I am sure some of these ladies will come up with far better recipes than I can, but you betcha I will be finding out if our stores are having those good prices and coming back here for the recipes. Thanks for the scoop! Love potatoes!

Potato soup! There are versions of just potato, potato and ham or potato and bacon. Sorry I don't have the receipe in front of me as I type but I got mine on allrecipes.com (wonderful site)!

I make another concoction called "Cheesy Stew" which should be renamed because it sounds horrible but is wonderful and people always ask for the recipe. Here it is in a nutshell; I don't have exact amounts but I eyeball the stockpot I'm using to guide me as to how many potatoes, etc.

Cheesy Stew

peeled potatoes, cut into chunks (about 3 lbs)
peeled, cut carrots (at least one pound)
one onion, quartered

boil in a stock pot, just before "done" add a package of frozen peas and cut up Hillshire farm sausage. (Original recipe called for hot dogs, ick). Or use another type of "ring" sausage.

Cook for about 5 minutes longer, drain.

Add 2 cans cream of celery soup and 1 lb velveeta (cut into chunks) and allow to melt. Stir, and serve.

One year I canned potatoes. It takes I think 90 minutes of pressure canning if I remember right. So if you have a bunch of them you could can them for the future. However you probably wouldn't save much if any after canning them. Speaking of potatoes, when I went down to my kitchen this morning, someone in this household, whose name is Izzi, had found my bag of potatoes and drug about 6 of them out and scattered them all about the kitchen! She didn't eat on them, but just had fun playing with them! That was a great find on your potatoes. I will check Meijer tomorrow and see what their price is.

Sue

There's always potato salad, too!

Don't forget plain mashed potatoes then mash some and add cheese, bacon, and chives. Freezes well!

On Sunday I saw a potato truck full of them..I didn't realize that they are grown year round here. LOL I'm gonna try that myself. LOL right now I have 7 or 8 potatoes growing in the garden.

We have huge potato farms in the Skagit Valley.

I do make ahead "hash browns". It's quite easy to knock out 5lbs of spuds at a time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Frozen Hash Browns

I never freeze uncooked potatoes. But I've found if you buy a lot, store them in a clean dry spot in the kitchen, in the light but away from heat. They will keep for a month. If they sprout, pull the eyes out with your fingers. Or cut them just where they stick out of the potato. Have fun! I love potatoes-so many ways to use them/eat them.

The hashbrowns are par baked.

Helen, what a deal!! We love potatoes but even 5 lbs. goes a long way with just the two of us. terri pacnw's recipe sounds really easy and good. Don't know why I never thought of doing that. Also, just under that recipe is one for potato patties that you could freeze, too. Just freeze the individual patties on a cookie sheet and when frozen put them in freezer bags and use as needed. I'll definitely try those. Thanks Terri!

Have to love scalloped potatoes around here! Mom used to make cheesy scalloped, with left over boiled potatoes. Garlic mashed, oven roasted "home fries"(seasoned wedges, with olive oil and baked til crispy), or bacon, potato and corn chowder (perfect for our cold, wet damp JUNE day.. grr lol)

I almost always grate a potato or two to thicken any home made soup. Works well, and doesn't detract from the flavours.

I loved my mom's cream of potato soup. We also like au gratin potatoes. cottage fries are good too.

Pork chops and apples'\

In one frying pan, saute very thinly sliced potatoes in butter with salt and pepper, starting with the pan covered. Be sure to flip them every now and then adding more butter as necessary so they are evenly cooked. Just before they are tender, top the potatoes with two or three thinly sliced apples, sprinkling each layer with cinnamon and cook uncovered till tender.

Flip the potato apple mixture as needed to cook evenly. I like to brown the potatoes by the end.

At the same time in another frying pan, saute pork chops. When they are done, place them on top of the potatoes as they finish cooking, sprinkling them with a little cinnamon.

Serve with applesauce if you like.

Thank you. I am going to start with those hash browns. We love hash brown potatos so I will freeze a bunch of those. I am not going to peel them though, just scrub them really well, and then start cutting and the roasting.
We are having latkes with pork chops for supper tonight. My mother made just the best and I learned from her. DH says his mouth is already watering. LOL

The Pork Chop / Potato/ Apple recipe sounds really good too. Thank you everyone.

Helen

Here's one you can try, I can't remember if I have or not.

Creamy Potato Soup

1 lb. potatoes
3 cups chicken broth (about this much, I used just enough to barely cover the potatoes and veggies)
1 cup chopped/minced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream or whole milk
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese (or any white cheddar)

Peal and cube potatoes and put in large pot. Add chopped onion and celery, cover with chicken broth until veggies and potatoes are barely covered. Bring to a boil on medium heat and let boil for about 25 minutes until potatoes, onions and celery are tender. Remove from heat and mash t using a potato masher. Just mash until slightly chunky (depending on your preferences) and do not drain broth. Place pot on low heat and add sour cream, pepper jack cheese, and cream/milk. Salt and pepper to taste and you may even add chopped parsley or flakes.

I just heard a serving suggestion for potatoes, have not tried it yet...
Smashed baked potato - micro the potato, then physically smash it flat and put on the grill. I think it would be good to do it with a sandwich press. Adorn as desired.

Oh they do sound good. I love potatos. (Maybe that's why I'm shaped like one ! LOL)

Keep em coming.

Thanks,
Helen

If there was a market glut, it happened last fall. Potatoes are seaaonal and are harvested only once a year. They grow all summer and are dug at the end of summer and into early fall after the vine dies down. Any potatoes harvested recently came from the southern hemisphere, for example, South America.

It is possible to stagger the plantings so that the crops do not all come at the same time provided the growing season is long enough. There are huge potato ranches in Idaho and these have huge storage sheds. I'm not sure show long they can store, but it is long enough to prevent the entire crop from having to be marketed at the same time.

The largest customers are potato chip makers. They buy by the truck load.

So, why are nice potatoes so cheap? I don't have a clue. It could be one of several things. These could have been offered as a 'loss leader' to get folks into the store. Another possibility: These are last fall's produce and they are clearing the warehouses. Maybe there was a glut. If people, in these economic times, reduced their purchases of potato chips, it would create an excess stock of potatoes.

Helencolby
Every fall when we dig our potato crop, I freeze them in shredded hash browns, cubed hash browns and tater tots. Of course potatoes have to be parboiled before freezing. I also can some years. They are so handy.