The absence of bacon in these vegetarian potato skins is offset a bit by the flavor of the smoked cheddar.
I’d need a nutritionist to do the math for me to say for sure, but there might be a nice little dose of Iron in this snack. Potatoes and their skins supposedly have a relatively high level of Iron (for a vegetable) and the Vitamin C in the broccoli might be enough to help boost the Iron’s absorption.
When all is said and done though, I just love potato skins. And even though there is broccoli in the mix, my three-year-old does too!
4 medium russet potatoes
1/2 cup grated smoked white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated orange cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
4 broccoli florets, cooked and chopped (about 1/3 cup)
Salt to taste
Sour cream or greek-style yogurt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and bake the potatoes for 40-60 minutes, depending on their size. When a knife inserted into a potato meets little resistance, they are done. Remove from oven and allow to cool until they are easy to handle. Leave the oven on.
Meanwhile, mix the cheeses, chili powder, and broccoli in a small bowl. Set aside.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out the potato’s flesh leaving about 1/4 inch of the flesh attached to the skin. Cut each potato skin into halves or thirds depending on the size of the potato and your preference. I made them on the smaller side in order to accommodate small hands.
Spread the potato skins out on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the skins. Bake at 400 degrees Farenhiet for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt if desired. Serve with sour cream or greek-style yogurt if desired.
Yield: 22 potato skins
Prep-time: 15 minutes
Bake-time: 50 minutes
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This is easy and delightfully yummy, especially if you are a fan of grapefruit. The inspiration for this particular flavor combination came from the Amateur Gourmet’s Grapefruit Granita which has some nice photos of the preparation process that might be helpful if you’ve never made Granita before.
I’m guessing that grapefruit might not be every kid’s favorite fruit. My kids liked it. But more and more I’m thinking they are being reprogrammed by my endless snack experiments – another unexpected benefit of blogging.
Juice from 3 red grapefruits
Juice from 1 blood orange
1/4 cup agave nectar
Pour the juices into a medium mixing bowl. Add the agave nectar and whisk vigorously for a minute or two in order to make sure the agave has dissolved.
Trasfer the grapefruit mixture to a baking pan somewhere around the 8 x 8-inch size. It can be metal or glass. Cover with plastic wrap and move to your freezer. Allow to freeze overnight.
Before serving, scrape and scratch the frozen grapefruit mixture with a fork, creating little flakes of ice in the process. Serve in cups or bowls.
Yield: 3-4 cups
Prep-time: 10 minutes
Freezer time: 8 hours
These are so good! I have yet to make my own chocolate-hazelnut spread. But it is completely on my list of things to do.
2 slices whole grain bread
1/2 of a ripe banana, sliced into 1/4″ slices
1 tablespoon Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread
1 teaspoon butter, divided
Preheat a saute pan over medium heat.
Place the banana slices on one slice of bread. Spread the nutella on the other slice of bread. Put the nutella slice of bread on top of the banana slice with the nutella side down.
Melt 1/2 teaspoon of the butter in the saute pan and swirl it around the bottom of the pan. Cook the sandwich for a few minutes or until golden brown. Remove the sandwich. Add the rest of the butter to the pan. Return the sandwich and cook the other side for a couple more minutes.
Cut the sandwich into small squares or shapes as your whim dictates. Serve. Allow to cool a few minutes if you are feeding young ones.
Yield: 1 sandwich
Prep-time: 10 minutes
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I’m not totally sure if this recipe is post-worthy. But my youngest just devoured several of them . I’m sure the chocolate sauce didn’t hurt, but still it is out of character for her to eat several of anything. I think this would be a nice treat for toddlers. To top it all off, I used up an over-ripe banana and some leftover rice. Bonus!
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For directions on how to cook a sweet potato in the microwave, see my recipe for Halloween Mush.
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Ahh, glorious sweet potato, how I love thee. You are an inexpensive and highly nutritious veggie whose day job is being a carb. What could be better?
Honestly, these appear as a side dish more often than a snack at my house. But why not make these instead of slaving over a batch of cookies?
2 medium organic sweet potatoes or yams
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Scrub sweet potatoes clean. Cut into sticks approximately 3 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Place sweet potato sticks in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and salt over sweet potatoes and toss to coat.
Spread sweet potatoes out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until soft and browning where in contact with the pan.
Allow to cool a few minutes on the pan. Serve with ranch dressing.
Yield: 5 cups (6-7 servings)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Baking time: 35-45 minutes
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