Clean Eating #27: Super Easy Twice Baked Green "Dr. Seuss" Potatoes & Dip

Twice Baked Green "Dr. Seuss" Potatoes

Do you ever get to that day when you have nothing planned, and just a bunch of radnom food in your house?  Me too.  Today its even a 'snow day' so running to the store is an option I'd prefer to avoid.

I sat down and made a list of what we had left and got a brain storm.  I haven't made green potatoes in a long LONG time. 

We made them the first time a long, long time ago when my 19 year old was just practicing her newly developed reading skills with Green Eggs and Ham.  Wow.  That was a long time ago!  We spent a few days making different foods green.  Green pancakes, green banana muffins, green bread, etc.  This one, though, has lasted through the years and has been a consistent favorite!

Do your kids like green potatoes?  Do they at least like the book "Green Eggs and Ham"?  Maybe this could be a fun food at your house, too... and you could even blend the ingredients so it looked like you just 'colored' it that way... that might help!

 

My kids actually LOVE this potato dish.  They always have, and I feel fortunate that they grew up with a love for plenty of "weird" foods before they got old enough to realize that a lot of kids find that stuff 'yucky'.

Ingredients for Twice Baked Potatoes (See below for additions for dip):
I dug out the last few potatoes, I only had five small ones, but this made a fairly large amount of "potatoes" in the end.
5 small potatoes
1/4th bag of frozen spinach
1 bag of frozen broccoli florets
1/4th cup of lite sour cream
1 cup cooked chick peas
1 cup cooked Navy beans (Yay for prepped and frozen dried beans!)
Vegetable stock/broth
1/4th cup or so of grated/shredded parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
*You could use cauliflower instead of potatoes, or in addition to, if desired.

• Chop and boil potatoes with skins still on.  I've done this for years and my kids have never noticed or cared.
• When those are starting to get tender, add in the cooked beans and frozen veggies.
• When those are done, drain the water
• Add sour cream, broth, salt and pepper and mix with a mixer... or put in a blender for a smooth consistency.
• Put the potatoes in an oven safe casserole dish and top with Parmesan cheese
• Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted

Verdict:  The few tweaks I made from our original recipe made this dish so goooooooo!

What I'd do differently next time:
I'd definitely wait and add the greens until after I'd pureed the potatoes and beans together first.  I didn't care for coming across 'beans' in the middle of my potatoes, but I liked the extra fiber and protein from the beans, so I definitely wouldn't take them out.

Twice Baked Spicy Green Dip

I went ahead and pureed some of these potatoes and realized it looked like guacamole... so, I added some roasted garlic, a bit more vegetable broth, some more beans (I'll have to work it out until I find the 'perfect' texture) and some chipotle pepper powder and greated parmesan.  I toated it in the oven for just a bit to heat it and yum... cracker or veggie dip! 

Ironically, those very same girls who scarfed down a bunch of the first dish listed thought the dip looked "gross"... go figure.  Chunky green food, Yes.  Smooth green food... No.