Thickener and More

• Use potato flakes as a substitute for flour or other thickeners in soups and stews. Add a little at a time and allow the potatoes to reconstitute in the cooking liquid before you add more. Mix some instant potato flakes with shredded fresh potatoes when you make hash browns. The instant flakes absorb some of the moisture from the fresh potatoes so everything browns nicely without getting soggy. Cook up a quick batch of instant mashed potatoes to top a shepherd’s pie, or add dry flakes to meatloaf instead of breadcrumbs.

Fry Coating

• If you like crispy coating on fried foods such as chicken or fish, dip the meat into an egg wash and then dredge it in potato flakes. You can also combine dry potato flakes with finely processed crumbs for chicken, or with cornmeal for fish. The potato coating fries up light and crispy outside while the meat stays moist and tender.

Potato Pancakes

• Don’t settle for plain potato griddle cakes: Mix up potato pancakes with a kick. Stir together about 2 cups of potato flakes with about 1/3 cup of cornmeal, and add garlic powder and dried chili pepper flakes to taste. Mix in about 1 cup of shredded cheese and about 2 cups of corn kernels -- thawed if frozen, drained if canned -- and finely chopped onions to taste. Add milk to make a smooth batter and fry by tablespoonfuls on a lightly greased griddle, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Include diced ham, crumbled bacon or cooked hamburger or sausage crumbles in the batter to make these a main dish, and top them with sour cream before serving.

Flour, Breads and Baked Goods

• Substitute dry instant potatoes for part of the flour in bread and biscuit recipes. For buttermilk-baking powder biscuits, use a ratio of about 3 parts flour to 1 part potato and make the dough as usual. You can also use potato flakes in yeast recipes, sometimes reconstituting them in warm water to help make a warm, moist dough for a guaranteed rise. The starch in the potatoes helps feed the yeast, making light and fluffy rolls.