Back to Basics-Twice Baked Potatoes Extraordinaire

I've been hitting brick walls lately with meal planning, and it occurs to me when this happens that other people must, hopefully!!!! have this happen to them as well. Sometimes fixing that mental block is as simple as talking to someone else about food, and their dinner plans, and what other homemakers do when they hit meal planning brick walls. For me, the simple Tuesday night dinners are the hardest. I love to plan a big meal extravaganza, but for some reason I really hit brick walls when I have to make simple meals, night after night. Because I hate doing dishes, and because our lives are so busy, it is of utmost importance to me to have a well stocked freezer, this saves me the trouble of endless food prep and dishes every night, and makes it simple to decide what's for dinner when I am low on inspiration. So, I thought throughout this winter I should try to blog some of my "basics", and if anyone else would like to join me and do the same here and there, I would LOVE to hear about your basics as well.

These twice baked potatoes are, put simply, a meal in a potato skin. They are great for individual lunches, or meals, and also do very well re-heated for crowds... and, they are so simple and lovely and comfort food-esque, I also suggest them to any expectant mothers who are stuffing their freezers with quick re-heatable food for coming infants, or to those who like to take their lunch to work with them.

If you're going to do this recipe, you might as well do it in a big way... otherwise it's a lot of work for not much glory. Keep in mind for each potato you'll get two servings. This recipe is based on a 20 pound bag of potatoes... I got exactly 20 potatoes out of this bag--that's fairly normal-ish--close enough, anyway. I needed seven of them for more simple twice baked potatoes, but the recipe I'm giving you will be based on 20 pounds of potatoes.

So, give your spuds a good stab in both ends... that way you're skins won't be too full of holes when you go to stuff them. Lube up your hands with butter or Veggie/Canola oil, and coat each potato as you stick it in the oven... This will make your skins crispy. 400 degrees, for about an hour, or until done. Meanwhile, chop broccoli into 6 cups worth of tiny little flowerettes. I only use the flowerettes for this recipe...

These pieces will get put in my dog's stew next time I make it for her...

Pig...

Stuck Pig... sorry, I couldn't resist. :-) (isn't this cutting board the cutest thing you've ever seen? My grandpa M made it for me.)

Cube your ham into smallish cubes, I did about 1/4 inch cubes because when I stuff the potatoes I don't want huge chunks of anything, just a nice blend of all the ingredients. You'll need 6 cups of cubed ham.

So, pull your potatoes out of the oven, then working quickly, slice them in half, and pull out the potatoey goodness by the spoonful. Use a washcloth or something to protect your hands if need be. Be sure to do this when your potatoes are hot, otherwise the skins will tend to crack as you pull the flesh out, and also it's impossible to mash the potato insides to creamy goodness when they are cold.

Please use your own wisdom with regards to what you put in the insides... this is my choice... Sour cream (2 cups-ish), 1 stick butter, kosher salt, parsley, granulated garlic, minced onion, fresh ground pepper, and milk as you blend it... I use my electric hand mixer. Be sure to taste it after it's all blended!!! Chances are good you're going to need to add a lot of extra salt and pepper! :-)

So, once you're happy with the flavor and consistency of the mashed potatoes, then add your broccoli and ham...

And use your mixer yet again to gently combine the filling all together...

And, start stuffing your potato skins! Notice how my potato skins are not perfect... and also how they have a fair amount of potato around the edges still. The potato left in there will keep your skins firm, and it's ok if your spoon poked through the potato here and there. Pretend like it never happened, and proceed. :-)

Also, I like mine piled pretty high, I think next time I make this I'm going to add in about four regular russets, and give myself a little bit more generous filling.

Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese over the top, and put in the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes, just so the tops are browned slightly. If you want, you can stick them straight into the freezer at this point. Since I reheat mine in the microwave, I like to brown the tops before I stick them in the freezer, so then I don't feel as tho I must stick them in the oven to reheat them. I guess what I'm saying is, I like brown tops. :-)

Then, what I do is I pull them out, and let them cool just a bit. I stick some of them in individual bags, like so:

And stick straight into the freezer... these will be individual servings for Frank to take to work and heat up in the microwave. Stab a hole in the bag, toss it in the microwave for a minute or so, and you have a toasty, homey lunch.

So then, once I've put enough in individual serving bags to make it so the potatoes on my cookie sheets aren't touching each other, I stick those cookie sheets straight into the freezer for about 1/2 hour, then pull them out, and bag them up into gallon ziplocs. These will be family dinner potatoes. I can stab a hole in this bag, throw them in the microwave, open a jar of canned pears, and voila! Dinner is on, and the only dishes I have to do are plates! Yay!

Hope you enoyed one of my basics!!

Twice Baked Potatoes Extraordinaire

20 pounds of LARGE baking potatoes

6 cups small broccoli flowerettes

6 cups cubed ham--approx 1/4 inch cubes

Sour Cream, Granulated Garlic, Minced Onion, Parsley Flakes, Kosher Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper, Butter, Milk, or anything else your family considers mashed potato making essentials...

Grated Cheddar Cheese