new fav after school snack: baked (portable) bean and cheese tostadas

C'est la saison où nous recueillons avec famille et amis... et parfois nous sommes invités à apporter un petit quelque chose pour contribuer à la fête. Il y a un froid dans l'air, les feuilles sont tournent (ou il est peut-être déjà neige sur le sol où vous êtes!), et aliments réconfortants sont la norme dans plusieurs de ces rassemblements. Dans cet esprit, j'aimerais apporter quelque chose en bonne santé--qui est rapide et facile à whip up--comme ma contribution de repas-partage. J'ai récemment fait cette quinoa salade élogieuse. C'est tellement bon {et pour vous!}. S'il est vraiment, vraiment simple à faire, les saveurs et les textures différentes font il suffisamment particulière pour faire partie de votre prochaine réunion ou vacances fête. De plus, il peut être composé de trois jours à l'avance, ce qui en fait une recette parfaite pour les fêtes bien remplie

baked potato bar

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

After another absolutely fabulous week at HF Bar in WY, I'm now in ID with our children, getting some quality grandparent + mountain time in before the new school year.
When not riding our bikes on the extensive bike paths, to the market, or to our favorite ice cream stand,
we're out hiking, playing in the river,
reading under the aspens and pines,
or my kids are putting their newfound whittling skills from woodworking and primitive wilderness camp to work.
I've gotten a little lazy in the cooking department, since it is vacation after all... but last night I made a baked potato bar that the kids loved. We're at a funny stage right now-- no, actually, not so funny when you're the mom trying to make sure that your children are nourished and eating enough. Play trumps eating any day with these two. Unlike me, they never get ravenous, no matter how active they may be. But the baked potato bar is one of those meals that I know gets them happily trotting to the dinner table. I'm not sure if it's the make-your-own aspect, or if they just like all the decadent toppings? Either way, this is one of my current go-tos.

Baked potatoes are so simple: wash them off, prick them with a fork, roll them in a bit of olive oil, then into a 350 oven for 1 hour they go. Topping choices included: butter, Greek yogurt, sour cream, crisp local bacon, steamed broccoli, scallions, mushrooms and red onion sauteed in balsamic and a little olive oil, shredded cheddar, hot sauce...and I put out steamed green beans for the kids to munch on while I was getting the toppings laid out. At home, I do a similar make-your-own gig, but offer up some of my go-to turkey chili as a topping. (Freezing it in small containers makes it easy to thaw just the right amount.)

Do you have a meal like this-- something that's easy, that your family loves? A meal that can compete with Legos, drawing, reading and whittling?...