Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Update on the Frozen Mashed Sweet Potatoes

A few months ago, I baked organic sweet potatoes, mashed them, then froze them, bagged them separately, and then put those bags into one large bag.

I know it's only been four months, but I dug someone for dinner the other night to test them for the first time.  Even though they were bagged twice, I still had some ice on them.

They were delicious, and tasted as if they were baked.  They were thick and tasty.  It was like eating a baked sweet potato without the skins.


I put them in my oven frozen, and heated them through.  Our one daughter who told me she "hates mashed sweet potatoes" ate an entire one herself.  


They were delicious with nothing on them, but I did top mine with a dollop of organic butter. 

I will be doing this again if my garden harvest is low.  We find it difficult to buy organic during winter months, and this is an excellent way to ensure healthy meals.  And of course a quick healthy side dish.  The meal in the photo is a quick version of a ham tetrazzini - using what I had on hand and in the freezer.

10 comments:

Susan said...

This is good to know. I have frozen mashed potatoes before (although I did find them a bit watery after thawing - maybe the key is baking them frozen). I really love sweet potatoes, although my own crop is notoriously small. I would like to try this with whipped squash, too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, I am not sure on squash. When I have frozen whipped (or pureed) pumpkin, it thaws watery. I would like to try it with other squash too though. Yes, someone here suggested baking it before it thaws. Tasted delicious.

Rain said...

That looks good. I love sweet potatoes, especially with butter :) But I'd probably fry them up to make them into a kind of latka if I didn't care about the fat content. I just got myself into a good position to start preserving food. Before it was basically paycheck to paycheck, but my bf and I squirreled away some money for a deep freezer that's now in the basement! The only thing in there is one whole chicken, you know, for the principle of it! But to be honest, once I take it out tomorrow, I'm turning it off to save on energy cost...but we wanted to put something in there! It'll come to use much more when prices drop a little in the spring and I can start stockpiling a little bit at a time. We also found a dehydrator at a local flea market and I'm getting a water bath canner with equipment for my bday next month. I'm excited about the process and about the savings! Now I have to educate myself on what's best to freeze, dehydrate and water-bath can. How can you protect your food from frost in the freezer? I mean, double bagging seems like it should be sufficient.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Rain, double bagging works great. Even though I had a bit on the sweet potatoes, it did not bother the taste nor texture. I flash freeze some of my vegetables like green peppers, and hot peppers. I put them on a baking tray in a single layer and freeze a bit, then bag them. Works great. Glad you are getting all the do-dads to get your food put up this coming year.

RB said...

The frozen mashed sweet taters are a great idea. Not only effective freezing, but portion control too.
God bless.
RB
<><

Michelle said...

Thanks for posting this. I will be giving this a try. I will probable use my food saver since you had ice on yours. Hopefully that will take care of the problem.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, I froze them in 1 cup portions, but most of the sweet potatoes I baked were exactly (or very close to) 1 cup.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Michelle, that is a great idea. I just don't have that gizmo.

Unknown said...

I wished I would have seen this last fall. We had a bunch go bad on us before I could them. Thanks for the great idea!

Thanks for sharing on the Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop!
http://oursimplelife-sc.com/simple-homestead-blog-hop-35/

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Tracy, you are welcome. I used all organic sweet potatoes too.