Once upon a time, a special someone took me to an Irish pub. Two plates landed on our table: Shepherd's Pie for him and a boxty for me. I took a first bite of the potato pancake and felt the earth move. I traded bites with my special someone and was lost in the bliss of mashed potatoes. And then came a voice in my head, clear and unmistakable. It said, "you don't eat enough potatoes."
I heeded the voice and set about getting more potatoes into my diet. Along the way, I tried Budget Bytes's
Country Breakfast Bowls, and found the backbone of this recipe: crispy potatoes that can be kept in the freezer and ready to go at a moment's notice.
Ingredients
(Inspired by Budget Bytes)
Yield: 6 servings
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder to taste
Method
First, let's talk quantity. The source recipe calls for three pounds of potatoes, which is just the right amount for me to make ahead and get eaten within standard freezer storage time (3 months?) I really like Yukon Gold potatoes, which are sold in five pound bags, and happen to have a way to use two pounds of potatoes (see above hint about
Shepherd's Pie). But feel free to adjust the quantity based on the amount of potatoes you have on hand.
Preheat the oven to 400° F and scrub the spuds.
Dice into bite size pieces.
Place in a large, sealable container, working in batches if needed (three pounds of potatoes = two batches in my world). Add a dash of olive oil (the tiniest drop will do) and shake to coat.
Follow up with seasonings. I use a touch of pepper and garlic powder, a reasonable amount of salt, and a heck of a lot of onion powder. Shake again until the potatoes are coated.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spread the spuds out. Bake for one hour, stirring half way through.
The spuds will be golden brown and begging to be eaten.
Allow to cool before filling your plate.
When completely cool, store the leftovers and place in the freezer.
To reheat the frozen spuds, simply microwave until heated, somewhere around 90 seconds - 2 minutes.
As for what to do with the spuds, here are a few ideas. Option #1: top with scrambled eggs and cheese.
Option#2: make the eggs over easy and dip the spuds in the yolks.
The possibilities are endless.
