Buy-one-get-one-FREE!

Here's another freebie deal for Facebook fans (you know how I love being paid for my Facebook addiction). Go here and become a fan of "Be Snack Ready" (aka Lay's) and you can get a coupon for buy-one-get-one-free Kettle Cooked chips. Coupon is available "while supplies last," so don't delay.

FREE potatoes (and a favorite recipe for them)

Reminder: there are still five more days to get your free potatoes. You can print out the coupon from my original post here.

I stock up on potatoes when I find a good price. After all, if you store them in a cool, dry place, they will keep for months.

Not sure what to do with them?? Last night I made these mashed potatoes, and I think they were the best mashed potatoes I've ever made (this recipe serves 10, but you could easily cut it in half):

5 lbs. russet or baking potatoes, peeled and quartered

6 cups water

3 cubes Knorr extra large vegetable or chicken bullion cubes

3 bay leaves

1 stick (+) butter, cut into pieces

milk (or reserved cooking water)

salt, to taste

Combine peeled and quartered potatoes, water, bullion and bay leaves in a slow cooker. Set on high for one hour, then reduce heat to low and continue cooking until potatoes are fork tender, about 4 hours total. Remove potatoes from cooking water (discard bay leaves) and place in a bowl with butter and about 1/4 cup milk (or reserve cooking liquid). Mash either by hand or with a mixer until desired consistency, adding more milk for looser potatoes. Add salt to taste.

* Note: if you can't find the Knorr bullion, substitute any brand of bullion, following package directions to make 6 cups of broth. Or eliminate the bullion and water and substitute broth, either store bought or home made.

** Note: The broth adds a layer of flavor to otherwise simple potatoes. Want to add another layer of flavor? Add six to 10 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half (you can either remove the garlic before mashing, or go ahead and mash with potatoes). Or I want to try adding a quartered onion to the cooking water (remove before mashing).

One potato, two potato, three potato

Rarely do I see coupons for fresh fruits and vegetables. So when I ran into this Buy-2-Get-1 free deal on potatoes, I signed right up.

And now you can too.

Go here. You'll need to fill out a form to get your coupon. But I was able to print off two.

And now that you have 15 (or 30!) pounds of potatoes, here's one of my family's favorite recipes for preparing them.

Roasted potatoes

2 1/2 lbs. waxy potatoes (white, yellow or red), washed and cut into bite size pieces

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Seasonings of choice (see below)

Preheat oven to 375. Toss together ingredients. Roast in oven until cooked through and crunchy on the outside (stirring every 15 to 30 minutes), about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Seasoning choices:

6 springs fresh Rosemary (needles only) and 1-2 cloves of garlic (diced)

1 packet onion soup mix

Looking for a main dish recipe? Try my sausage and potato recipe here.

And here's another -- scalloped potatoes with ham

2 1/2 lbs. waxy potatoes

1 lb. slice of ham, diced and fat removed

2 T butter

2 T flour

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or use 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup whatever you have in the 'fridge. My mom insists on including a little smoked cheese for added flavor)

In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk until combined. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until mixture thickens. Add cheese and stir until completely melted.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F. Wash potatoes and slice thinly. Spread half of the potatoes in the bottom of a baking pan (spray with cooking spray first). Top with half of the ham and half of the cheese mixture. Continue with the remaining potatoes, ham and cheese. Bake until bubbly and potatoes are soft, about an hour.