Over the past 18 months Hubby Tony and I have gradually improved our diets at home, replacing many of the convenience foods in our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer with more minimally processed foods. At this point the kitchen isn't completely prepackaged food free, but it's much better than it used to be.
Tonight for dinner I was making a shepherd's pie topped with sweet potatoes. However, when I saw that half of one of the two sweet potatoes was moldy I had to think about other options. I rooted around and found a bag of tater tots way in the back of the freezer. Weighing the options, I decided to modify my recipe. Instead of a layered dish, I decided to dice and boil the sweet potatoes, mix them in with the other ingredients, then bulk up the whole thing with some crumbled tots.
I don't remember when I bought the bag, but when I opened it up many of the little chunks of processed potatoes were covered with ice. Forging ahead anyway, I dumped about a third of the bag in a colander, gave them a quick rinse to melt the ice, and rolled them in a towel to dry them off. When I got done the towel, the colander, and my hands were all covered with grease. That's what made them taste so good!
The tots thawed on the counter while I chopped and cooked the sweet potatoes. When I tried to crumble them I found out that most had a bad case of freezer burn and were completely solid. I tossed them, along with the rest of the bag. Good riddance.
Five years ago today: Poem In Your Pocket
Ewwwwwww...
ReplyDeleteFreezer burn I know it well. One less packaged food in your house!
ReplyDeleteYes, one less thing taking up space.
DeleteOuch! You put in a good effort anyway.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you have ditched the processed foods and eating more healthy meals. Are you feeling better?
ReplyDeleteBefore we started my diet was already pretty good, so any change was subtle. However, I think I get fewer colds and other minor illnesses.
DeleteThat doesn't sound very good, but you tossed them, probably where they belonged!
ReplyDelete