Often enough

Some nights we have fancy, schnazzy dinners. But more often than not we have something that's fly by the seat of my pants, give in to cravings, quick dinners thrown together in a matter of moments.

This dinner was spurred by my desire to have stir fried green beans. Why? I have no idea. But I woke up in the morning and decided I wanted stir fried green beans. So then I worked backwards and started thinking about what I would serve with it. My go to meal of choice would be chicken, but I forgot to pull some breasts from the freezer. In fact, I didn't have any meat in the fridge and the hour was getting later and later and I showed no signs of finishing up at work any time soon. Luckily from my years of 90 minute commutes, Thatboy became an expert at making baked potatoes. We started out slowly with me walking him through each step over the phone. By now all it takes is a little prompting. "How do you make a potato? And then? And then?" He can give me each step with confidence. And it's easy enough. I swear by the Alton Brown recipe that yields crisp outsides and soft, fluffy insides. All it takes is time.


Stir Fried Green Beans

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups green beans, washed and trimmed

1. Combine soy sauce, chicken broth, and corn starch in bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Add green beans and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add sauce mixture and cook for another minute or two until sauce thickens.

Serves 2.
Each serving has:

Calories		149.2
Total Fat		7.8 g
Total Carbohydrate		13.2 g
Protein		8.8 g

Baked Potatoes (from Alton Brown)

• 2 large russet potatoes
• Canola oil to coat
• Kosher salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and position racks in top and bottom thirds.
   
2. Wash potatoes thoroughly with a stiff brush and cold running water.
   
3. Dry, then using a standard fork poke 8 to 12 deep holes all over the spud so that moisture can escape during cooking.
   
4. Place in a bowl and coat lightly with oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and place potato directly on rack in middle of oven. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drippings.
5. Bake 1 hour or until skin feels crisp but flesh beneath feels soft. Serve by creating a dotted line from end to end with your fork, then crack the spud open by squeezing the ends towards one another. It will pop right open. But watch out, there will be some steam.

Serves 2.
Nutritional information will vary based on what you stuff your potatoes with. I used turkey bacon and a fantastic English cheddar from my local cheese shop.