Good morning to you!Â
and learn how to use them in meals.
So, lets get started on this new series, shall we?
With canning potatoes you are going to need a pressure canner. Make sure your potatoes are scrubbed clean, and not soft. Firm potatoes make the best canned potatoes. You can either peel them, or choose not to. I use both, but when I am peeling the potatoes, I place them in water that has a splash of lemon juice in it, and make sure they are covered with the water while I am finishing up the amount I am peeling. This ensures they are white and pretty.
Taking clean jars, with tops that have no nicks or dips in them, fill with diced potatoes up to the first thread on the jar (what canners refer to as 1″ head space). You do not need to blanch the potatoes for this process. I add 1/4 tsp sea salt to my potatoes, then pour boiling water to the lowest thread on the neck. DO NOT PACK THE POTATOES IN, or you will end up with potatoes that are not covered by the water. Remember, they will cook in the jar so they will absorb some of that water and swell. That could cause a failed seal if they swell too much and push up the lid while you are processing them.
Here is a quick idea for making easy work of the potato dicing and processing:
Potatoes will process for 35 minutes for pints,Â
and 40 minutes for quarts.
Let the canner completely cool down before opening so as not to have failed seals (lids that don’t seal) on your potatoes.
Now, how do you use them?
Well, how would you use potatoes?
I use mine in fried potatoes for my breakfast enchiladas.
I use mine for a quick potato soup.
I use mine for making a speedy beef stew
right along with canned beef chunks
and carrots from my garden.
I use mine to make Eggbake,
mash for potato pancakes,
and of course for quick mashed potatoes.
And that is just a few of the things we use them for.
I even save the potato water from the canned jars to throw into my bread batter.
 It makes for a very moist bread and makes it last a lot longer.
You can also add that potato water to a sourdough starter and have a wonderful Sourdough come from it. (Just trying to give you ideas so if you don’t want to throw it out, you don’t have to!)
Today’s recipes are for my Hungry Man Eggbake and my Quick Potato Soup—two amazing meals that are super simple and fun to use your canned potatoes in.
Hungry Man Eggbake
Take 1/2 loaf of bread (homemade or whole wheat store-bought) and either cut or tear into small pieces.
Layer this in a 9X13 pan that has been greased or sprayed.
Top with:
One quart canned potatoes, skin on (liquid too)
one onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 shredded carrots
one package of frozen broccoli
1 lb of breakfast sausage, browned and drained
parsley, oregano, and basil, 1 tsp each, crushed
garlic salt, generously sprinkled over top
In a separate bowl combine the following:
8 eggs + 2 1/2 cups milk +2 tsp prepared mustard +1/2 tsp chili powder, all whipped together until well mixed. Pour this combination over the ingredients layered in the pan, trying not to miss any spots. Press with a spatula to make sure the egg mixture is soaked up and the pan ingredients are covered.
Bake at 350* for one hour, and eat. We top with shredded cheese, and this makes 12 servings of a very hearty and filling meal. It also freezes well, and if you wanted individual servings, you can do this in greased muffin tins (makes about 18 muffin tins), which then, once baked, freeze very well.
Quick and Hearty Potato Soup
have fresh bread (or a Master mix Biscuit Mix on hand) and need to feed my family SOON.In a stock pot, fry up half a pound of bacon, just enough to get the flavor and taste from the bacon into the pot. This takes about 5 minutes if bacon is thawed. Remove bacon and set aside.
In a food processor pulse one onion, one stalk of celery, and two carrots until the pieces are very small (this allows them to cook much faster) and add to the hot pan, allowing them to sear until the onions are translucent and the celery/carrots beginning to soften up.
Immediately add two quarts of home canned potatoes,
one can of evaporated milk, one can of water,
1 tsp sea salt,
pinch of marjoram, basil and garlic powder.
Stir to combine and allow to cook for about twenty minutes, simmering. Meanwhile, pulse the bacon until it is in pieces for topping…then make your biscuits or cut your bread and toast it,
topping it with butter.If you like smooth soup you can puree it with a hand blender, but we simply leave it chunky. Top each bowl with a dollop of mock sour cream, the bacon pieces, and some dried chives. We let ours cool about ten minutes for the kids since it is very hot, and stick-to-your-ribs filling.
I wanted to take a pic but the kids ate it before I could, sorry!!!
Here’s another wonderful recipe for using home canned potatoes:
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 quart home canned potatoes
1/4 cup fresh minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks
I also can my potatoes with skins on. For this recipe, I use my canned potatoes that are cut in large chunks. I use a paper towel to rub the peels off, which is super quick and easy.
Toss all the ingredients into a pot, bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. (Or cook on low in a crock pot for 6 to 8 hours)
I use my hand blender before serving, but leaving little chunks. Not necessary though.
Ja Neen
yum! Sounds amazing, Janine!!! Thanks for sharing! *muah!*
~Heather <3
Hello, I want you to know I have nominated your blog for The Versatile Bloggers Award. Should you choose to accept, I would be happy, and you can find guidelines on my post Woohoo!! The Versatle Blogger Award! http://correnadotme.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/woohoo-the-versatle-blogger-award/ .
I just wanted you to know that I learn a lot from you and you are so encouraging to me to keep trying to do better with so many things! Your blog is one of my “go to” blogs when I am looking for something. You have so much to offer and I just want you to know I appreciate you.
Thanks so much Correna, and I am heading over there! 🙂
~Heather <3
Heather, I noticed you said “diced potatoes.” How small do you “dice” them? I couldn’t tell very well from the pics of the jars. And do you do this by hand or by food processor? I have knives and cutting boards, no food processor. The thought of processing 10 or 20 pounds of taters by manually cutting is really intimating me! Thanks!
Kathleen in IL
I normally do it by hand, because I think the food processor cuts them wayyyyy too small in this instance. And I have never measured, but I would say 1/2″ by 1/2″. You can also cut them into chunks, or even steak potatoes size and can them that way. They mush easily when opened again, but are still firm enough if you wanted to fry them up for potatoes or steak fries.
There are a lot of people who use fry cutters, mandolins, apple peelers, etc to make it go more quickly. I guess I am a traditionalist, but if you are interested in something to make it go faster, the images of the items I placed above might be a good suggestion for you, and make your work much quicker.
thanks for stopping by
~Heather
Oh, I am going to LOVE this series!
My hubby is planning a big big garden this year.
We’re eating a lot more veggies than we used to.
We’ve got 5-6 mouths to feed.
Do drop in at Harvest Lane and visit.
Laura of Harvest Lane
I am heading over there right now for my fix of Harvest Lane Cottage. 🙂
And arent those Handy Hubbies just awesome?? I will be doing a short series on getting your garden ready for the season in a couple weeks. 🙂
Hugs to you Laura,
Heather
Hi
How many pounds of pressure do you process the potatoes at?
Thanks!
Pam
Hi Pam. It totally depends on your elevation. From sea level to 6000 feet is 10 lbs, and up from there. I normally process a little higher than my elevation for safety, and run my canner around 11 lbs pressure. 🙂
This is great, going to try this one as my first canning experience. Thanks!