First I just have to apologize on behalf of my posting calendar, which has been inexplicably publishing draft posts. Sorry if you have gotten some confusing non-posts yesterday and today! I think I fixed it…
On to the potatoes.
I went to college in the south. Georgia, in fact {go Dawgs}; where Waffle House reigns and everyone knows what you mean when you order something “scattered, smothered and covered”. That would be hash browns with onions and cheese, for all of you Yankees.
After a ridiculous amount of trial and error (after error, after error…) I finally found a way to make my very own hash browns. Buying organic hash browns was ridiculously expensive, and even those still contained some weird ingredient I wasn’t too crazy about.
What is Autolyzed Yeast Extract, anyway? I think it is one of those sneaky names for MSG, but I don’t know for sure.
I wait until organic potatoes go on sale, then buy a bunch. I use this recipe for crock pot baked potatoes, because I am lazy and it works. Then I use this recipe to make the hash browns. If you have a kid with sensory processing disorder – they will LOVE helping you!
There are no real quantities for this; just use as many potatoes as you have. Bake them first, (in the oven, or using the crock pot recipe above) then let them cool.
Shred them using a food processor. These could be shredded by hand with a cheese grater and that would be an awesome proprioceptive sensory input but it would take a long time if you have a lot of potatoes.
My son loves this part; he likes pushing down on the part of the food processor that shoves the food into the grinder. I totally count it as a sensory activity!
If you have leftover boiled potatoes, you can use those too. You’ll just have to take an extra step of rinsing them once shredded and getting them REALLY dry.
Look; another sensory activity! Place the rinsed potatoes on a dry towel and have your child roll them up, pressing gently to dry. They can also use a salad spinner to dry the shredded potatoes. I’m still on the fence if that counts towards a daily sensory diet or not; but if nothing else your kids will have fun doing it.
Place the shredded, dried potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze.
Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags and just scoop out as much as you need when you’re ready to make ‘em scattered, smothered, and covered!
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