Sausage Potatoes

This is another recipe that I was making long before I started doing once a month cooking and was delighted to discover freezes well. They make a convenient addition to a once a month cooking plan when you have a lot of work to do because they don't require much in the way of equipment.  They don't need to be cooled either, which is helpful.   Plus they're super cheap.

I usually post my recipes as a single batch so you can multiply them to meet your needs.  However, this one is a quadruple batch due to the small amounts of tomato paste and mustard.  You can change the multiple for this recipe in row 4  of column D, run the macro and it will give you a scaled list of ingredients to follow in the 'Current Recipes' tab if you don't want to make 4 batches.

They're not much to look at, but they are very tasty.

Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Simple SideRecipe Column: D 

Yields: 24

12 large baking potatoes
5 tbsp mayonnaise
1.25 tsp tomato paste**
2.5 tsp Dijon mustard
2 onions, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 slices bread
0.25 cups milk
2 lbs breakfast sausage
1.75 tbsp water

1. Bake the potatoes in the microwave in batches until they are not quite done.  They should still be slightly firm so that they don't get all mushy when frozen and baked again.  Set the potatoes aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Tear the bread into small pieces and place in a medium mixing bowl.  Mix in the milk and set aside to allow the bread to absorb the milk and soften.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onions along with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Let the onions cool a little.
4. Add the the sausage, onions, mayo, tomato paste, mustard and water to the bowl with the bread and milk mixture.  Mix thoroughly.
5. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise.  Scoop the insides of the potatoes out with a spoon leaving a 1/2 inch wall all the way around the outside of the potato.  Set aside the potato insides for another use*.
6. Place the potatoes on cookie sheets.  Divide the sausage mixture between the potatoes.

Potato boats ready for their sausage cargo.

All ready for the freezer.

 To freeze:

Freeze the potatoes on the cookie sheets immediately after filling the them with the sausage.  Do not cook before freezing.  Once the potatoes are frozen solid, transfer to a bag or other container for storage.

To serve 2 potatoes:

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tsp water

1 tsp dijon mustard

0.5 tsp tomato paste**

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1.5 tsp dijon mustard

salad greens

olive oil

1. Take the potatoes out of their freezer storage and place right side up on a pan or plate.  Let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator. 
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat the skins and the exposed cut edges of the potatoes with olive oil and place in a pan.  Bake the potatoes until the sausage reaches 170 degrees in the center, about 30 to 40 minutes.
3. While the potatoes are baking, mix together the mayo, water, first measurement of mustard and the tomato paste.  Take 1 tablespoon of this mixture and combine it with the lemon juice and second measurement of mustard.  This is your salad dressing, toss with your greens.
4. When the sausage is cooked through, take the remaining mustard mixture and spoon it over your potatoes.  Place the potatoes under a broiler for 3 to 5 minutes.

*I generally use the potato innards to make mashed potatoes and freeze those as well.  Or you can use it to make pirogi or in shepherd's pie, which we will cover later.  Since the potatoes are undercooked, you will need to cook the innards a little more before using in these recipes. 

**This recipe calls for a very small amounts of tomato paste.  If you are making something else that calls for tomato paste you can sneak some for this recipe.  If not, I have sometimes used a little bit of ketchup instead of tomato paste or skipped the tomato paste altogether.  It always turns out well and this recipe is pretty flexible. Or, I regularly find myself in need of a small amount of tomato paste for various dishes, so I use the tomato paste I need from a small can then I take the rest, place it in a small Ziploc bag, flatten it and freeze.  When I need a small amount of tomato paste I break of a chunk that is approximately what I need, thaw and add it to my dish.

Verdict:

These freeze great.  They are one of the few things that seems to be just as good or possibly even a little better after being frozen.  I realize that the instructions written for serving look like a lot to do, but these are really fast and easy to pull together when you're ready to serve.

Next time:

I have made these for the freezer twice.  The first time I undercooked the potatoes and they turned out great.  The second I cooked the potatoes fully and they were a little mushy.  I will definitely remember to undercook the potatoes a little in the future.  If you have cooked your potatoes a little too much, the coat of olive oil and the high oven causes the outside to crisp up, so they're still pretty good.