Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes

I love a big baked potato for dinner!   Aside from the classic-style buttered potato, BBQ vegetarian chicken had been my go-to favorite, until now.

Served these up with sides of Clean Out the Fridge Soup, here, for an easy and tasty dinner!

5 Russet potatoes

1c broccoli florets, chopped

3-4 TBSP butter

2 TBSP green onions, chopped

1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

1c sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

paprika

1.  Preheat oven to 385* and bake potatoes approximately 1 hour, or until tender.  Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, sauté broccoli in 2-3 TBSP water until cooked through.  Drain and set aside.

2.  Slice length-wise across each potato and remove tops.  Scoop out insides, leaving enough potato that the skin holds its shape.

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, mash the scooped out potato with butter until it reaches your desired consistency.

4.  Stir in the green onions, parsley, Cheddar cheese, salt, and black pepper.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  Spoon mixture back into the potato skins.

5.  Bake 15 minutes.  Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika and serve warm.

Mashed Potato Tacos

I am so happy with the way these turned out last night!  This is one of those recipes that I worked on one day, changed the next, and then practically rewrote in the kitchen as I was cooking.  Most of my recipes tend to work out that way, actually.  

Either way, my taste testers (husband and kids) and I all thought these tacos were delicious.  And not as filling as you might think; or maybe we were just really hungry.  :)

Hand-held comfort food, here you go:

1 1/2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, skin-on and diced

5 TBSP butter

1/8 - 1/4c half & half

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/8c green onions, sliced thin

1 TBSP vegetable oil 

8 flour tortillas

shredded iceberg lettuce

sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Place diced potatoes in a medium pot and fill with water to cover.  Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, approximately 20 minutes; Drain, return to pot, and mash to a chunky consistency. 
2. Stir in butter, half & half (start with 1/8c and add more to suit your taste), salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.  Fold in green onions.
3. Fill each tortilla with 2 heaping TBSP of the potato mixture.
4. Add vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium heat.  Add tacos 1-2 at a time, turning to cook to golden brown on each side.  Place cooked tacos on a baking sheet and set in oven on the warm setting.
5. Top with lettuce and cheese; serve warm.

                            

Savory Stuffed Red Potatoes

I recently found myself with half a bag of baby red potatoes and no real plans for them.  A few more days and they would go out with the trash.  That seemed wasteful though and I'm trying to make more of an effort to actually use all the produce I buy.

Roasted corn and poblano soup was already on the menu so I decided to try these little potato bites on the side.  The two dishes paired really well, which was a relief because the potatoes can take awhile to prepare.  It's a simple recipe but the scooping out of the potatoes (without tearing the skins!) is what is most time consuming.  Worth it though.

Note:
* I used vegan substitutes for the sour cream and butter.

8 red potatoes, bite size

1 TBSP sour cream

2 TBSP butter, melted

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. green onion

2 TBSP cheddar cheese, grated
olive oil and sea salt

1.  In a saucepan, cover the potatoes with water and boil until tender.  The amount of time needed here will depend on the size of your potatoes.  Mine were on the small side and I let them boil about 15 minutes.  Drain potatoes and set aside to cool.

2.  Cut potatoes in half and carefully scoop out the inside, leaving a little edge all around.  Spray a little olive oil on the skin side of each potato and sprinkle with sea salt, to taste.

3.  In a medium size bowl, combine the scooped out potato, sour cream, butter, seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, green onions, and cheese.

4.  Spoon the mixture evenly back into each potato skin and top with a little extra cheese.

5.  Bake approximately 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with green onions and serve.