As a mom who has several mouths to feed in her house, I like making big batches of versatile foods. Turning potatoes into home fries is one of my favorites. Making large batches of home fries means I have a great side dish for any main meal, as well as a ready-made option for breakfasts and snacks to get my family through the week. Home fries can be made with white potatoes, but I’ll look for the pint and quart-sized containers of small red potatoes at the farmers market, an ideal choice for this warm and scrumptious recipe.
How to Multitask with Prepared Home Fries
Breakfast: Mix a cup of home fries with about six scrambled eggs. Add some cooked sausage for meat-lovers, or grilled onions and peppers for vegetarians. A dose of salt, a little pepper and a favorite herb and you have a fresh breakfast ready in less than five minutes. For a bit of fancy, serve home fries on a plate with a fresh over-easy egg on top.
Lunch: Pair home fries with a sandwich, soup or leftovers. On your lunch hour, all you have to do is pop them in the microwave.
Snack. Forget those fried and frozen packaged french fries. Warm a small plate of home fries and serve with ketchup to stave off ravenous after-school stomachs.
Dinner: Oh, the possibilities. Use home fries as filler for tacos by mixing in two cups with a full batch of taco meat. Serve home fries with steak. Keep a batch ready in the fridge to add to a casserole dish that calls for potatoes. Brown the potatoes a little more in the skillet until crispy and serve with hamburgers, hot dogs or fried chicken.
Time-savers
- No need to peel the potatoes: just rinse and scrub before cutting.
- Cooking potatoes for a few minutes in the microwave saves time during the skillet cooking process and ensures that the potatoes are thoroughly cooked.
- Add leftover home fries to stews, soups and chili.
MULTITASKING RECIPE: HOME FRIES
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- About 5 pounds of potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ½ inch cubes or wedges. When making big batches, I start with 10 pounds and double the ingredients.
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped or dried parsley (other herbs: dill, mixed Italian herbs or oregano all taste great with potatoes).
- salt and pepper to taste
- about ¼ cup diced onions
- ¼ cup butter or oil
Instructions
- Sprinkle water over potatoes and place them in a shallow, microwave-safe dish.
- Cover with a tea towel and microwave for 3-4 minutes, stopping and stirring halfway through.
- While potatoes are in microwave, add about a third of the butter to a large skillet on medium-high heat and let it get hot/start to melt.
- Add onions to melted butter in skillet and sauté for about a minute.
- Remove potatoes from microwave and add to the skillet, not much more than in a single layer (you might have to do this in batches or use a second skillet).
- Let the potatoes sit in the skillet, cooking for 2 to 2 ½ minutes before stirring at all. It’s hard to resist the urge to move them around.
- Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- After a couple of minutes, turn the potatoes and stir them around. Cook another two minutes without any stirring. Add a little more salt and pepper.
- Add butter as necessary when you notice potatoes getting dry or sticking to the skillet. Use all the butter, and add a bit more if needed.
- Sprinkle parsley (and other herbs if using) over potatoes. Stir.
- As potatoes get golden brown (some pieces will be darker), it’s about time to take them out. Test one or two chunks to make sure they are thoroughly cooked.
Arkansas Women Bloggers member Rhonda Franz is a freelance writer, licensed teacher, home operations specialist, and domestic chef. She combines her professional background and mommyhood experiences to write on family, parenting, cooking, and education. You can read more about her at captainmom.net and rhondafranz.com.