Twice Baked Potatoes

You've had twice-baked potatoes (aka re-baked potatoes) before, right? If not, you're missing out. Gather your ingredients immediately and get cooking, because these are a-ma-zing.

Ingredients:

5 potatoes (a potato per person = 1 serving, so you can tweak ingredients as needed)

1 cup or more shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

2 green onions, chopped

1 tsp dry mustard and/or 1 tsp dijon mustard, depending on how mustard-y you like

1 tsp paprika, ground red pepper, or cajun seasoning. I used all, but that's because we like things spicy around here

Bacon pieces (optional, that comes in a jar or you can use cooked bacon)

Dash of pepper

For baking the potatoes:

1 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

Directions:

Bake potatoes. If you need directions on this, keep reading. If not, skip to the next paragraph. Under running cool water, scrub those potatoes. Dry them off thoroughly, then poke about 10 holes with a fork to let steam escape. Brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt. This will make the skin taste amazing, and that's where those nutrients are! Bake at 350F for 1 hour on a pan (flip in between).

Let potatoes cool for a few minutes before handling, or wear gloves. Cut potatoes in half, scoop out insides. Be careful not to scoop too much- you want the skin to stay intact. Mix scooped insides with all ingredients, minus some of the cheese. You can mix the bacon in now or leave it out to use as a topping- totally up to you. Scoop the filling back into the potato skins, then top with cheese/bacon.

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, then broil on "high" for 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

These are great as leftovers so I always make extra. Enjoy!

Light Penne Alfredo

There isn't much that's better than Alfredo sauce and pasta.
Just ask my brother Zach, it's all he would eat for his entire childhood.
My version is a teensy bit healthier than the average Alfredo sauce you'd order at a restaurant.

INGREDIENTS:
3 tbsp butter
1 cup Half and Half (low-fat or fat free for the healthier version, or regular if you want a creamier taste)
1 tbsp parsley
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
Dash of pepper

1/2 box penne pasta (or whatever type of pasta you prefer)

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta according to directions on box. 
Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add half and half, simmer about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and parmesan to pan while whisking. Fully mix. Add parsley and pepper, heat through. Simmer a couple minutes to allow sauce to slightly thicken.
Spoon over pasta, top with parsley and a little more parmesan if you prefer.

Serve with bread or a salad.
Makes about 4 servings

Obviously you can add whatever meat/protein you'd like... shrimp or chicken would be great in this recipe. Or you can load up the veggies and add whatever you want. It's versatile...and easy! Because, you know me, I'm all about the easy, convenient meals.

Enjoy!

High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday, everyone!

What a week it's been!

Here are my high five from the week..

{1}

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. 'Nuff said

{2}

Finally settling in to our new apartment. It's definitely a process. I'm looking forward to the time I have off so I can set up the loft area... it's going to be an office/guest room and I'm so excited!

The view from above when we were moving in... it freaks me out but I love the tall ceilings!

{3}

TV. This can pretty much be included in every week's high five. I can't get enough of Revenge. It's been my favorite show since it began last year. I'm hooked. I want to start watching again from the beginning, and I usually hate watching things more than once. Also, Grey's this week! I missed it last week and it was great as always!

{4}

My bloggy friend Dani sent me a package! A glitter owl, herbs from her garden, and Scentsy samples! It totally made my week :)

{5}

I can't believe it, but this is my last day of work at my current job. I'm sure the day will be filled with tears. It's also full of nerves, excitement, and fear for my new opportunity, so I'm feeling a lot of different things at once.

I also get a full week of nothing next week before I start the new job. No work, no responsibilities... I've never had a vacation like this. No worrying about the things I have to get done at work when I return because I won't be returning. No checking work email on my phone and getting sucked back into it, no work cell phone on 24/7, NONE OF IT. It's going to be really hard to get away from all of it after 4 1/2 years. To get myself out of that "groove". To lose my downtown Inner Harbor parking. (Yeah, there were serious perks to this job I'll definitely miss! Ha!) Most of all not seeing the pretty faces of my amazing co-workers who had turned into a second family! I'm going to miss those ladies so much! I'm going to miss my kids who I've seen grow and change and am so proud of.

It'll definitely be an adjustment but I'm as ready as I can be... I'm also going to miss this lil office!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Turkey Cheeseburger Casserole

A casserole with turkey, packed with vegetables, and topped with biscuits?

Yeah, it's is as good as it sounds. 

Chris and I came up with this while attempting to make a "sloppy joe casserole".

Whatever we ended up making was so much better.... and the Turkey Cheeseburger Casserole was born!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (or beef, whatever you prefer. You could even use "fake" meat if you're a vegetarian)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 large carrot

1 celery stock

1/2 small white onion

1/2 green pepper

4 tbsp Barbecue sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

Italian spices/any spices you prefer

1 package Pillsbury Grand Jr Biscuits

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Chop all veggies into very small pieces. Brown turkey in pan. When almost cooked, drain fat and add back into pan. Add vegetables, cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add barbeque and worcestershire sauce, along with the brown sugar and spices and stir well. Simmer for a couple minutes. Transfer to greased 8x11 casserole dish. Top with cheese.

Cut each biscuit in half, place on top of the meat and cheese. Leave room because the biscuits will spread.

Bake for 20-25 minutes

Enjoy!