Redemption Recipe: AuGratin Muffin Tin Potatoes

Oh geez. Please tell me I am not standing alone on the blog blunder podium. I just made a huge typing error when commenting on another blog. I'm not talking about transposing a couple of letters. Ooooh nooo, that would be too easy. No, I went for the gusto. I left out a word that completely changes the meaning of what I was ineptly trying to convey. I left out the word “not”, so now my comment appears to say one thing when I meant to say the exact opposite. Argh!!! Why. Is. There. No. Edit/Erase/Delete Button on Wordpress? Picture me with my face buried in my hands. Perhaps the blog owner will edit it for me. If she’s still speaking to me. So I now just look like a flaming idiot. Don’t you just LOVE it when that happens. Um, I don't mean ... I don’t want you to enjoy my flaming moment. What I mean to say is, oh never mind, forget it. Obviously, I’m continuing to experience a communication malfunction.

*Update* All is well in my world again. The blog owner mercifully corrected my mistake. I can go out in public again. Whew!Well, I hope today's recipe will offer me redemption. At least I can still cook without sticking my foot in my mouth. Give me time, though, and I’m sure I can dazzle the masses with a faux pax here, too. Luckily, today’s recipe is a real show stopper, in a good way. It’s homemade augratin potatoes that are prepared in muffin tins. Did any of you see The Next Food Network Star program where the lady, Melissa, who ended up winning, prepared muffin tin augratin potatoes as part of her final competition? I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I’ve made this a few times since then, each time tweaking it more and more. You can find the original recipe posted on the Food Network website, but mine is a little different. To be honest, I’ve enjoyed every variation so far. This is a no brainer recipe. It’s not fast though. It takes a bit of time to prep everything and then requires 40 minutes to bake plus 10 minutes to sit, so keep that in mind.
Making this in tins is pure fun, and there is an advantage to it as well. If you have picky eaters, everyone can play sous chef by customizing their own little cubicle. Let’s say you like onions, but your kids don’t. If you were making this in a casserole dish, you’d either have to a) leave out your yummy onions or b) put in your beloved onions but have your kids turn up their onion-free-zone nose. With the tins, you can customize each one, and then everyone walks away happy. Plus, it will teach those up-and-coming sous chefs how to cook this marvelous dish.It’s so simple. All the basic recipe contains is: ultra thinly sliced potatoes, seasoned salt, shredded cheese, butter, and cream. That’s it. That’s all I put in my kids “pots” as they call them. Hubbyman and I like a little more zip, so I put some crispy fried onions in ours. Oh, I’ve also made this in regular size muffin pans as well as the jumbo ones. The results of both are magnificent. Also, fyi, my muffin tins are heavy duty, non stick. If you use regular tins, you might want to grease them first.

To fill a 12 cup regular tin, or a 6 cup jumbo one, you will need:

5 good sized russet potatoes, peeled
about 1 ½ cups shredded cheese, divided (I used CoJack, Sharp, and Medium cheddar cheeses)
Heavy cream – about 2 generous tablespoons per tin
2 scant tablespoons butter, melted
Seasoned Salt
Optional: Crispy Fried Onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a mandolin, slice your potatoes ultra thin.See how thin they are? Place in your largest mixing bowl.Here are those crispy onions I was talking about. YUM!Toss with melted butter, ½ the cheese, seasoned salt, and onions if using. Spoon into the muffin tins.Really pile them in because they will settle and compact down during cooking. Top with a bit more cheese.Pour 2 tablespoons of cream over each one. Be patient, it will soak in. Uh, yeah, I know the photo above this one already shows the cream in it. Well, let's just say I'm keeping the momentum moving forward on my faux pax's today. Cover with foil and place the muffin tray onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place both in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let sit at least 10 minutes. The longer you let them sit, the more likely they will hold their shape when removed. Serve and garnish as desired.I just love crispy edges! And that color speaks for itself!Just look at these layers! It really packs down as it bakes.I love the different strata going on here.Here you go, try a bite. Oh, don't you just love that golden, crunchy bottom? This makes a great main course for a luncheon or a side course for dinner. This dish plays well with others ... beef, chicken, pork, and fish.I like it paired with a vinaigrette laced salad. Naturally, this is gluten free, all the way. YUM! (And thanks for putting up with me, faults and all!)

Garden Tuesday - Garbage Can Potatoes!

Welcome to Garden Tuesday at It’s All Gouda. Do you enjoy Greek Mythology? As a youngster, I was enraptured with those larger than life stories. I clearly remember the first time I turned the pages of the story about Persephone and Demeter, and how their personal joys and sorrows caused the seasons. I was totally swept up in Demeter’s overwhelming sorrow due to being separated from her daughter Persephone, which resulted in the cold and dreary months of winter. I rejoiced along with her when Demeter’s sorrow transforms to joy as she is reunited with her daughter for a few short months each year, and the glorious days of summer return to the land.

Well, those of us who reside in the Pacific Northwest are quite familiar with Demeter’s tears for a good portion of the year. But all is not lost. The warm rays of summer’s sun have been blessing my little part of the universe lately, and just like Demeter, my mood has brightened considerably.

Today’s post is actually a tutorial of sorts. (For you homeschoolers out there, this is a great garden project. It works well for any age group.) Years ago when my teenage kidlin’s were wee tots, I read an article in Family Fun magazine about how to grow potatoes in a garbage can. and I was immediately intrigued. I mean how cool would it be to tell your family and neighbors that the potatoes they were eating were grown in such an unusual vessel? Well, to my surprise, a friend of mine actually saw the same article and gave it a go. She’s a very successful gardener, and really raved about this method. This is a great method to produce a very large yield. I tucked this away in my memory banks as something to try.

Fast forward to this past weekend, when I was getting ready to plant my potatoes. I’ve been holding onto these spuds for a while as I particularly liked them and wanted to grow them myself from this particular bunch. It’s been far to wet to plant them until now, so you’ll notice that they’ve sprouted WAY BEYOND what is normally planted. Plus, I usually cut the potatoes up and just plant pieces of them, making sure each piece has a spouted eye on it. Still, these overly zealous sprouted potatoes were in great shape so ... waste not, want not.

Here’s what you need:

1 large plastic garbage can (I used a 20 gallon one which is on the small size. Feel free to go bigger)
Drill for making drainage holes in can
Garden fabric or large rocks, pieces of pottery etc. for blocking draining holes
Gardening Soil – lots
Potatoes that have sprouted. (remember: you can cut the potatoes in half or thirds before planting making sure each piece has a sprouted bit on it)

Let's begin. Gather your kidlin's and let this be their project!Turn your garbage can upside down. Using a power drill, cut out drainage holes in the bottom of your can. Hubbyman did this for me. These holes are small, and so he positioned nine small holes as shown.Next, you’ll need to cover the holes to keep the dirt from coming out just as you would for a potted plant.I choose to use yard fabric, but large stones or pieces of broken pottery would work just fine. Use what you’ve got.

Now dump in about 12” of gardening soil into the bottom of your can, breaking up any large clumps.Place your sprouted potato pieces on the dirt as shown.Cover with about 4” give or take, with additional soil.

Pick out a good book to read and wait for the plants to grow. In fact, you may want to pick out several books. Or take up a new hobby. Or build a deck. Or paint your house ... inside and out.

Ahem. The point is that it will take your plants a few weeks to make an appearance. Once they are about 6” tall or so, add about 3 more inches of soil covering up the leaves and everything on the bottom ½ of the plant. Repeat this process throughout the growing season until the can is almost full. Oh, and be sure to water your garbage can potatoes just as you would the rest of your garden. At the end of the growing season, dig out your potatoes, and wow your family and friends with your tale of the potatoes ala garbage can!

This is a great project for kids. It’s also perfect for those who are new to gardening or who perhaps don’t have a lot of space to grow potatoes in their yard. It’s perfect for patio gardeners, too. Like I mentioned earlier, it will produce a high yield without taking up a lot of space. Best of all, it doesn’t require a lot of hard work at all.Unlike this octo-legged fellow who’s working quite hard on its web.

So what do you think? Care to give garbage can potatoes a try?

Leapin’ Leprechauns! – Corned Beef Hash and Eggs with Mustardy Hollandaise

How was your St. Paddy’s Day? Did any little leprechauns lead you to lovely pots of gleaming gold? Today’s recipe will lead you to a pot, well a pan actually, worth its taste in gold. How does homemade corned beef hash served up with heavenly fried eggs drizzled with a golden mustardy hollandaise sound? Not quite sure? No problemo! Let me show you what I have in mind.

If you are like me, you may have some extra corned beef hanging about in your fridge. Not only did I have some left over meat from St. Paddy’s Day, but I also was in possession of a few boiled potatoes from the same meal waiting to be used up. What to do, what to do? A lovely hash sounded in order. Plus, I had just read about a mustardy hollandaise that I wanted to try, which meant that since I’d have the eggs out anyway for the sauce, I might as well fry one up, too! (Picture me wiggling my eye brows up and down!) I have such a *thing* for eggs. If I were ever stranded on an island in the middle of no where and was allowed to bring a food with me, those lovely orbs would be my first choice. ANYWAY ... back to reality ...This hash was a snap to fix. Because the potatoes were already boiled, you do have to take a bit of care when frying them that you don’t squash them. I prepared this in my handy dandy cast iron skillet, which provided great even heat and allowed the potatoes to turn a lovely golden shade in no time at all. Let’s get crackin. (Get it? Crackin? Eggs? I know. Don’t quit my day job.)

Corned Beef Hash: Serves Two

About 1 tablespoon butter
About 1 tablespoon olive oil
About 2 tablespoons diced onion
About 2 tablespoons diced green pepper
About 2 tablespoons diced red pepper
About 2 cups of leftover cubed cooked red potatoes
About 1 cup of leftover cubed cooked corned beef

Melt the butter into the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When sizzling, add the onion and peppers, and sauté for about a minute or so. Add the potatoes, turn heat down to medium and let sizzle for about 3-4 minutes. When they start to look golden, add the corned beef. Stir/fold gently with a large spoon for about another 5 minutes. Done. Because the corned beef is so highly seasoned and since the potatoes were cooked with the corned beef, I didn’t add a single spice to this.

Meanwhile, in another pan, prepare your egg. I fried mine over medium, but any style, even scrambled, would work great. Need some help in learning how to fry an egg? No worries. Here’s one of many fool proof methods for preparing fried eggs. This will produce an egg where the white is cooked, and the yolk is runny. Melt a little butter or olive oil in a non stick skillet over medium heat. When almost sizzling, crack an egg into the pan. It should sizzle right up. Lift the pan off the burner, and very gently shake the pan. Hold this position for about 30 seconds to one minute. Then put the pan back on the burner, and using a spatula, slip the spatula under the egg and gently invert the egg back into the skillet. You can tip the skillet a bit if that helps. Set the pan back on the burner and turn off the heat. Let sit for about 30 seconds, and then using the spatula, invert again.Remove from the pan and serve immediately. I like to sprinkle a little bit of seasoned salt on mine just before serving.

For the hollandaise, simply make a basic hollandaise and just before completing, stir in a generous teaspoon of Dijon mustard. I actually prefer a spicy brown mustard and so that’s what I used. If you don’t have a recipe for hollandaise, there are multiple recipes on the internet for instructing how to make this delicious sauce. Don’t be intimidated. It’s not hard at all, and the results are wonderful. It reheats well, too.Leapin’ Leprechauns! This dish was utterly delightful! I know that I emitted multiple yummy noises as I savored bite after bite. Just look at these eggs!The yolks are perfect here, and don’t you just love their deep orange color? Now I know that some folks prefer their yolks cooked hard. Again, no worries. Any type of egg would work here. You could even scramble one into the hash if you’d like! Homemade corned beef hash is just soooo amazing. It’s a thrifty way of using up leftovers, and by no means does it appear to be a “left over” dish. The mustardy sauce was simply supreme, and elevated this dish from yum to WOW!This was a great way to use up leftovers from St. Paddy’s day, and definitely put a spring in my step. Did you have any leftover corned beef? What are you making with it? Oh, and like most recipes here at It's All Gouda, this is gluten free, all the way, baby! Happy (almost) Spring!

Less Is More: aka: Cheesy Potato Slices and 38 Clove Garlic Chicken

Have you ever heard the expression, “Less is More”? This post was originally supposed to entice all of you with a mouthwatering rendition of that famous vampire-repelling chicken dish called 40 Clove Garlic Chicken. But then I was hit with a B.S. situation. Now behave, everyone. I’m referring to “Bait and Switch” not the other thing. Besides, how often do you hear me swear? I mean come on. If I ever did let loose, you’d pull me aside all the while trying to suppress your guffaws, and tell me to give it up. Some people can swear with great gusto and some people just can’t. I’m firmly entrenched in the latter category. I’ve accepted it. Excuse me while I polish my halo. Ahem. Anyway ... back to the bait and switch.

Like I said, this was to be about the 40 clove recipe. I’ve seen a handful of these recipes recently as well as a video about preparing it, and wanted to give it a go myself. Actually, I, uh, only had 38 cloves to which my husband asked with raised eyebrows if, you know, the missing two were really going to make a difference. Answer: No. No WAY. Not in this lifetime. In fact, next time, I think I’m going to make this with significantly fewer cloves. The garlic that I have is rather pungent, and despite the caramelization and simmering, the little beasties still came on super strong. And I like garlic. Love it, in fact. So even though the garlic perfumed my kitchen in the most tantalizing way while it was simmering on the stove top, this was just too much of a good thing. Perhaps if I had a mild garlic I’d consider using more, but for moi, 10 or 15 will suffice next time just fine. Plus, um, my frugal side won’t allow me to use that much of any ingredient let alone my precious garlic at one time again. For me, in this instance, less is definitely more.

So here’s the bait and switch part ... the big hit of the meal was the potatoes.It’s a less is more type of dish, and was completely, hungrily, masterfully devoured. It totally usurped the chix. The picky eaters club members ravenously chowed down, as did hubbyman. These quickly thrown together little earth tubers completely overshadowed the chicken. Don’t get me wrong, the chicken was very good, and I’ll make it again, but the potatoes were SPECTACULAR! Even better, they are economical and quick to make with regular pantry ingredients. Let’s make some potatoes.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Regular russet potatoes, sliced very thin, peel left on. (I used one per person.)
Seasoned Salt (I used Lawrey’s)
About 2 cups of cheese (Shred it yourself please! You'll make me so oh so happy if you do! I used cheddar and a wee bit of mont. jack.)
A tablespoon of canola or olive oil
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large Ziploc bag, add the oil of your choice and melted butter. Add the thinly sliced potatoes, and smoosh them around to get coated by the oil/butter mixture. I find this to be more effective than drizzling. Any excess oil and liquid from the potatoes remains in the bag and not on the baking sheet.Get a large baking sheet and spread the potatoes out in as thin and even layer as you can. The potatoes will, of course, be stacked on top of each other depending upon how many you use. If you prepare more than 5 potatoes, use two baking sheets. Now generously sprinkle the potatoes with seasoned salt. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until crispy looking.See how these are crispy looking. Crispy on the outside, yummiliously creamy on the thin inside. Turn off the oven.Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the potatoes, and keep in the oven until melted ... about 2 minutes. DONE.Hello you lovely tubers. Like I said, my kids couldn’t eat these fast enough. They had very generous servings and asked for seconds. Then they were devastated when after requesting thirds were told there was no more. I did, of course, suggest that if they were still hungry, they could choke down the teeny, tiny speck of spinach I put on their plate. That silenced the raving beasts. They did eat the chicken, but weren't crazy about it. Hubbyman liked it, though. Of course, he was wrestling the stray potato bits away from the children. I just ate with a smile on my face. It’s that halo thing again.Here’s a photo of the chicken to show how wonderful it really was. Poor thing getting totally wall-flowered by the potatoes. I used Ina Garten’s recipe as my foundation, only modifying it slightly to make it gluten free. I’ve got to say that I really don’t miss using flour to thicken sauces at all anymore. If you haven’t tried corn starch, please consider it. It makes such a satiny sauce without any heaviness to it.Just look at it here. Doesn’t the sauce look dreamy? Let me know if you want the gluten free recipe, and I’ll gladly send it to you.

Oh, and like most things here at It’s all gouda, this entire meal was gluten free, all the way baby!

Double Your Pleasure - Twice Baked Potatoes, that is!

Ah, the glorious spud. Did you hear the one about the girl potato and boy potato? It goes like this.

There once was a girl potato and a boy potato
who only had eyes for each other;
they married
and had a little sweet potato,
named Yam.

Okay, don’t judge me. Joke telling is not my forte. I do try; but mostly I’m just a “laugher” not a “teller”. My funny bone, uh, did find this a tad humorous. Hey! Remember ... no judging! :-)

What is your most favorite potato dish ever, ever, ever? Today’s recipe is so good, it’ll bump aside some of your old favorites, and take up residence, at the very least, on your favorite top five potato dish list. Two out of three of my picky eaters club members loved this. I mean LUVVVVVD this. Like the song says, two outta three ain’t bad!

These little beauties do take a bit of planning, due to the baking and all, but are easy, easy, easy to do. I’m all about the easy these days. Let’s start:

You will need:

4 large russet baking potatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided (If you have kids like mine, shred an extra cup beyond this because the little potato eaters will swipe finger loads of the yummy goodness while I’m cooking.)
5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 green onions slice thin (optional – I left it out of my kids’ servings)
½ cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, sliced into pats
Freshly ground pepper
Lawreys Seasoned Salt

Heat your oven to 400 degrees.Hello my beauties! Place your potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet.Stab said potatoes a couple times with a knife or fork; nothing personal mind you, it’s to keep the spuds from exploding in the oven as they bake. Bake potatoes for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until soft.

When potatoes are thoroughly baked, slice in half. Scoop the flesh out of each potato half leaving a canoe like shell.Place flesh in a mixing bowl and combine with butter and sour cream. Mash as you would for mashed potatoes, but leave them a little stiffer than traditional potatoes.Fold in 1 cup of cheddar cheese, bacon, seasoned salt, and ground pepper. If desired, stir in green onions.Refill the shells with the mashed mixture. Really mound it high. Sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over potatoes. Place back on baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Crank up the broiler and broil until cheese is nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Serve. Make yummy noises.Just look at this! I served ours with thin grilled rib eye steaks that I cut into strips, and broccoli. My girls devoured them, and were quite disappointed that I didn’t have “extras” to give them. My son, the carnivore, ate his, but, well, the food groups in the potato were touching and you all know how picky eaters club members feel about food groups that touch. Still, he ate it without complaint. He’s getting better about stuff like that. My youngest asked me why I don’t always make “stuff” like this, and both girls chorused that I absolutely HAD to make this again, soon. Alrighty then.

Couple things, I think next time I’ll use chives instead of green onions for a more mellow flavor. I see no reason why you can’t microwave the potatoes for the baking portion, and finish them off in the oven. These are really filling, and could stand on their own as a main dish next to a leafy, green salad.You could also leave off the final cheese topping ... but why would you want to??? It’s CHEESE. Yum!

One more thing, these are gluten free, all the way, baby!Now, who wants to double their pleasure and have a twice baked potato?

The Triple P - Paula's Pork and Potatoes

Do you ever look in your fridge and just, well, let out a ho-hum sigh? I do. Like a wind-up toy, I make the trek from the fridge to the cupboard, back to the fridge, back to the cupboard multiple times before finally acknowledging that I’m just not in the mood to whip up a masterpiece meal. It really has nothing to do with the contents of my larder; it’s usually fully stocked. I think it’s more along the lines of just being plain, old tuckered out.

As I wore out a track on the floorboards today going from fridge to cupboard and back again, I gave myself a pep talk. “Making something quick and easy could be good,” I silently murmured within my own thoughts. (Picture me tapping my finger on the side of my mouth.) “Hmm, that pork should be eaten today, and then there are potatoes just waiting to be eaten.” Ah, my inner psyche knows how to get attention. Potatoes usually make the picky eaters happy. Pork usually makes me happy. The other white meat is actually my preferred white meat.

So .... after much sighing and facial gesturing and finger-to-face tapping, I decided on a simple but flavorful BBQ pork and potato dish. This ended up being a saving-grace decision as my hubby and daughter made their own trek to the neighbors for some extended super bowl fun, thereby causing me to hold a completely cooked meal for over an hour. An hour, people! So much for just popping over for a to say hi. Be gone 45 minutes at the most. Yeah, right. They were gone almost 3 hours! That must have been one loooong helloooooo. (Actually, the neighbors are very, very nice. I was just tuckered out. And grumpy. I'm better now.)

Ahem. Anyway. This pork was very forgiving, and the sitting time actually made it more the texture of smoked pork or even a carnitas, if carnitas were served whole instead of shredded, that is. It’s hard to describe, it wasn’t dry but it wasn’t really juicy either. What is was, though, was tender and excellent. I mean really, really good. The picky eater charter club members liked it, especially my carnivore son who was displeased that I did not have enough for him to have seconds. He covertly faked like he was going to snatch his twin sister’s portion, which resulted in a loud protesting outburst by said sibling. I gave him some of mine, restored peace, and you’d have thought I just provided manna from Heaven judging by the way he ate it. The next time I make this, I’m not sure if I should serve it right away or hold it for an hour!! Here’s what I did.

6 boneless pork tenderloin chops (I prefer bone in, but hubby likes boneless)
Lawry’s Season Salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup – give or take – of your favorite thick BBQ sauce (mine is gluten free)
8 large red potatoes
½ cup butter – sliced into pats
½ cup heavy cream – generous ½ cup
Sea Salt
White pepper

Season the chops liberally with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Rub the oil over the seasoned chops and set aside. Heat up your grill (I grill year round on our gas grill), and when it reaches about 400 degrees, place the chops on the super hot grill. Close the lid, lower the temp just a bit, and grill for 5 minutes. Flip the chops, close the lid, and grill the other side for another 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and place right into a baking dish. Pour BBQ sauce over the chops and place uncovered in a preheated 350 oven for 20 minutes.

While the chops bake, make your potatoes. Select 8 large red potatoes (not the baby variety). Wash, do NOT peel, and cube into large chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt if desired. I desired. Add potatoes to the boiling water. Here’s a tip for you. Are you tired of avoiding the scalding splashes when adding veggies to boiling water. Give this a try. Put the veggies, in this case potatoes, into your strainer.Simply lower the stainer into the water, and let the veggies slide out. Easy peasy. Then save the strainer to use when it comes time to, you know, strain the cooked veggies. Boil for about 12 minutes or until cooked. Turn off the burner.

Drain thorough and put back into the hot pot. Place back on burner; the residual heat from the coils/grate will help somehow with the starches. Immediately add the butter and the heavy cream. Stir to coat. Season with sea salt and white pepper. Mash. Leave alone. Over mashing makes them wall paper paste.

Now here is where I would plate and serve them right away.In our case, however, we waited an hour for hubbyman and football fan #3 to return home, with everything staying warm in the oven. They still turned out fabulous.See what I mean? Not dry, not juicy, but oh so tender and all gooooood. The sauce really thickened up during the waiting period. Mmmmmm ... yummilicious. Oh, one more thing. This was gluten free, all the way, baby!

So, I have two questions for you. Well, it’s more than two, but, you know, some of them go together.

1) Have you ever had to hold a meal? How’d it turn out? Good? Flop?
2) What do you like to cook when you are just uninspired?

Let Go My Nacho -- Potato Skins!

In my never ending quest to expose my children to the culinary benefits of foods that touch each other, I fired up the ol’ brain cells to concoct something so terrific that even the pickiest of pickies would at least try a nibble of. Was I successful? Did we experience a breakthrough? Houston ... Did we solve a problem?

My picky eater fan club members like potatoes. They like cheese. Actually, they luuuv cheese a lot. They will also choke down plain old, don’t jazz it up, taco meat. Soooo .... why not put them together? Just this once, why not let those three items cohabitate and create Nacho Potato Skins!

I realized that I hadn’t made potato skins since, well, let’s just say it was back when Pluto was still solidly considered a planet. Still, how hard could it be? Not hard at all, is the answer. A quick internet search provided me with basic instructions. First you bake the potato, then you slice and scoop the potato, then you alternately broil and stuff and broil the potato again.

I’m not super familiar with the broiler; we’re more like acquaintances. My friend, Marjie, is a pro at the broiler. (Have you met Marjie yet? I adore Marjie. Go take a quick visit; we’ll wait. Be sure to tell her Paula said “hi”.) Having read Marjie’s broiling instructions for a while now, I figured that the time had arrived to advance my relationship with said broiler from acquaintances to friends. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s review the recipe first.

Nacho Potato Skins

Russet potatoes – one or two per person
Sea Salt
½ cup melted butter
Seasoned salt

1 ½ lbs. of cojack cheese – shred it yourself!

1 ½ lbs ground beef
taco seasoning (I used gluten free)
chicken broth

garnishes:
chopped tomatoes
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro (hi Pam!)
sour cream
avocado
salsa

Preheat oven to 350. Wash potatoes, prick each one 3 times with a knife, place whole potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake for about 1 hour or until baked through.

In the meantime, shred the cheese. Yes, please shred it and don’t buy the prepacked shredded stuff. I timed myself, and it took me not even 2 minutes to shred the cheese, including interruptions. The cheese you shred yourself melts sooooo much better than the packaged stuff. After shredding your cheese, go ahead and prepare your garnishes.

Prepare the taco meat using your favorite recipe. I used a package spice mix and substituted chicken broth in place of the water. I like chicken broth. A lot. Do you ever substitute chicken broth for water? I do. A lot. Have I said “a lot” enough in this post?

When the potatoes are finished baking, let cool slightly and slice each one in half. Even after letting them cool, they will still be tarzan hot. If you have asbestos fingers like me, you’ll be okay. Otherwise, use a hand towel to hold the potato and protect your fingers. (Have you ever seen those commercials for the OvGlove? I thought about that product as I was playing hot potato.)

Preheat your broiler. Using a small sized melon baler or teaspoon, hollow out each potato half, leaving about a ¼ inch of flesh. You’ll end up with lots of potato “pulp”. Save it for mashed potatoes or other uses. Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of the hulled potato with butter and sprinkle with season salt. Turn the potatoes cut side down, and coat the outside with butter, too. If you see a stray bit of potato, absolutely nab it and do a taste test. Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes. Remove, turn cut side up and return to the broiler for 3-4 minutes. Remove, and fill the shells with lots of cheese. Be generous. It’s cheese. It’s yummy. Pile it on. Oh, and don’t worry if you need to sneak a shred or two for a taste test. It’s okay, I won’t judge you. Top that with a couple spoonfuls of meat, and then crown it with another mountain of cheese. Then it’s back under the broiler for about 3 minutes or until melted and bubbly. I love melted and bubbly cheese. Oh, if you’re like me and discover that some cheese went onto the tray as you were filling the shells, you are in for a treat! Look at it now. All melty with no where to go. Hmmm ... just a quick tasty sample. Oh, here’s one with some stray meat. Better not let it go to waste.

Ahem. Alrighty. Now it’s time to plate your potatoes. They will be really hot, so take care when transporting them from baking tray to plate. Top with your favorite garnishes, and dive right it. I prefer the fork and knife method. My children, however, had ideas of their own.
Couple notes: You could easily substitute other fillings and meat. Bacon, of course, comes to mind. You could use chicken or steak or pork even. My kids ate theirs sans garnishes. I think these would make a lovely fancy breakfast being stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon/sausage, and cheese. And absolutely, you can use left over baked potatoes. In fact, next time I make baked potatoes, I’ll throw in a couple extra just to use for later. Oh, and this is gluten free, all the way, baby!