Week 42

Welcome to week 42.  This week, I thought I would concentrate on a food storage staple, the humble potato flake. I'll be adding some recipes to help you use your potato flakes.  One note, flakes are not the same as the potato pearls which the LDS storehouses  always sold.  Potato Pearls do not react the same as the flakes. The potato flakes can be used in many different recipes, whereas the pearls are really only good as mashed potatoes.  If you have pearls older than 5 years, open a can to see if they are still palatable.

Potato flakes are potatoes that have been through an industrial process of cooking, mashing, and drying to yield a convenience food that can be reconstituted in seconds by adding hot water or milk, producing a close approximation of mashed potatoes.

You can use the flakes in many recipes, not just for mashed potatoes.  I pulled this recipe off RecipeLink.

Easy Mashed Potato and Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas
Makes 6 servings.

To speed this up, make it into a casserole.

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
8 ounces whole button mushrooms
3 small zucchini, chopped
2 cups chopped carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 (7.6 ounce) package instant mashed potato flakes
1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
3 cups enchilada sauce
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini and carrots. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables in a single layer in a medium baking dish.

Roast vegetables in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes; stir halfway through their cooking time. When finished cooking, remove from the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bring water, milk and butter to a boil in a large pot. Remove the pot from heat, and mix in the mashed potato flakes. Let stand two minutes, then stir the mashed potatoes with a fork until they are smooth. In a large bowl, mix together potatoes and roasted vegetables.

In a dry, nonstick skillet over medium heat, quickly heat each tortilla on both sides to make pliable. Dip the tortillas in enchilada sauce. Put a large spoonful (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup) of potato-veggie mixture into the center of each tortilla. Top mixture with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of cheese, and roll tortillas. Place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Pour extra sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 20 to 30 minutes, until the enchiladas are heated through.
Note: Many of these items you probably already have in your pantry or freezer.  If you'd like, open some dehydrated veggies and reconstitute them a little while in water.  Or use some home canned carrots or zucchini.  This is a great test recipe because you will mainly be getting your flavor from the enchilada sauce and cheese.  So go ahead and sneak more veggies in.  The kids and/or DH will never notice.