Thursday’s Dish: Potatoes Stuffed with Caramelized Onions and Dubliner Cheese… and a Giveaway!

**This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

Any mama knows it’s hard to get a healthy and delicious meal on the table every night. Some days, the stars line up, your kiddos are self-entertaining (or your partner arrives home early), and the magic happens, but most days — let’s face it — dinner prep can be pretty ugly. That’s why I love meals I can make ahead and then just throw in the oven or quickly reheat on the stovetop right before chow time. Enter the fabulous, full-of-ideas, and chock-full of healthy recipes Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher… and read on to the end for your chance to win a copy!

I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical at first. Sure, freezer meals have their place. Most people try to stock the freezer with healthy meals before having a baby, since you know you’ll have neither time nor inclination to cook for weeks (or, okay, months). But for a regular weeknight meal? I can’t eat frozen lasagna that often. Upon perusal, though, the recipes turned out to be mouth-watering and easy to prepare, and I found myself intrigued. Once I tried my first recipe from the book, Potatoes Stuffed with Caramelized Onions and Dubliner Cheese, I was sold.

The flavors were bold and harmonious, and both the grown-ups and kids approved of the final product. Best yet, I was able to get a delicious and nutritious meal on the table in no time flat on what turned out to be one of those not-so-perfect days. Gotta love that!

The book includes other intriguing recipes like Seasoned Steak with Gorgonzola-Herb Butter, Hoisin-Glazed Salmon Fillets, Individual Greek Egg Casseroles and more. My family has been eating from this cookbook all week long, and there have been no complaints yet! Best of all, for our family of three, one recipe usually makes enough for two meals — so I still have quite a freezer stash for rainy days to come.

My favorite recipe so far, though, is the first one I tried — those delicious twice-baked potatoes. I baked the thawed potatoes and roasted some broccoli crowns right on the same cookie sheet, which made for an amazingly easy and delicious meal. We’re pleased to share the recipe here — make and enjoy!

Potatoes Stuffed with Caramelized Onions and Dubliner Cheese
Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead & Freeze Cookbook
Recipe © 2013 by Jessica Fisher and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press

Twice -baked potatoes reach new heights of deliciousness with the addition of caramelized
onions and sharp Dubliner cheese. Since these potatoes freeze and reheat so well, it’s worth
making a big batch so you can enjoy an elegant potato dish any night of the week. Serve
these stuffed potatoes with a side salad. You can substitute sharp cheddar cheese for the
Dubliner if you’d rather.

Packaging: Plastic wrap, gallon-size zip-top freezer bags

Ingredients
• 8 large baking potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Dubliner or sharp cheddar cheese
• 1⁄4 cup (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Pierce each potato several times with a fork. Bake the potatoes in the oven at 350°F for 1
hour or until tender, or microwave them until cooked through. Set the potatoes aside until
cool enough to handle.

2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the
onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent. Turn the heat to low, cover,
and cook 5 minutes more. Remove the lid and stir. Continue to cook until the onions start to
brown lightly around the edges. Remove the pan from the heat and set the mixture aside to
cool.

3. Cut 1⁄4 inch off the top of each baked potato and discard or reserve for another use.
Scoop out the insides of each potato, leaving a 1⁄4-inch-thick shell. Place the scooped-out
potato in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher.

4. Stir the onion mixture, sour cream, 3 ⁄4 cup of the Dubliner cheese, the butter, parsley,
salt, and pepper into the mashed potatoes. Stir well to combine.

5. Fill the potato shells with the mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1⁄4 cup of Dubliner cheese
over the tops of the potatoes.

Freezing instructions:
Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature. Wrap each potato in plastic wrap and
place the potatoes in freezer bags. Chill in the refrigerator before freezing.

To thaw and serve:
Thaw the potatoes in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Unwrap the potatoes
and place them on a baking sheet. Reheat the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated
through. Serve immediately.

***

Disclosure: LiveMom received a copy of Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook to review.

Would you like to win a copy of Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher AND a bonus copy of Not Your Mother’s Casseroles by Faith Durand? Leave a comment or fill out the form below by Friday, March 14, 2012 at 9:00a.m. CST. One winner will be chosen via Random.org. The winner will be notified by email with 24 hours to respond. You must be 18 years of age to enter. There is no cash value. By leaving a comment or submitting the form below, you agree to the above terms.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://www.livemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/lauren.jpg[/author_image] [author_info] Lauren Walz is a freelance writer and editor and mama to a two-year-old girl. While she’s quick to brag about being a fifth-generation Texan, Lauren moved to Northern California in 2004 after graduating from UT Law and lived in the Silicon Valley area until last spring, when she and her family were drawn back to Austin. Lauren is busy getting re-acquainted with her old stomping grounds and is astonished by how the food and wine scene has changed in Austin in the past 8 years. Lauren also blogs about cooking and parenthood on gourmetveggiemama.com.[/author_info] [/author]