My go-to dinner

When it comes to dinner, I am not that creative. Cooking isn't one of my favorite things to do. If I could get away with just baking and eating desserts without gaining a million pounds I would. I have a couple go-to dinners that I rotate through. One is mini meatloaves with twice baked potatoes (which I always end up making into mashed potatoes because it's annoying to scoop out the potatoes without ruining the shells). Here are the recipes:

Mini Meatloaves
(this recipe is designed for 2 people, so if you have more than 2 you'll have to increase the measurements)

1 Tablespoon milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lb ground beef (I always use ground turkey...still delicious and less fat)
2 Tablespoons oatmeal (you could use bread crumbs)
1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon BBQ sauce (I've never actually added this to the recipe)
Strips of cheese, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat milk, egg and Worcestershire sauce with a fork. Mix in meat, oatmeal, salt and pepper. Shape into two equal sized meatloaves. Place in square pan. Brush loaves with BBQ sauce.

Bake 18-22 minutes or until meat is fully cooked. If using cheese, place cheese strips on top of loaves. Let stand 5 minutes.

Twice Baked (Mashed) Potatoes

2 potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons butter
Up to 2 Tablespoons milk
1 green onion, minced (I omit this because I don't like onions)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon bacon bits
2-3 Tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese

Bake the potatoes. A shortcut for 2 potatoes is to microwave them for 6 minutes and then bake them in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. This allows them to come out perfectly and in less time than just baking them in the oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut hot potato in half lengthwise. Scoop pulp into bowl, leaving enough in skin to hold potatoes shape. (Or be lazy like me and just mash up the whole potato...Charles likes the skins, so I include some). Beat potatoes until smooth. Add butter and sour cream. Beat until blended. Add milk to moisten potato mixture. Add green onion and bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into skins (or if you're doing it my way, just scoop the potato mixture into a baking dish). Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

* This post was shared on the following Link Parties:

Reasons to Skip the Housework