Homemade Freezer Hashbrowns

If you want to put some hash browns in the freezer to have on hand, this is the recipe for you!  But if you don't have time for the freezer part and you want homemade hash browns right now, then check out my 20 Minute Real Hash Browns recipe!

If you've been reading a while, you may know that our family is limiting how many (and which) grains we eat regularly.  My husband is trying to lose some more weight (he's lost 25 pounds so far!!), and I'm trying to alleviate my seasonal allergies, which aggravate my asthma.  The kids are just along for the ride.

Since neither the kids nor I are trying to lose weight, we are being careful to eat plenty of carbs (we probably still eat waaay less than the average American, since our diets are based more around fats).  Also, I find that we all stay fuller longer, and have more energy, when we are intentional about keeping some starchy foods in our diets.  We are avoiding wheat for now (except occasional sprouted bread), and only eating corn, oats, and other cereal grains occasionally.  But rice, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes have increasingly become staples in our diet (hallelujah, they're cheap, too!).

One of our favorite ways to start the morning is with over-medium eggs and hash brown potatoes.  This is a good substitute for my husband's old favorite of eggs and toast, and the potatoes help us all stay full and energized (just eggs, and I am ready to crash by 10 am).

So we have two choices: Frozen Prepared Hash Browns or Homemade Hash Browns

• Frozen from the store: These are quick, easy, and fool-proof.  They are also much more expensive than a sack-o-potatoes, and they all seem to include soybean oil or dextrose (sugar).  Blech.
• Homemade Hash Browns: Making them from raw potatoes is too time consuming for busy mornings (Shred, steam, brown potatoes), and they sometimes turn out soggy, sometimes burn if you look away for 3 seconds.  But they're so cheap, and I can cook them in glorious butter.

Don't worry, there's a third alternative:

Homemade Frozen Hash Browns!  These require less hands-on time overall, are quick and easy to make in the morning, and always come out nice and crispy.  

Ingredients:

Potatoes.  Lots.

Directions:

1. Scrub potatoes.
2. Bake potatoes at around 350 F for 45 minutes (way less hands-on time here than hovering over the stove while potatoes steam).
3. Grate potatoes (waaaay easier than grating raw potatoes, by the way)
4. Freeze potatoes (I like to freeze them on baking sheets, then break them up and put them in freezer bags so they don't clump together)

Ready to Eat Directions:

1. Heat pan and melt copious amounts of butter in bottom.
2. When butter is melted, add layer of frozen hash browns, and salt and pepper as desired.  Cook 4-5 minutes, or until hash browns are browned on bottom.  Flip and cook until other side browns.  Since potatoes are pre-cooked, you can cook them to your desired brownness, and they will still be "done."

Note: Once the potatoes are in the oven, they bake themselves.  So you can, you know, leave the room and do something else.  Glorious.

Grating cooked potatoes is pretty easy, especially if you use a food processor shredder attachment.  Mine is broken.

If you enjoyed this "Real Convenience Food" post, check out my Frozen Chicken Broth and Frozen Chicken Nuggets.  Simple to make, and so convenient to have on hand!

Posted at Monday Mania, Gluten Free Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Fat Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, Fight Back Friday and Simple Lives Thursday