There is no sweeter sound to a mama’s ears than your kid saying, “Heezergud!” while they chow through something homemade. (For those who don’t speak Mouthful, that’s “These are good!”) When you have a teenager, those compliments are hard to come by, as everything is met with either a shrug or a sullen “fine” when you ask how they like it. This was the high praise received for #22 French Breakfast Puffs. I quite liked these myself, one, because the most exotic ingredient was shortening, so I can easily whip these up on any given Sunday, and two, because they are coated in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar! How can you go wrong there? (Clearly, I am still rounding up recipes I prepared earlier in the year, prior to kicking off my pre-wedding diet.) If you’re looking for a weekend treat, look no further than these puffy, sugary donuts disguised as muffins! Because muffins are healthier, right??
Ah, potatoes. I miss you. I’m 10 pounds closer to my goal weight, but I miss CHEESY POTATOES!! #23 Twice-Baked Potatoes, takes your good ol’ steakhouse loaded baker and doubles down on the yumminess. Not only do they contain butter (TWO STICKS!!), bacon, green onions, and cheese, but also sour cream and milk blended in, along with tasty seasoned salt and pepper. It’s the best of baked potatoes and mashed potatoes smooshed together! These are a little labor intensive, since you have to bake them early enough to let them cool and scoop out the innards, then mix up the filling and re-stuff the skins, but the result is absolutely worth the extra effort. I have yet to figure out how to lighten this recipe up, because I refuse to skimp on a single delicious ingredient. Just hide your scale!
And now, to pasta. I was surprised during my trip through the last cookbook, Magnolia Table, that Chicken Spaghetti was among the biggest hits for the family. When I made Pioneer Woman’s version, it actually got even higher marks! Of course, I didn’t leave the recipe alone, because life is too short to eat pimientos. I ditched those, but included finely diced, fresh red pepper instead. I’ve come a very long way from when I used to substitute tomatoes any time red pepper was required! (They’re both red, right??) I continued to take a stand against green bell peppers. Just. No. Aside from those modifications, I stuck to the written directions, which meant that this meal was almost entirely effortless; a store-bought rotisserie chicken and some cans of cream of mushroom did most of the work, and conveniently I was able to use previously chopped “mise en place” veggies (a.k.a. leftover ingredients from Breakfast Bowls, to be discussed later!) We are a saucy sort of family, meaning we adore food swimming in sauces, dressings, drizzles, glazes, what-have-you. Dry is the enemy of yummy, and in this case if the soup didn’t make the casserole moist enough, the handy addition of pasta water kicked it up a notch. Chicken Spaghetti has now earned a firm place on my Comfort Food Hall of Fame!
I’m telling you, writing this blog while on a diet is sheer torture! But remembering these beauties is blissful… You do NOT need to venture out to your local pub in order to enjoy heavenly PW Potato Skins. These are remarkably similar to the aforementioned Twice Baked version, but the biggest difference is the treatment of the skins, my favorite part. You start the same exact way, baking taters until they are soft enough to hollow out, but then you brush the hulls with canola oil and salt and give them a nice char in a hot oven. Once they are crispety-crunchety, throw on some chopped bacon and cheese, broil for a few more minutes, and voila! Heart attack on a plate, but I’m willing to risk it. Don’t forget to dip them in sour cream! Then maybe have a salad… Even I know when enough is enough!
Have Book, Will Cook 