Family Meals Month
by: Jacqueline Gomes, RD, MBA
Weeknight dinners are hard, no doubt about it! If you want your family to join you – that may feel near impossible! However, with just a few ingredients and a plan, you can make it happen.
How you say?
- Start with a few convenience staples like canned beans, cooked shrimp, rotisserie chicken, pre-washed cut up veggies and even pre-prepped starches like rice, potatoes and pasta.
- While it’s tough to get everyone to sit down at the same time, one-pot meals make it easy to reheat later in the evening, take along in a thermos or container and makes clean up that much easier
- Don’t limit yourself to traditional dinner meals. Lunch meals like salads, sandwiches and soups work great as quick weeknight meals as well!
- Baked potatoes are make ahead friendly and work easily with just about any protein.
Spinach & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes
Prep: 1.5 hours
Bake: 20 minutes
Makes: 10 Servings
Ingredients:
- 5 Russet Potatoes (about 8-10 ounces each)
- 1/3 cup 1% milk
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach, fully thawed
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup sweet onion minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher Salt & pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. wash & scrub potatoes; wrap each potato is aluminum foil, pierce with a fork or knife and bake for 1 ½ hours or until tender.
- Allow potatoes to cool for about 15 minutes, cut each potato lengthwise in half. Scoop out potato, leaving 1/4-inch thick shells. In a large bowl, add potato, milk, butter, salt and pepper – mash with a fork or potato masher. Now add onion, spinach, cheese and combine well.
- Spoon mixture into potato shells; return to baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.