Yep, you read that right! And yes, we’re still working on eating all of those potatoes I mentioned a while back. I am now out of town to attend Blogworld 2009 (twitter #bwe09) and D will be joining me on Sunday to attend a convention as well. For the last couple days we’ve been trying to use up the fridge foods and he decided he wanted to try making tater tots.
D wanted me to make sure I told you that if you’re not feeling adventurous or patient, just go to the store and buy a bag of tots for 99-cents. He followed the directions of other recipes and got frustrated so he made his own. Also, the way D cooks, this recipe is also not for those who get annoyed by non-measured-out recipes.
1 – Instructions for Potato “Glue”
(this holds the potatoes together)
- Potatoes – peeled and shredded
- Flour
- Egg
- Oil
- Spices – your choice. D used Salt, pepper, and paprika
- Mix flour, egg, oil, and spices together until you form a paste.
- Mix potatoes into the paste
- Form balls
- Then…
2 – Instructions for the “Crust”
- Flour
- Spices – your choice. D used Salt, pepper, and paprika
- Mix the above ingredients together
- Bread the potato mixture one at a time
- Place on a plate and flatten into patties
- Then…
3 – Carefully put the potato patties into hot oil and fry both sides until light golden brown.
4 – Drain on a paper towel lined plate
5 – Sprinkle with salt if you want and enjoy! Or use them in a recipe… 
My Opinion: In the future I would add a lot more potatoes to the mix – just enough to hold them together. This would make them more potato-y. The crust was excellently crunchy!
Tater Tot Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 can Cream Soup (We used Cream of Mushroom)
- 1 can Corn
- 1 pound ground beef
- Shredded cheese
- Homemade Tots
Instructions:
- Mix soup, corn, beef, and cheese
- Pour mixture into a 9×13 dish
- Top with shredded cheese
- Layer tots on top
- And if you’re like D, top with even more cheese!
- Bake at 350 degrees F until bubbly (about 30 minutes)
- Enjoy!
If you’re interested in more recipes you can check out my food and recipes pages.
I’m also participating in the following carnivals today! You can find many more recipes here:
Fall is the time to eat scrumptious squash and pick homegrown popcorn. Whether at a festival or farmer’s market, there’s usually someone selling kettle corn. I love the stuff, but it’s expensive. This homemade version requires less than 50 cents and only 9 minutes!
Prep (1 minute):
- A large pot with a lid (mine’s 8 quarts)
- Oil
- 1/4 cup sugar (I used raw sugar, which is light brown – this gives the kettle corn a caramel colored glaze as you’ll see with the finished product. It’s not burnt.)
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- Salt
- Your favorite popcorn bowl
Instructions (7 minutes):
Pour oil so it covers the bottom of the pot.
Throw 3-5 kernels in the pot and put on medium high heat.
When all the kernels pop (approximately 4 minutes), pour the sugar in and shake the pot to distribute evenly.
Immediately pour in the popcorn kernels and shake to distribute evenly.
IMPORTANT: Put the cover on the pot! Oil splatters galore!
Shake the pot back and forth over the burner until most kernels are popped. (The popping will slow down just like the microwavable stuff.) This will take approximately 3 minutes.
Finishing up (1 minute):
Alternate pouring popcorn in the large bowl and pouring salt on to get the trademark salty-sweet taste of kettle corn!
And yes, where the begging dogs can’t reach, the cats will always be there to make up for it.
The cost analysis:
- Oil and salt – I don’t know since I didn’t measure them
- 1/4 cup sugar = $0.09
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels – $0.20
- TOTAL: $0.29 (plus oil and salt) !!!
- This sure beats paying $4 for the same amount at a market!
If you’re interested in more recipes you can check out my food and recipes pages.
I’m also participating in the following foodie carnivals today! You can find many more recipes here:
The days are getting shorter. In Iowa, the leaves are starting to change and the cool, sweet scent of fall permeates the crisp air. Of course this is after the grey days and cold rain that are happening right now. The smaller farmer’s markets are winding down and the larger markets are preparing to move into their “winter market” homes.
Iowa Fall Produce
- Apple
- Onions
- Pumpkins
- Radishes
- Squash – spaghetti, acorn, butternut
- Sweet potatoes
- Turnips
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
My favorite fall treat is acorn squash. It brings back memories of my dad bringing some back from a local market. The way I fix it now is the way he fixed it – cut in half with butter and brown sugar… yum! I have yet to get my acorn squash this season because I set out to try some new-to-me foods. Honestly, I don’t think that I’ve ever eaten butternut squash. At least not that I can remember, so that was my experiment this week. For you today I have not one, not two, but three ways to use up butternut squash!
The “appetizer” today is…
Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
- Cut open the squash. Scoop out the seed mess.
- If you’re not ready to roast, you can put them in a container for later use.
- If you’re ready to roast, place the seeds in a colander. Spray some water on them and slosh around.
- Pick out all the stringies you can and discard/compost.
- Let the seeds dry for about 30 minutes.
- Place the seeds in a baking pan.
- Let them dry some more.
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.
- Pick a seasoning! (However I did not need as much as their recipe calls for, so I made minor adjustments.) I did basic butter and my favorite salt! (I put them in a bowl for this part.) Lightly baste the seeds.
- Bake at 275 degrees F for 10-30 minutes, checking every 5 or so.
- Scrumptious! They taste just like pumpkin seeds.
For the “main dish”, you are having…
When your husband is out finishing a project like this…
and this (yep, that’s a new header in progress)… and asks for a hearty soup for dinner, full of his favorites, I make him this…
Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 4 large Baking Potatoes
- 2/3 cup Butter
- 12 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2/3 cup Flour
- 1-1/4 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
- 6 cups Milk
- 8 ounces Sour Cream
Instructions
- Bake potatoes. Cool. Scoop out pulp and set aside. Discard/compost skins.
- Melt butter over low heat and add flour.
- Add milk, heat and stir until thick.
- Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of green onion, 1/2 cup of crumbled bacon and 1 cup cheese.
- Cook until thoroughly heated; stir in sour cream and heat through.
- Serve with remaining green onions, bacon and 1/4 cup cheese as garnish.
This recipe was slightly altered from the original at the Potato Soup Recipe website. There are quite a few variations of potato soup there! If you really need some veggies in your soup, you can add the 4 scallions back in. Our grocery store was selling a 15 pound bag of potatoes for $3, so I took advantage of the deal. Another variation I made since I had so many potatoes was that I added more to the recipe. I left some of the potato as chunks instead of making it completely smooth (that just doesn’t seem right for potato soup) and it tasted wonderful. D thought so too – we had quite a bit left over which he took to work the rest of the week. No, I’m not like that! I offered other things to take for lunch but he wanted the soup. 
We might need some help finishing off these potatoes. Do you have a favorite potato recipe that we can use?
Next week I’ll show you three different ways to use up butternut squash so make sure to stop back! In the meantime, you can also check out some more recipes here and here. Also be sure to check out the websites below.
I’m happy to share this article with…
I’m proud to share this article with…
Lately I’ve been on the search for some good crockpot recipes, you know, besides, pot roast. Imagine how delighted and excited I was when I found that someone has used their crockpot for making yogurt! I haven’t figured out how to deal with and purchase live cultures online, so I just purchased a container of yogurt (aka: starter) on my next shopping trip. Since it’s the weekend and you may have some time on your hands or inquisitive kids, I’m going to teach you how to go from milk all the way to frozen yogurt.
Turn Milk into Yogurt
Supplies
- 4 quart crockpot
- A few large towels
- 1/2 gallon milk – regular or raw, whole or low-fat
- 1 packet gelatin, arrowroot, or agar – it is suggested as a thickener if you use a lower fat milk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
Instructions
- Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the crockpot/slow cooker
- Cook on low for 2.5 hours
- Unplug and let it set for 3 hours
- (At this point I check the temperature. The optimum temp for yogurt cultures is 108-112 degrees F.)
- Scoop out 2 cups warm milk and pour into a dish. Add the 1/2 cup yogurt and mix well.
- Add back into crockpot. Stir the mixture into the rest of the warm milk.
- Wrap the crockpot with towels and leave overnight or 8 hours.
- In the morning you’ll have yogurt! (NOTE: It’s quite a bit thinner than what you get at the store.)
You can enjoy the yogurt as it is or add in fruit. I like to stir honey into mine. Or you can go a step further…
Turn Yogurt into Greek Yogurt
This is actually quite easy! Next, you’ll learn how to make delicious, thick Greek Yogurt.
Supplies
- Cheesecloth (a couple layers)
- Colander
- Medium Bowl
Instructions
- Place the colander onto the medium bowl.
- Line the colander with the layered cheesecloth.
- Pour the yogurt into the lined colander.
- Let it set on the counter or in the fridge. Overnight the yogurt will separate. The whey will drip into the bowl leaving thick and creamy Greek yogurt in the colander for you in the morning.
This is delicious stuff! But yet, you can take it a step further. You can use the whey for baking and even making lemonade. You can also use the Greek yogurt to make wonderfully tart frozen yogurt!
Turn Greek Yogurt into Frozen Yogurt
Supplies
- Ice cream maker (at least 1 quart capacity)
- Mixing bowl
- 3 cups Greek yogurt (this is approximately 6 cups un-strained yogurt)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Instructions
- Mix together yogurt, sugar, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Refrigerate 1 hour.
- Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Last step: Sit down and enjoy a delicious bowl of frozen yogurt that contains no high fructose corn syrup or un-pronounceable ingredients. You deserve it!
