Homemade Hash Browns

A few weeks ago, I went with my son's class as a chaperone on their field trip to a farm. We did a hayride and got pumpkins, but we also got potatoes. I decided to buy a bag of potatoes, which I don't do often. It wasn't any old bag of potatoes, but a 20# bag of potatoes. We have mashed potatoes around the holidays and baked potatoes in the summer, but otherwise we use a lot of instant mashed potatoes. I knew I would need to get creative and include a lot of potatoes in our meals over the next few weeks.

One thing that I decided would be fun was homemade hash browns. I've made them as a side for chicken sausage and part of breakfast for dinner. We usually play them up, Waffle House style, with tomatoes, onions, cheese, etc. with each person choosing their own toppings.

Homemade Hash Browns

2 Large Potatoes
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Sugar

olive oil

butter
cheese
diced onions
diced tomatoes
mushrooms
gravy
diced peppers
other toppings as desired

• Fill a large bowl with water and mix in Lemon Juice and Sugar. Using a Cheese Grater, shred your potatoes into strings. Place in bowl of water to soak for about 15 minutes.

• Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Remove a portion of the potatoes, drain and blot on a paper towel. Add to the skillet. Let cook for 5 minutes and then turn over and let cook another 5 minutes. Remove to plate. Prepare all hash browns in this fashion.

• Add a portion of hash browns back to the pan and add a small pat of butter. Top as desired, waiting to add cheese. Turn once and add cheese. When cheese is melted, remove to plate. Continue for each person. Enjoy!

I have found that it is best to cook all of the potatoes the first time through before going back and topping them. If you decide to skip this step, I would let them cook a little longer, so they aren't raw in the middle. Also, this allows everyone to get their hash browns hot and within a short window. The butter is a flavor thing, so you could skip adding the butter when you go back to top them.

We have really been enjoying these homemade hash browns.

This recipe shared on Life As Mom Ultimate Recipe Swap and the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Now, does anyone have pointers on homemade fries. I made some the other night, didn't want to fry and felt they needed a little something.