Skinless Baked Potatoes

I’ve been known to have a bit of trouble throwing things away. Some call it hoarding, but I prefer my own term of ‘sentimental saver’. My keepsake boxes are filled with receipts from special events, business cards from restaurants we celebrated at, corks from momentous occasions when we popped the bubbly….you name it. My gift closet has drawers full of ribbons, bows and bags from presents we’ve received, and I have so many vases and baskets I could open up a flower shop. You would be amazed by how well I truly put all these things to use, but that’s another story for another time.

Anyway, while my neurotically organized chaos keeps me sain, others often question it. Yes Hubby, I DO in fact need all 36 spiral notebooks that I’ve held on to since college…

But this time, my resourcefulness was quite appreciated. You see, when I made those yummy loaded potato skins recently, in true Jenn form, I held onto those perfectly cooked, velvety baked insides that weren’t needed for that particular recipe.

I was going to turn them into mashed potatoes, but when we had a surprise dinner guest the following night, a different idea came to mind. Pressed for time, I looked at the masher in my hand and groaned at the steps ahead. I reallllly didn’t feel like getting in an arm workout, then standing over the stove with heavy cream to get them to their desired consistency. In the meantime, I kept sneaking little tastes of the potatoes. They were so friggen good.

So I left well enough alone, drizzled them with olive oil, seasoned them with kosher salt and pepper, added a few handfuls of freshly chopped chives, and warmed them in the (gasp!) microwave. They. were. excellent. Served with a dollop of sour cream, this smooth, warm, savory starch became best friends with the chicken I was serving, and had everyone raving. The next morning with some still leftover, Hubby pan-fried them into a crispy and golden, hash brown-style side to go with our eggs.

Suddenly holding on to things doesn’t seem so silly now does it?