As a self-described Lazy Cook, I freely admit when I am looking at a recipe, the first thing my brain looks for is not how delicious or what ingredients or how much it feeds or wine pairings. No, it is already wondering what shortcuts can be made to make it easier or faster to cook. This is why I don't have a show on a cooking channel. This is also why I don't waste a lot of time in the kitchen unless I am cleaning or eating. Cooking = no time wasted here.
Take this recipe, for example. I am in the process of organizing 20 years' worth of recipe detritus. The process is simple. I make the recipe. If it is good, I keep it. If it is not, I toss it. In tennis tournament parlance, single elimination. No consolation round. If it is my fault the dish is bad, too bad. Any recipe I keep better be bullet proof! No Julia Child Fancy French Cooking in my house!
So, back to the recipe. This one floats to the top of the rotation and it looks easy enough. I plan on having it for dinner the other night but as usual have not a) paid attention to detail, or b) planned for said details prior to preparing dinner at around 6pm. So when I see 'bake potatoes for one hour' the usual Oh Crap, Go To Plan B kicks in.
This was an easy fix thanks to microwave technology.
Sweet Mother of Pearl, seriously, what would we do without the microwave??? 10 minutes nuking and three big potatoes (of course I did not plan correctly and only had three) were just right, turned out fine. Another minor adjustment: I was also out of sour cream but scrounged around in the fridge and came up with a container of spreadable cream cheese. In it went. Also had no green onions. Left them out. No problem! Are you starting to see why I don't have a show on a cooking channel?
This baby is rich and creamy - just look at all that butter, flour, potato, sour cream (or in my case, cream cheese), cheese. At least there's a sprinkling of bacon in there for the protein portion of our show. It's a miracle I even made this for myself, because Carbs Are The Devil. But it was easy and delicious. Be sure to use a big pan like a Dutch oven - it makes a lot. Final word of warning here: if you are on a low-carb diet, No Soup For You!
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