During the summer, my monthly discretionary budget is pretty strict, but I recently had to “borrow from Peter to pay Paul” due to some unexpected expenses. Which means that the pantry clear-out is even more important.
There was a large bag of frozen hash brown patties in the freezer with a paltry six patties left. What to do … what to do?
Bake the patties off first (20 min at 400 deg F) and then use your imagination.
If you’re cooking for a family of two to four, you can make all kinds of casserole dishes. Replace lasagna noodles with the patties for a potato lasagna and fill with sauteed veggies for a tasty Italian vegetarian option. However, the patties are also convenient for singles who don’t have a lot of time to whip up something filling.
I decided on Eggs Benedict (eggs are relatively cheap) on a potato patty with leftover Hollandaise. The sauce stands up to refrigeration far longer than the experts advise and with gentle reheating in the microwave just until you can spoon the sauce, you’ve got a great breakfast or lunch dish. Instead of ham, I used the last couple of slices of peameal bacon from the freezer. I had bought a peameal bacon roast on sale, a while ago, and sliced it myself into eight 3/8-1/2 inch slices and then portioned them for easy thawing, as needed.
Another option for the leftover Hollandaise: Add a couple of tablespoons of the cold Hollandaise to a serving of hot pasta. The heat of the pasta will melt the cold sauce creating a rich and creamy sauce. I like linguine, fettuccine or spaghetti.
The potato patties also make a tasty base for a pizza. I had some grated mozzarella cheese in the freezer and spooned on a couple of tablespoons of that spaghetti sauce that I got such a great deal on. A couple of fresh basil leaves from my sturdy Italian basil plant … and you’ve got a hash brown potato pizza Margherita.
Three patties down and three to go.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
Oh why oh why am I low carb living. I miss hash browns.
I wouldn’t be able to go low carb though my nephew did give it a try some years ago.
It’s not too bad, but no ice cream is what gets me.
I go in phases where I have it where I don’t. I usually have a container of ’emergency’ French vanilla ice cream in the freezer if I get a sweet craving or want something to serve with a dry piece of cake or something similar. These days, I’m eating a dry bowl of cereal when I want something sweet. š
I’d want Frosties
Honey Nut Cheerios …
Just as good š
I had to look up peameal bacon and it came up as Canadian cuisine. I’m always tickled to learn something new. š
I’m surprised how many people have never heard of it. It’s SO good.
There’s a picture of the type of roast I started with on the post below. It’s the 2nd set … very pink colour.
I’ve been CRAVING pudding, both choc & butterscotch and there’s pudding all over that post! Ok so is peameal bacon the “real” Canadian bacon? It looks like about what I would expect. For years Canadian bacon couldn’t be imported into the US so we had small red wrapped, cured hams sold as Canadian Bacon. They always had the red like bologna does.
Canadian bacon is the same thing as peameal bacon … maybe because it’s easier to remember and refer to it as Canadian bacon. š
I don’t buy the packages of instant pudding and this recipe takes only a couple of minutes longer to make. I had a friend who loved chocolate but had caffeine issues so she never made the recipes with melted chocolate/cocoa butter. The cocoa powder used in the chocolate pudding in this recipe made it something she could eat without issues.
I always make mine homemade, too! So much better! Thanks for clearing that up for me!