How To Preserve a Large Amount of Potatoes

So, the other day I got an awesome deal on russet potatoes.  The grocery store was clearing out their older stock to make room for the new stock for the large supply they brought in for the big Easter sale.

They put 10# bags on sale for .69 cents!!  I know right!  That is unheard of!

Well, I ended up with 50# of potatoes.  I now what your thinking.  What are you going to do with all those potatoes?!  

Well, first of all I have a large family with 4 growing kids that eat a LOT.

And I do mean A LOT!  Sometimes that all I think they do is eat..  Secondly, I have people over fairly often.  But, even then we still could'nt go through 50#
 of potatoes without at least some of them going bad.

SO WHAT TO DO??

Well what I am going to do is take about 20# of them and turn them into frozen hash brown.  To do this all you have to is shread them and blanche them in salted boiling water for a few minutes.  Then rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process.  It is important to do this because if you don't the potatoes will turn brown due to oxidation.  Then, squeeze them dry and lay them out on a sheet pan and freeze.  After they are frozen put them into freezer bags and put back into the freezer.

This will save a ton of money and be convenient.  I am going to use mine when we go camping this summer.

There are many other things you could make like your own fries or stew potatoes, etc.

Amanda

Canning Food for Later Use

I know canning can seem really scary.  Especially if you have never done it before.

But, canning is a great way to preserve food that you can get at a great price or that is in season now for later use that would otherwise go bad.  I know what your thinking.  Couldn't I just freeze it?  Yes you can.  However, some things are better canned than frozen.  Like tomatoes.  Canned tomatoes are delicious.  Especially home canned.  Plus, the nice thing when canning is that you can control what goes in the final product.

I like to can items I can get at a discount at the grocery store.  Sometimes the reduced produce rack will be full of all or most of the items I need to make my homemade salsa.  Then I just buy it all up, go home, and make a big batch of my homemade salsa.  Then I just can it up for later use.  You definetly can't freeze salsa.  EWW!

Now  here is the secret.  

SHHH....just kidding.  Tell all your friends.

Go to the produce  manager and ask if you can get a bulk discount.  The worst he can do is say no.  When I asked my produce manager he cut me a great deal and I was able to can a lot of produce.

You can really save a lot of money this way.  I know that you're probably thinking that there is a huge expense associated with canning.  Pressure canner, jars, lids, and tools.  Plus there is the time involved.  But, if you look around and check Amazon you can find a good deal on canners.  Also, check thrift store and yard sales for jars.  Or you can get them on sale at the end of the season.  It can be a little costly in the beginning, especially if you just go out and buy everything.  But, if you take you time and build up your supply little by little, in just a little bit of time you will be saving tons of money by producing your own convenience foods.

Amanda

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