Meat and Potatoes Vegetarian Style

I grew up with a mom that cooked a lot, so I know the basics, but everything I have been doing recently is new to me. A lot of my cooking so far is a combination of what I know from watching my mom and guesswork. I have been surprised at how simple cooking can be. I tell people that I now cook almost all of my meals at home and they ask me where I get the time and energy. How can I possibly make my own tomato sauce from scratch after working all day? I tell them that very little of my time is actual work. I would say on average for a meal I would spend about 15 minutes prepping. The rest of the time is spent waiting for the meal to cook or do whatever it needs to do so I can eat it.

So, I got a little excited about the beautiful broccoli that was available at the farmers market this past Saturday. I bought way to much for two people to eat so I am trying to incorporate it in every dish I make this week. I had some leftover potatoes from last week so I decided I would try my hand at some twice baked potatoes.

I coated four potatoes in Olive oil and put them in a metal pie dish in a 400 degree oven. They were a little small so I put them in for 40 min. When they were finished I let them cool while I steamed my broccoli. I cut the potatoes in half and scooped out the potato in a large bowl. Some of the skins weren't very cooperative but it isn't noticeable once the stuffing is in them.

After I scooped them I put the skins back in the pie plate and then took the bowl and added the broccoli, about three tbsp of sour cream, about 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of colby-jack cheese and salt and pepper to taste. I mashed it all up and then scooped it back into the potatoes. After they were all back in the pie dish I put a little more cheese on top and baked them for 15 min.

I served the potatoes with a Quorn chik'n cutlet and some steamed carrots. If you haven't tried Quorn, it is amazing. I am not a big fan of fake meat, but these cutlets are really good. I just pan fry them in a little bit of olive oil and they are the perfect replacement for chicken. Yum!