Stuffed Baked Potatoes for the Young and the Older - Susie Fishbein

I have not seen many children's cookbooks and certainly, I have not studied them, carefully, until today.  When I too out my Susie Fishbein books, I included Kids in the Kitchen.  I loved its look, large fonts, clear photos, lots of color and careful instructions.  Knowledge of any cooking technique is not taken for granted.

The recipe is broken down in three distinct sections, Equipment List, Ingredients and  Method or Procedure.  These recipes hold the interest of even adults, or at least, this adult.

I had decided that for dinner, we were going to have stuffed baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese sauce.  I thought to look into Susie's cookbooks to find a new recipe and I did, in Kids in the Kitchen. The recipes, meant for kids, are geared to us also.

This stuffed potato had three choices and certainly, with a number of people, this would be fun to have with all the choices.  For the two of us, I made two of the choices.  I omitted the broccoli because, I have made something similar, for years.

Baked Stuffed Potatoes

4 medium sized potatoes
olive oil

Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Ingredients:

Sour Cream and Chives Topper

1/2 cup sour cream
6 chives, chopped (I used more since we picked them from the garden.)

Salsa Cheddar Topper

1/2 cup bottled salsa or your own
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

Broccoli Cheddar Topper

1 cup broccoli florets
2 teaspoons flour
2 teaspoons milk
salt to taste

Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
Scrub each potato to make sure it is clean.  (good advice for the kiddies)
With a knife, cut a large deep X into the top of each potato.  Place potatoes on baking sheet.
With a pastry brush, brush olive oil all over, each potato. (I skipped this step.)
Place into oven and bake for one hour.

With paper towels, to protect your fingers, push the ends of the potatoes to the center to open the slit more fully and help fluff the potatoes.

Prepare topper of choice,

Sour Cream Chive - Place sour cream in small bowl.  Snip the chives into tiny pieces and add to sour cream.  Stir to combine.  Place large spoonful into the slit of the potato.

Salsa Cheddar - Place 1/4 cup of salsa into the slit of each potato.  Top with 1/3 cup of Cheddar.  Return potatoes to oven for five minutes, until cheese is melted.

Broccoli Cheddar - Chop florets into 3/4 inch pieces.  Place into small pot.  Add water to cover.   Bring to boil over medium heat.  Cook about five minutes until tender.  (I would have cooked them in microwave.)
Strain and return broccoli to pot and add cheese.  Place flour into small bowl.  Add milk and stir to dissolve.  Add flour mixture to pot.  Add salt.
Heat over medium, stirring with wooden spoon until cheese melts.  Pour into potato slits.

   Linda, thanks for catching that and letting me know.