezer food collection.