What's For Supper? Ribs and Twice Baked Potatoes.

I cook. That's what I do for my family. I garden so I can can and preserve it so I can cook it. Livestock either produces a food source or the money to buy the things we don't produce ourselves. My Big Guy lovingly says that "I've done so much with so little for so long, that I can do almost anything with next to nothing". My family are big eaters, so anything that can go a long way for a little becomes a favorite. Potatoes are generaly easy to grow , and in pinch cheap at the store if you buy in bulk.

I bake these at 350' for about an hour then scoop out the flesh. If you use bigger taters and it's not cooked completely that's ok. The flesh goes into a bowl with salt, pepper, butter and milk. If it wasn't quite done it can go in the microwave to finish (yes, I said the M word, sorry) or in a pan on the stove. 

Sometimes I like to fry the skins. It just gives them a fun crunch, but is totally unnecessary. Heat oil to about 375' and drop a few in at a time. Cook until they are golden then drain, skin side up, on paper towel or a paper bag.If you get ready to fill any of these and thy are not as crisp as you would like just drop back in the oil for a min.

For the filling (this is where the fun comes in), mash your starter mix, masher or hand mixer. I fill a couple of the skins with this plain mixture because between the kids and the friends that they always have coming over there are some that don't like cheese (who knew). In the rest of the mixture I add cheese, whatever I have handy and fill a few more because some don't like bacon/ham (again who knew).

The rest of the mixture get's the works. Bacon or ham, broccoli, onion, peppers what ever I came up with for that night. The great part is that you would have chopped up all the ingredients anyway. This way you can pretend that you went out of your way to suit everyone while really only breaking up you stirring. I stick these in the oven @425' until the tops get slightly brown. Maybe 15 or 20 mins. Perfect amount of time for the meat to rest, set out salsa, sour cream and some of the extra topping for anyone that fell in between a mix.