Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Cooking with Dehydrated Garden Potatoes


I would have a photo of our finished dish, but it was devoured.  Literally.




I softened 1 1/2 canning jars of dehydrated, sliced garden potatoes, sliced some organic carrots (next year I hope to have more garden carrots in the freezer), some
fresh onion, leftover diced


ham from Christmas, organic milk, and some leftover real cheeses (about 1/4 cup is what I used).  

I layered it in a 9 x 13 dish and baked it for about 30 minutes at 350°F, but turned the heat up to 375°F when I realized it wasn't bubbling and cooking.  I do think the higher temperature was needed to cook the carrots until tender.  If these had been frozen, and thawed carrots, it would have cooked at the lower temperature.

The results were so good, I will dehydrate more potatoes until we get a root cellar built.  These did take more than an hour to soften.  I think they took about 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours to hydrate before cooking. 

For a 9 x 13 pan, we used 1 1/2 canning jars of dehydrated potatoes, but could have used 2 full jars.  I am truly amazed at the flavor, despite the potatoes turning a slight brown from drying.

  

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That sounds like a dark days meal!

Michelle said...

I tried dehydrating potatoes,but mine turned black. Don't know what I did wrong.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Michelle,
I boiled my potatoes whole, with skins on, and when I could push a wooden skewer through, I put them in a bath of ice water. However, if they are not cooked completely through, they will turn black when dried. For shredded, I did the same, but grated them vs. sliced them. I did put them in the fridge over night before I sliced/grated and dried them, and after they were boiled and put in an ice bath. Hope this helps.

Candy C. said...

That is a good way to store extra potatoes until you get your root cellar. Your casserole sounds delicious! :)