Day 3, Stuffed Potatoes & More!

Tonight's dinner is a double-hitter of donated recipes! This is awesome. Both came with simple, easy to follow and easy to make directions.

So, first off, the main dish. Donated by Tristi Pinkston, a great friend of mine:

Cheese and Tomato Stuffed Potatoes

as you can tell from the pic, I may have gotten a little carried away tonight. And it may not be as "pretty" as when Tristi makes them, but dang they tasted great!

this dish had an immediate appeal to me. It reminded me of home. Although we never had baked potatoes quite like this before, I always had a job in the house when potatoes were cooked (so, in other words, i was actually familiar with making the first step of this recepi, which is to actually bake the potatoes LOL) My job was to wash the spuds and then stab them with a fork before baking them.

I had a good laugh today while i was gently pricking the sides of the potatoes. Lots of memories in that simple movement. See--back then, I was the kid who interpreted the instructions quite literally. I would STAB, probably a good half inch deep (or more) into the raw potatoes. It ticked me off to no end to try and pull the fork back out. It usually whacked me in the face. Only to then have to shove the thing back into the potato just as deep. I stabbed my thumb several times--and with that velocity, it was quite painful. In my defense, I was very concerned! Mom said that if we didn't stab the potato enough, it would explode in the microwave!! It sounded horrifying, and so i was going to make darn sure that they were ready. :) Either way, the memories provided several minutes of chuckling.

I must admit, although i was very excited about this recipe, I was slightly concerned if my husband would. See, he doesn't like sour cream. But, i was gonna try it anyways.

With her permission, here's what you do:

bake 3 large 'baking potatoes' (i think mine were a little small, so i did 4)
1 C. cheddar cheese, shredded (mine was colby-jack :)
3/4 C green onions, diced (i still have no onions in the house LOL)
1 C sour cream
3/4 C chopped Tomatoes (mine were fresh from the garden too. Mmmmmmm)
1/8 t pepper (or more, to taste)


So, i baked up my potatoes in the oven. mine took an hour at 425 deg, but i remember doing them in the microwave all the time growing up.

When they were done, I followed the directions, scooping out the innards of the potatoes into a dish (leaving a bit around their shell, cuz we end up using it like little bowls. really cute). Mush them up and dump everything else in the dish too :) mix it all up.

For james, i added a bit less sour creme and a little extra potato, secretively hoping he wouldn't even notice. LOL Then i scooped that all back into the potatoe shells. I put three shells per bowl and kept stacking till i had used everything up. Um... which is probably why they look completely dumped on. (blush) tehehehe And, cuz i'm cookin for a meat lover, I topped it all with bits of our left over turkey and bacon pieces. :)

And, may i say right now, that my cheese-grader and i do NOT get along. Never have. Any of them. Doesn't matter what age I was, we just agree to hate each other. 'Nuff said.

I watched James carefully as he sat down, had prayers, and he took his first bite. His exact response was:

"mmmmmm.....th.... good!"

:) HURRAY!

He ate over half the bowl before he finally asked me what else was in the mix. He obviously noted the tomatoes and cheese, but said the potatoes were really nice and creamy. i finally had to admit that it was Sour Cream. He said that even though he doesn't prefer the stuff, that he really couldn't tell in this dish. AWESOME. Two thumbs WAY WAY UP for Tristi! WOOT

Now, i told you this was a double-hitter. Yup, there's more.
Dessert: Peanut Butter Cookies (james' favorite)

This recipe was donated by james' sister, Kim. Easy-peasy ingredients.

1c Peanut Butter
1c Sugar
1 egg

That's it. mix it all up. ball them up on a cookie-sheet, then criss cross them flat with a fork (i sprinkled sugar on top after that too, cuz i couldn't get the sugar to stick to my fork like suggested) Bake it for 7-9 mins at 350

Fair warning to all, as it was also given to me, serve them warm! they do tend to crumble a little. But it's easy, fast, and oh so yummy :)

He took 2/3rds of them with him on the way to class. One stuffed in his mouth and the others to share with his brother.

Thanks guys for donating such easy and delicious recipes! These are total repeats!! They were both so warm and comforting on a chilly and rainy day. Couldn't have been more pleased :)