I did a thing the other day. I canned potatoes for the first time. See, we needed potatoes, and the 10 lb bag was just a couple of pennies more than a 5 lb bag, so I bought the 10 lb bag, even though a week or two prior to that, I had composted three moldy, smelly*, and oddly juicy rotten potatoes.
It was quite the internal debate, in the store. Should I buy the 5 lb bag, which we are much more likely to use before they go bad? Or should I get double the potatoes for about the same price, knowing it would be much more challenging to use them up?
Well, in the heat of the moment I chose double the potatoes. And after I cooled down, I realized that with only one potato-eater currently in the house, there is no way I would use them all. Of course I berated myself mentally, because that's how I roll. I mean, by purchasing the 10 lb bag, I was virtually guaranteeing that I was going to be throwing away potatoes in a month or so.
When I told Bubby I didn't think we'd be able to use the potatoes, he told me that sure we could. He still remembers the week that he and his brother ate mashed potatoes every. single. day. with fondness‡. He didn't seem too enthusiastic when I told him he was welcome to try†.
So I decided to can the potatoes. Our most frequent preparation of potatoes is mashed, and by canning potatoes, I'll be able to get mashed potatoes on the table in about 5 minutes. Based on the instructions in the Ball Blue Book of Canning, I expected to be able to get 2 quarts, that I thought I could probably stretch to 3, which didn't seem worthwhile canning, but I was committed. I ended up with 5 quarts, which for me is a full (pressure) canner load, plus enough extra for a Bubby** sized serving on Saturday. So yay! I'm looking forward five easy-peasy mashed potato preps, and zero rotten potatoes.
Also last week, I canned salsa (it's super hot this year), zucchini "pineapple", green beans***, and pinto beans. I think I'm done for now, but I do have some tomatoes in the freezer that I will eventually have to do something with.
The menu plan is a mess this week. School started, and I am exhausted. So we'll probably have breakfast for supper this week, along with fending for ourselves a couple of times, plus pizza, maybe hot dogs, possibly tacos or nachos. I don't know. I feel like this is awfully early in the "new year" to stop caring about what I'm going to feed my family.
What's cooking at your house this week? I could use some ideas.
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*I honestly thought I was smelling unshowered teenager whenever I caught a whiff. Which was so weird, because sometimes there were no teenagers around, showered or otherwise.
‡I do not.
†Bubby generally does peel and cut the potatoes when we have mashed potatoes, but the last time he did the actual mashing there was an incident with the salt shaker, and he's been reluctant, since then, to mash the potatoes himself.
**A Bubby sized serving is equivalent to 3-4 normal person servings.
***I know. I said I wasn't going to can green beans anymore. But they just keep coming, friends. And I had to do something with them. And we already have 4 family sized portions in the freezer.
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