The Convenience of Ready Cooked Potatoes

One of the most convenient things to have in your kitchen is some refrigerated, all-ready-cooked potatoes.  Of course, frozen potatoes have been available at the grocery stores for a long time, and refrigerated potatoes have shown up in recent years.  It doesn’t take much effort, however, to make a supply of all-ready-cooked potatoes yourself.  Russets, reds, and Yukon gold potatoes are all varieties that can be cooked up and kept on hand for a few days.

I like to select whole potatoes of a similar size and steam them until they are just tender, but the potatoes can also be boiled, and Russets can be baked in the oven or the microwave.  There is no need to peel that potatoes before cooking.  Reds and Yukon golds can be served with the skins on.  My hubby doesn’t like the skin on any type of potato, so I do peel them after cooking.  The potatoes can be grated for hash browns and cubed for soup and other dishes.

So with all-ready cooked potatoes, you can make country hash browns.  We all probably have our favorite recipe for these.

You can make potato soup.  I posted one of my two favorite potato soup recipes here.

You can use the potatoes to make sauced potatoes.  Just cube the potatoes and add them to white sauce, cheese sauce, curry flavored sauce or other flavors.  Make the amount of sauce necessary for the amount of potatoes you are using.

One of my favorite things to do with all-ready cooked potatoes is to make a Meat, Potato, Egg Scramble.  As Rachael Ray says this can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  The meat can be almost whatever you have on hand:  sausage, bacon, ham cubes, Italian sausage, ground beef, link sausage-just whatever you have on hand.  If you cook the meat ahead of time, this is very quick to put together.  It may be changed up by using different seasonings.  I use chili powder and cumin for southwest, Greek seasoning for Greek, Italian seasoning or oregano and fennel seeds for Italian.  I use other seasoning blends, mainly whatever I am in the mood for.

Meat, Potato, Egg Scramble
1/2 to1 lb. meat or bacon, cooked
or 6 slices bacon, cooked
3 T. bacon grease, butter, margarine, olive or salad oil
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped red or green pepper (opt.)
6 potatoes, cooked and cubed
1 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
4 to 6 eggs, depending on how many people are eating
2 T. milk for 4 eggs and 3 T. milk for 6 eggs
Shredded cheese of your choice (opt.)

Heat bacon grease or other fat in a large skillet.  Add onion and pepper and cook about 5 minutes.  Add potatoes, salt and pepper and other seasonings of choice.  Cook until potatoes are golden brown, turning occasionally.  Add meat of choice and continue cooking until it is heated through.   In a bowl, mix eggs with milk until well blended.  Pour over potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until the eggs have set.  Sprinkle cheese over the top and let melt or serve cheese on the side to sprinkle over individual servings.  Serves 6.  Reheat leftovers in the microwave or a skillet.

Linked to:  It's a Keeper Thursday
Tastetastic Thursday
What's Cooking Thursdays
Creative Juices
Low-Cost Food Challenge Link Up
Full Plate Thursday
Twisted Thursday