TWICE BAKED TATERS

Well, it's HOT in Florida.

How hot is it?

It’s so hot, my thermometer goes up to “I’m not kidding.” 

But it could be worse.

 

So, let's go into the kitchen and do some fun stuff.

To day we are going to make a batch of Twice Baked Potatoes. Yeah, I know this is about as easy as it gets. BUT, they are nice to have in the freezer for those nights (every night) when you don't want to go out to eat.

There is no real recipe for these but I would like to give you a few tips.

NOTE: These pictures were taken during two cooking sessions, so some of the dishes will look different, and the old counter tops were still in place.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Get some really BIG taters. I like the RUSSETS for baked taters. We got this batch from SAMS, just get a bunch of BIG ONES.

The first time I made these, I opted for my regular baked potato recipe. I punched a bunch of holes in each one with a fork, then rubbed them with oil. 

I discovered that it made the skin too moist and they tended to come apart when I scrapped out the tater part.

I just love the word 'tater'.

 See what happened?

So this time I simply poked the holes, and put them on a covered baking sheet.

Stick them dudes in the oven and cook until the internal temperature shows 190 or so. Time will depend on the size, mine cooked for 2 hours. You DO have a 'Themo Pin?”

Have a beer. 

 

And play with the president.

 "Gee Dad, what toy should we play with"

When the taters are cooked, cut them in half and let them cool for about ten minutes. Don't wait too long or they wont mash correctly.

Using a tablespoon (and a pot holder) CAREFULLY scrape out the tater part, leaving the skin in tact. Don't worry about getting it all, you want the skin to still be firm.

Now you can start mashing. We heat up some heavy cream. We start with a potato masher and mash.

ADD some butter and part of the cream and mash a bit more. You can also add a bit of sour cream if you like.

I don't

Now you can move on to the mixer. Add some salt & pepper and mix.

ADD more cream and butter until you get the consistency the way you want it.

Add Salt & Pepper to taste.

And you thought twice baked taters were fancy and hard to do.... DUH

Now that the taters are mashed up, you can use a spatula or a wide butter knife to spread the mashed up taters back into the skins.

Add two nice pats of butter, and you are DONE.

Put them in the freezer uncovered until they start to freeze. Then you can wrap them in foil without smashing them.

When needed, pull them puppies out of the freezer and throw them in a 350 degree oven until they are good and hot.

Enjoy.

Live long and prosper

CHICKEN POT PIE IN THE SLO COOKER

     Today, we are going to whip up a quick and easy Chicken Pot Pie in the Slo cooker.

     I am always looking for quick and easy recipes. I found this on the delish.com site and made a few modifications to make it a little more my style.

    This is another recipe you can make while in the middle of a kitchen re-model. All you need is an oven and a slo -cooker.

 (no sink, no problem)

     Here are the ingredients
     

1 CUP OF DICED CARROTS

1 CUP DICED ONION

1 CUP FROZEN PEAS

1 CUP FROZEN CORN

2 LBS BONELESS CHICKEN THIGHS

(CUT IN BITE SIZE PIECES)

2 CANS OF CREAM OF CHICKEN CONDENSED SOUP

1 CAN OF CREAM OF MUSHROOM CONDENSED SOUP

1 8 OZ CAN OF MUSHROOMS

2 CUPS WATER

SALT & PEPPER

1 TSP GARLIC POWDER

1 TSP CELERY SALT

1 Tube of Pop N Fresh Biscuits (Your choice) I used GRANDS

 Got it all together ??? Good let's start.

First things first.

    

Pour carrots, onion, mushrooms, and corn into the slo cooker.

Add the soup 

Add chopped up chicken, season with salt and pepper.

Cover with lid and cook for 6-8 hours on low (or 4-5 on high)

Have another beer, and play with the dog. 

After 4 hours, check to see if it is too watery. If so don't despair, Just make a slurry.

2 TBL AP Flour. And 2/3 cup of water. Add to a jar with a lid and shake shake shake to combine. Pour in the crock pot. The flour mixture will help thicken the mixture.

When time almost up, pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the biscuits on a cookie sheet (according to the directions) until nice and brown.

Ladle the pot pie mixture into a bowl. Top with a couple of biscuits and enjoy'. 

At first I was disappointed. It was not near thick enough. It tasted fine, but I did not care for the watery texture. The original recipe called for you to put the uncooked biscuits on top of the mixture,  then put the slo cooker insert in the oven. I put the mixture in a casserole dish and added the biscuits.

This made the biscuits too "soggy" and they did not cook all the way through. So I advise to make them on s sheet THEN add them just before serving.

Well, as I said I was not pleased with the results BUT I discovered they were better as a left over.

Two days later, I threw them in the micro wave and found the pie had gotten thicker. And for some reason tasted better the second time around. 

Final thought. It was fine for a quick and easy. If I had to do it all over again, I would make the Chicken A La King recipe I made a couple of years ago. A lot more involved but well worth the effort.

http://killitcutitupandcookit.blogspot.com/2017/09/chicken-al-la-king.html

See you next time

Live long and prosper