Budget Cooking...Comfort & Gourmet!

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Saturday, February 20, 2010

Home Fried Potatoes



My Grandmother's side of the family hails from Virginia. As a result, potatoes were incorporated into a lot of our meals. She was a post depression baby, so she told me a lot of practical tips for making meals stretch. She told me to always keep a 5 lb bag of potatoes in the pantry. She also said if times were hard we'd always have potatoes. They are such a versatile vegetable. She used to whip up a batch of home fries for us whenever we wanted.

She told me a story of when she first was married & living from paycheck to paycheck in the 1950's. It was the day before payday & the cupboard was practically bare, save for potatoes & onions. She prepared homefries as she had done many times before. There was an unexpected knock on the door. Their insurance salesman had come buy to pick up a payment. He commented on how delicious the steak smelled.
After he left, she & my grandfather laughed & laughed.

INGREDIENTS

Canola or Olive Oil
3-5 lbs of White Potatoes (you can use any type)
1-2 Yellow Onions
1-2 fresh pressed Garlic Cloves
a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley (if desired)

Seasonings
My grandmother just used salt & pepper. I've tweaked her recipe.
Seasoning Salt
Black Pepper
Chives
Parsley Flakes or Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley chopped
Old Bay Seasoning

DIRECTIONS

Quarter the potatoes & slice them. Place them in a bowl of cold water.



Drain them and dry excess water with a towel.





This will help to remove some of the excess starch which could cause them to burn.

Quarter & slice a couple of onions.



Press a couple of garlic cloves. Chop some fresh flat leaf parsley if desired.



Heat oil in pan. Add potatoes. Add Onions & Garlic.



Stir. Add seasonings.





Stir again to distribute seasonings.


Cover on low heat. Using a pancake turner, scrape the crusty side of the potatoes from the pan. Flip them over. Cook until desired crispness.



I love my homefries with hot sauce and ketchup. How do you like yours?