Spinach, Onion & Feta Quiche Question

[joanieb]

Jen, I just tossed out a bag of Ore-Ida "country-style" hash browns (they'd been in the freezer WAY too-o-o-o long--what a brick!) and they were shredded, plain (no peppers/onions, o'brian style). Most of our local grocers in central NC (even the more upscale ones) have stopped carrying frozen hash browns in any form....Country, southern? Still not sure of the difference.

Speaking of hash browns, remembered trying and liking this recipe before, from CL's "The Lazy Gourmet" ('97) (for those you not in a heat wave):
HAM & HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

Prep: 20 min. Cook: l hour

3 Tbs. all-purp. flour
l 3/4 c. evap. skim milk, divided
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
l/4 tsp. pepper
l/8 tsp. salt
4 oz. reduced-fat loaf process cheese spread,
cubed
l 8 oz. carton nonfat sour cream
8 oz. reduced-fat, low-salt ham, chopped
l 32 oz. pkg. frozen cubed hash browns
w/onions & peppers, thawed
Veg. cooking spray

Combine flour and l/2 c. milk, stirring til smooth. Combine flour mixture, remaining l l/4 c. milk, mustard, pepper, salt in a med. saucepan, stirring well. Cook over medheat, stirring constantly, til thick & bubbly. Remove from heat; add cheese, stir til melted, stir in sour cream.

Combine cheese mixture, ham, and hash browns in large bowl, stir well. Spoon into l3x9x2 baking dish coated with veg. spray. Cover/bake at 350 for 30 min. Uncover and bake 30-35 min. more til golden.
Yield: 8 servings

20l cal, 3.2g fat (l.5g sat), l5.7g protein, 27.8g carbs, 2.lg fiber, 2lmg chole, 570mg sodium

[lindrusso]

I think that either the shredded or the cubed would work fine. My mother happened to use cubed and it was very good that way. I would definitely recommend plain either way.

That Ham and Hash Brown Casserole sounds great joanieb, thanks for sharing. Might have to try that one this week...

[Grace]

Jen,

Here in Chicago, we get a brand called "Simply Potatoes". It is in a green bag in the dairy case (fresh, not frozen) near the eggs and such. They have a long shelf life and I use them quite a bit since I cook my husband breakfast every day. Anyhow, they have a variety calles Southwest Style Hash Browns, and that's what I would probably use for that recipe. They are shredded (as opposed to cubed), and they are seasoned - I'm looking at the package and it says onion, red and green peppers, garlic, tomato, jalapeno, salt, cilantro and spices (whatever that is). Anyhow they are really good, and I can recommend them if you can get them in your area. Hope that helps. BTW, Simply Potatoes has several different varieties of potatoes including plain hash browns, mashed potatoes, sliced potatoes and a few others. Let me know how your quiche turns out!
Grace

[Jen]

I'm just thumbing through my new August issue and have a question for those who have made the Spinach, Caramelized Onion & Feta Quiche (on p. 115). What are Southern-style hash brown potatoes? Are they the cubed kind or the shredded ones? With or without onions and peppers? We often have different names for items here in Canada, so sometimes it's hard to figure out what to buy.

Thanks for your help! I'm thinking I might try this soon, but not TOO soon...it looks like it takes a couple of hours!!

[Jen]

Thanks for the advice everyone! As I said, I probably won't get to it for a couple of weeks - not sure when I'll have enough time to do all that caramelizing! But there's nothing worse than getting ready to head off to the store and not knowing what you're looking for (unless it's coming home and getting half way through cooking, THEN realizing you're missing something!!)

[kendra]

I would probably just use plain hash browned potatoes, not the "southwest" potatoes recommended by Grace. Since the recipe has carmelized onions in it, I'm guessing they don't mean potatoes with onions and peppers already added. You could experiment to see what type of shape - cubed, shredded, works best. I'm not sure what they mean by "southern," but I'm sure they are talking about the Southeastern US and not the Southwest. When I've been in the south ordering breakfast at a diner-type place, I remember usually getting shredded hash browns. Can't remember any special spices or anything, but maybe I've never had "southern-style" hash browns. Any southern folk out there to help us out on this one?

[Dorothy]

I made this recipe yesterday & it turned out very good. Ore-Ida has Southern Style hash browns which are cubed and Country Style which are shredded. I used the cubed but I think the shredded would be just as good. I also used a frozen deep-dish pie crust rather than dealing with rolling out dough. I'm not good at that & I can't believe it would be that much better.

[Grace]

Holy cow!

I must have been really tired when I was reading and responding to this post originally!! I didn't read correctly that the question asked about Southern-style hash browns, NOT Southwest style! What a dope! And Kendra, you're absolutely right....sorry guys. Guess I'll save perusing this board for times when I'm awake and can read straight!

Grace

[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 07-31-2000).]