Busy weeknight dinner

Tonight was one of those nights when I needed to scramble for dinner. Eva didn’t have school since it is conference week and workers were in the house so we headed out for a movie. We saw Book of Life. Super cute- especially since it was about Mexico 🙂

Anyway we came home to workers and I looked around the kitchen trying to figure out what we would have for diner. Blake had his guitar making class and Austin had running and I knew they would come home starving. But I had planned meals all week and now we were at Thursday…. Eva and I were both hoping for a night out.

But it started to snow. And was super cold. And I had a puppy to snuggle.

Soon I realized we had the stuff to pull things together.

So this is what we had.

Garlic Parmesan Broccoli

24 ounces broccoli florets*
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
Place broccoli florets in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tender.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmesan and lemon juice

Then for the grown-ups I made this

Bacon Jalapeno Popper Twice Baked Potatoes

Bacon Jalapeno Popper Twice Baked Potatoes combine the amazing flavors of bacon, cheese, jalapenos and potatoes! How could you go wrong?
Author: Aubrey
Recipe type: Side
Serves: 8
Ingredients

4 tbsp butter
4 large baking potatoes
2 tsp seasoned salt
6 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped
8 oz. cream cheese
2 jalapenos, deseeded and finely chopped
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Instructions
First Bake

preheat oven to 425 degrees
place baking dish in oven with 4 butter to melt it
clean the potatoes and prick them with a fork on all sides
place them the hot baking dish with the melted butter and carefully roll them around to coat in the butter
sprinkle them on all sides with the seasoned salt
bake for 45 to 60, until a fork can be inserted and removed easily

Second Bake

once the potatoes are cool enough to handle but still warm but them in half length wise
scoop out the center of the potato being careful to leave some of the center attached to the skin of the potatoes for stability
place the potato centers into a med mixing bowl and mash up
add in the cream cheese, jalapeno, and most of the bacon leaving some behind for garnish
mix in ½ c of the cheddar cheese, salt and pepper
stir until all is combined
spoon the mixture back into the potato cups (skins)
top with the remaining cheddar cheese and place back into the baking dish*
bake for 10 to 15 minutes until all are warmed through and the cheese is melted on top
garnish with the remaining bacon
*if store for later, wrap tightly with plastic wrap after topped with remaining cheese and place into a freezer zip top bag.
when ready to cook make sure you let them defrost completely in the fridge and then place in 475 degree oven for 30 min covered with foil

And regular ones for the kiddos

Ingredients

8 baking potatoes, washed
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 sticks salted butter
1 cup bacon bits ( fry your own!)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Cheddar or Jack cheese (or a mix of both), plus more for topping
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3 green onions, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Rub them with the canola oil and bake for 1 hour, making sure they’re sufficiently cooked through.

Slice the butter into pats. Place in a large mixing bowl and add the bacon bits and sour cream. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F.

With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support. Lay the hollowed out potato shells on a baking sheet.

Smash the potatoes into the butter, bacon and sour cream. Add the cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and black pepper to taste and mix together well. (IMPORTANT: If you plan to freeze the twice-baked potatoes, do NOT add the green onions.)

Fill the potato shells with the filling. I like to fill the shells so they look abundant and heaping. Top each potato with a little more grated cheese and pop ’em in the oven until the potato is warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/twice-baked-potatoes-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

To round it out I made homemade mac and cheese- which really doesn’t need a recipe…

Hope your Thursday was warm with as much comfort food as mine 🙂