What to do with extra potatoes?

[alarosalpn]

Ok, BIG Y is having a buy1get2 free sale and they have 5# bag potatoes included in that sale. Each bag comes out to less than $1.34 each. so pretty much I can get 15#'s for the price I pay for 10#'s at the cheap store (PriceRite).. I have a 10# bag I just opened but really want to catch this sale since it will save me $$ in the long run.
We usually have mashed potatoes but how would I preserve the potatoes so they don't start to grow?
I'm debating on getting them. They also have 32oz 1/2&1/2 3/$5 which also comes out cheaper than PriceRite brand... I wanted to get 6 of those since we use alot of half and half
Any suggestions?
I really want to take advantage on these sales. And I happen to have a few $$ in my account to use on this sale.

[elphie]

I would boil or mash some of them and freeze for future use in recipes such as potato pancakes, potato soup, etc. I would also use some of my "potato heavy" recipes such as stew. A few baked potato nights with yummy toppings like chili, broccoli, etc. would be good.

[monkeywrangler71]

Potatoes can be frozen as long as they are cooked first. I usually make a huge batch of whipped potatoes (mashed with cream and then run through the mixer) and then freeze in individual portion sized lumps.

We usually eat them with something roasted or baked, as I put the frozen potatoes in the oven with a bit of butter on top and bake them until they are crispy on the outside.

You can also make hashbrowns, then blanch and freeze, or make fries and cook until they are almost done then freeze, and stuffed potatoes can be frozen and then baked again.

[shadowfax]

Keep them in a cool dark dry place in your basement
They will keep for months.

[Judi Dial]

I have too many potatoes too so I've been thinking about this. I intend to make Italian Potato Cheese casserole (Vegetarian Epicure v 2, Anna Thomas) and freeze it (except for the hard boiled egg topping) and also to make potato soup. The soup I'm leaning towards is this one on recipezaar: recipezaar.com/German-Potato-Cheese-Soup-558 . I'll mod it to lower the fat, salt and such, but that's what I'm planning. I hope this helps!

If you want the Anna Thomas recipe, I'll type it in.

Judi

[alarosalpn]

hmmm, my closet in the dining room is cold in the winter and basement is hot. But in the summer the closet is hot adn basement is cool.
When you premake mashed potatoes and then freeze do they taste the same after you dethaw?
Maybe I'll look for a recipe for twice baked potatoes.

[Milly]

Maybe you could dehydrate them (in the oven, if you don't have a de-hydrator)?

I've never tried potatoes, but that is really all those crispy potato slices in boxed mix are.

[monkeywrangler71]

hmmm, my closet in the dining room is cold in the winter and basement is hot. But in the summer the closet is hot adn basement is cool.
When you premake mashed potatoes and then freeze do they taste the same after you dethaw?
Maybe I'll look for a recipe for twice baked potatoes.

I don't know if they taste the same after freezing because I only do the roasted mashed potatoes with frozen ones and straight mashed with fresh. Here is a recipe for the twice baked, except you don't really need to follow it exactly and I always do way more than 6 potatoes:
http://snider.mardox.com/potato.htm
Twice baked is the second recipe on the page, I've never tried any of the others but they might interest you.

[Darlene]

For dinner tonight we're having mashed potatoes I made months ago and froze. So nice to have a side dish ready to go. Just make them your favorite way (sour cream, cream cheese, butter,pepper & salt, whatever) and put them into containers or freezer bags. If you use the bags get them out of the bag before they defrost all the way. I nuke mine to heat them & they taste like you just made them.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

You can put them in a cool place and they will keep for months...
I still have potatoes from my garden that we are eatin on...I had 300 lbs and just kept some in the frig, some in the basement. If they do start growing eyes, then just break them off ...they are still usable. they do not really require much, just a cool dark place.

[MamaTreadler]

I've dehydrated them. Works good, alot of work but works good.

Or you could can them. That works too.

[Grainlady]

Most people don't have a cool, dark, place with a high enough humidity required for storing potatoes.

Proper treatment of potatoes, if you are dehydrating them, is important. If you don't do it correctly, they are one of those home dehydrated foods that mold easily and then you have to toss them out. I dehydrate lots of potatoes and I store them in pint jars and vacuum seal them with the FoodSaver, so if they do mold, only a small amount will need to be tossed.

Don't dehydrate them in your oven because the temperature will be too high. Most ovens don't go down to 120°F. When the temperature is too hot you'll end up cooking the outside and the moisture in the potato slices won't expell properly through tough "cooked" skin - which is called case-hardening.

Dehydrated Potatoes

1. Wash and sort potatoes (scrub off any sign of dirt). Use like-sized potatoes if possible so they dehydrate in about the same time. Peel, if desired, or leave skin on. I also put like-sized slices on each tray. One tray for the smaller end pieces, then the middle slices, etc.

2. Using a cutting mandoline (a really quick way to slice food for dehydrating and they will dehydrate better if all the same thickness), cut the potatoes into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices and drop into cold water to prevent oxidation.

3. Then place the potato slices in boiling water and blanch potato slices for 5 minutes (or 6-8 minutes if using a steam blanch). Do the slices in small batches and count the blanching time once the water comes back to a full boil.

4. Drain and drop into a lemon juice/water solution - 2 quarts of cold water and 1/2 c. bottled lemon juice. Soak for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. The acidic bath will aid in preventing potential bacterial growth on the potatoes.

5. Drain and dry potato slices (I used my lettuce spinner and gently drained the water from the potatoes by spinning them). You could dry them on layers of paper towels or CLEAN kitchen towels. Don't use a used/dirty towel or you could spread bacteria onto the potato slices.

6. Dehydrate in a single layer, 12-18 hours at 120°F. (or temperature according to the manufacturer instructions of your model of dehydrator). Make sure the potatoes are brittle and semi-transparent. Incomplete dehydration will cause the potatoes to mold. Do not eat dehydrated potatoes with mold on them. Turn the potato slices once or twice during drying.

7. Store in an airtight container.

To re-hydrate: Mix equal amounts of dehydrated potatoes and boiling water and allow to sit for 25 minutes.

You can also slice washed potatoes into 1/2-inch shoestring strips for "hash browns" using the same method.

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Freezer Mashed Potatoes

5# potatoes (washed - peeled if you like)
Cook like you normally would for mashing. However, if you usually add garlic, don't because garlic can get bitter when frozen.

To the cooked potatoes add:
6 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. butter

I use an ice cream scoop and form dollops on a parchment paper lined cookie or jelly roll sheet. Quick freeze them, and then package them in FoodSaver bags. I can take out the amount needed for however many servings. They quickly thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or you can reheat them in the microwave or in a pan on the stove top. They can also be frozen in plastic containers. I tend to remove my frozen mashed potatoes from the plastic containers to free them up for other things. Stack the "bricks" of frozen mashed potatoes and vacuum-seal them in a FoodSaver plastic bag. Storage in vacuum-sealed FoodSaver bags also prevents freezer burn and ice crystals from forming.

[gardening momma]

I have mashed potatoes in my freezer that I cooked normally--for me that means mashed with some butter, milk, salt and pepper. I wrapped large spoonfuls (a few servings each, probably) with plastic wrap and put those in a large gallon ziplock bag.

[Thevail]

I don't know if you have one of those vacu-sealers, but I've found that mashed potatoes will store frozen practically forever in one of those heavy vacu-sealed bags. DO NOT defrost them in the microwave though as it makes the texture kinda wierd.

Just my 2 cents..

[cab54]

I would make scalloped potatoes and freeze them. My fav.