[Freezer] Twice Baked Potatoes

I made these a couple weeks ago and they were good.  Really good.  I concocted this recipe from the general idea of twice baked potatoes and a few different "freezer friendly" mashed potato recipes.  It seems that using milk when you make mashed potatoes for the freezer, is part of what makes them thaw weird.  Go figure.  So, while this recipe isn't exactly artery friendly, it's really yummy.  I didn't use any light sour cream or light cream cheese so I'm not sure how those substitutions would hold up in the freezer.  Maybe I'll experiment later.

[Freezer] Twice Baked Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs of baking potatoes (I chose smaller potatoes as I intended them to serve as a side dish)

2 Tbs shortening

Salt

4 oz softened cream cheese

1 Tbs Butter

2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4-3/4 cups Sour Cream

1.  Wash your potatoes and rub shortening on the skins.  Then sprinkle with salt.  This step adds a lot of flavor to the potatoes.

2.  Bake potatoes on a baking sheet (I cooked mine at 425 for an hour) until fork tender.

3.  Let potatoes cool until you can handle them.  Cut them in half and scoop out the meat of the potato into a mixing bowl.

4.  Add cream cheese, cheddar cheese and butter and mash thoroughly.  Add sour cream until your potatoes are the consistency of a thick mashed potato, or cookie dough.  Amount of sour cream will vary depending on how much potato filling you have.

5.  Fill your potatoes.  

6.  [Freezing] If you're freezing them, let them cool at this point and put the baking sheet in the freezer until they're set.  Then wrap in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and place in zip top bag to freeze.  

7.  [Baking] Place thawed (or just prepared) Twice Baked Potatoes on a baking sheet.  Add a bit of cheese to the top for looks and bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and potatoes are completely heated.  Baking time will vary by size of potatoes.   You can also add bacon bits before baking or chopped steamed broccoli or chili after baking.  

Cooking for One: These are a great dish to stash in the freezer if you're cooking for a small family or just one or two people - each can be pulled and thawed separately and easily baked in a toaster oven with a "bake" setting.

Sunday Sunshine - Time With Friends & Thoughtful Gifts

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  


My brain's a little mushy - I caught myself putting clean measuring cups in the fridge and milk in the pantry today.  So I think I'll keep this brief.  It's been a good week . . .

:: Sunshine & warm days.
:: Beautiful, thoughtful gifts.
:: Fun "thinking of you" gifts.
:: MOPs
:: Morning Out
:: Lunch with a friend.
:: Yummy cupcakes on the back porch while "kids" played.
:: A nap.
:: Evening out crafting and visiting.
:: Buddies to teach G things like how to roll down the hill in the back yard.
:: Tylenol PM & children's benadryl-ingredients for good nights of sleep during hay cutting season & final weeks of pregnancy.
:: Cold creek water.
:: Meals on the back porch.
:: When details come together and work themselves out.
:: Crossing things off the To-Do List, even when I'm completely unmotivated.

May you enjoy this week as summer quickly approaches and remember to find the gifts in your day.

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Freezer Fri-er- Saturday: Cookie Dough & Mac n' Cheese

This week sort of flew past me, but I did manage to get a couple of things in the freezer.  As the joy of the last four weeks of pregnancy settles in, my motivation to cook comes and goes so I've been very happy to begin raiding my stash of stuff from the freezer.

I made a batch of Mac-n-Cheese for the freezer and also put together come chocolate chip cookie dough to freeze up.  I'll share the Mac-n-Cheese recipe after I thaw and re-heat it if it's as good as I hope it is!

While not much has made it to the freezer this week, I've been keeping the fridge stocked with flavored yogurt cups which are the new favorite snack around here.  I also made a big pan of granola bars and cut them and bagged them individually in snack size zip-top bags so they're easy to grab snacks as well.  I made a batch of coffee for the fridge for iced coffee in anticipation of HandyMan being away for 2 days this week.  Does that count as batch cooking?

Sunday Sunshine

 Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  


This week [like so many others] has been highlighted by a lot of little things that were of great encouragement in the middle of some craziness.  I don't foresee a break in the craziness in the next couple of weeks,  I just hope to stay focused on what is really important.   Here's just a few of the things that brightened my week:


:: The "I've got your back no matter what's going on" friends
:: Flowers hanging on my front porch.
:: Black Forest Cake (made by HandyMan for Mother's Day)
:: Warm weather & sunny days
:: Baking with my little helper
:: Extra work hours
:: Un-interrupted work time
:: PB&J Picnics in the yard
:: Mom's Night Out
:: Thursday afternoon nap


So many things to be thankful for, and so often I miss them.  I hope we can all seek out the things to be thankful for this week!


Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!