The Baked Potato Bar

 

 Have you ever had a little of this and little of that, lying around the kitchen?  Some nice veg maybe, but not enough to feed the family.  A case of several elements not ample enough to provide for the hungry on it's own, yet potential enough to combine with other small portions to make a nice meal?  This is what happened to us on Friday night.

Short on time for the weekly food shopping, and not really enough of anything in the fridge to make a nice spread, we cooked up some baking potatoes and set out a potato bar.  And what a hit with the family, especially the kiddies. 

Here's how it went - we rubbed the baked potatoes with olive oil and baked at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes, until the skins were nice and crispy and the insides soft and fluffy.  While the potatoes baked, we prepared bowls of toppings: steamed broccoli, sauteed mushrooms and shallots, grated cheddar, crunchy bacon and sour cream.  Each family member took a plate with a potato and topped as desired. The only guideline we gave: a vegetable must appear on the plate in some form. 

Our youngest, the fussy-from-time-to-time eater, made a broccoli tower to top his spud, added a little cheddar to the peak and happily munched away declaring this a meal that must be eaten each week. The eldest, so hungry after his playground football game, covered his potato with random bits of everything and was done in a matter of minute.  I think we've decided to add this to our weekly rotation of meals for a few weeks.  It was fun, easy and pleasing to each person in their own way.  

What types of top-your-own-foods do you serve to your family?  Perhaps we can all share our ideas with one another and add a new meal to our roster this week.  Happy Monday, lovely readers!

photo courtesy of Martha Stewart, www.marthastewart.com

Comments

[maria]

we just made these a few weeks ago and they were also a hit. The other bar we do is a salad bar with leftover roasted chicken, some fruit, some veggies, some cheese, lettuce, sunflower seeds etc. The picky child who says she doesn't like salad always manages to eat thirds.

[Sophie]

Fajitas (vegetarian or chicken) around here are the "make your own" type of meal. We also have the homemade pizzas we I will set all the toppings and everyone can have a pizza to their own taste.

I love the baked potato bar!

[Holly]

Growing up we would have pizza night. My mom would lay out pita bread and we would put on how much sauce, cheese and toppings we each wanted. A little bit in the oven and we each had personal pizzas. This was the go to with 4 hungry kids, 3 of which were boys!