Day 2...Cooking Through 25 Days of Gooseberry Patch Christmas

OOOPS....I know what you're thinking...Day 2 is almost Day 3! And for some of you it actually is! My apologies..... But WOW...what a day! Do you ever have one of those days??? .... as soon as your feet hit the floor you take off running and don't stop until you drop? Well, I had one today!! I haven't completely dropped yet, but considering I am sitting down now...I'm about halfway there!

Now, you ask, what is on the menu for today? Well, because I was running so fast this morning, I started off my day with about 5 breath mints and a bottle of water. But guarantee, as the day went on, the menu improved. And here it is...for tonight...the main dish! Ok..well, really it's an appetizer, but because we are eating it later tonight when I know we'll be hungry again....we'll call it a main dish. I found this recipe on pg 49 in Magic of Christmas cookbook....the name of the cookbook seemed pretty appropriate for a day like I had today!

Southwest Potato Skins by Pat Habiger from Spearsville, KS
Makes 12 potato skins

6 potatoes
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 t. salt
1 t pepper
1 1/4 oz pkg taco seasoning
2 12-oz pkgs shredded Cheddar cheese
12-oz pkg shredded Mozzarella cheese
Garnish: chives, bacon bits and sour cream
Bake potatoes at 450 degrees for one hour, or until potatoes are tender.
(Okay....you can't say I didn't warn you about me not being a professional cook. Yes, I planned ahead...for everything except the potatoes! These are smaller than the average baked potato, so I nuked them instead of baking them.)
Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out center of each potato, leaving 1/4 inch around edges. Save centers of potatoes for another recipe. (I would show you a pic of this step, but because the potatoes were so small, it looked more like a butchering than a scooping!)
In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onion, salt and pepper; drain. Add taco seasoning and simmer.

I bet you thought you were going to get to see the entire recipe right now...nope, nope, nope...not until after the Christmas Parade!

Watching our hometown parade is a family tradition. And, every year we stand in the same place..downtown, in front of a deli owned by some our friends. They serve hot chocolate and hot apple cider, and this year....Cajun boiled shrimp! Yum!! Keeps us warm down to our toes....well, almost...but warm enough anyway.

Meet my friend, Beth, the Hot Cocoa Lady!



And I always meet my friend, Cindy, there too! She is the craziest friend I have!
Oh goodness, I'm having a 'there's that double chin again'/'bad hair' day!


Then there is Jacob (Jason's friend), my son Jason, and my hubby Rick.


My daughter, Brandy, with her son (my cutie patooty grandson) 7 mth old Hunter. They drove 2 hrs and 15 minutes to surprise me! I was so excited! It just wouldn't be the same without them!
And Brandy's oldest son, (who I am no longer allowed to call cutie patooty...but I can call my 'handsome' grandson) 7 yr old Tryston! That boy loves his shrimp!

And there goes my son, Chris, (with one of the youth from our church) who is riding a three wheel. This motorcycle belongs to his older gentleman neighbor who is unable to ride now due to health problems. But, he still wanted it in the parade....so Chris was honored to do it! (He's just awesome like that!) It's a beautiful bike...and sounded awesome when he revved it up!!


And this is Miranda, Chris's wife, with my sweet princess granddaughter, 7 mth old Emma. She was not very happy about having to pose for Gramma's quick photo shoot...and having to wait one minute to suck down the last few drops of that bottle!
They are riding in the truck that was pulling the kids and youth from our church...who are pictured below!............................Hi Ms Tina!!!

This is my daughter Hannah (on left) and her friend Claire. They are giving me the thumbs up telling me they're hungry "We are cooking your groceries when we get home!" Those two skinny miny's are bottomless pits! I don't know where they put it! By the way...love the hat Claire!


And this was my favorite float...they even played the song 'Happy Birthday Jesus'. I loved it!!

I know I didn't show you much of the parade...but to be honest, I think I stood there looking at my family for the most part anyway. So, I took photos of the best part!

Ok...we are home, warming up and now it's time to cook. Hannah and Claire finished it up for me. I had some grandchildren I needed to snuggle with before their 2 hour drive home! I heard entirely too much giggling in the kitchen...so there 'ain't no tellin' ' how it's going to turn out! but, here goes nothin'!

Place potato halves in a greased 15" x 12" baking dish. Sprinkle with half of Cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons ground beef, then top with mozzarella and remaining Cheddar cheese. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat source until cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle on chives, bacon bits and sour cream.

My chives didn't make it home from the grocery store (they must still be sitting all lonely.. in a bag.. on the turn-a-round by the register) and I'm not a big fan of sour cream. But loaded with bacon bits....yeah! And a few cheesy tortillas on the side.....Wooo Hooo! That sure made for some good eatin'!!!Thank you so much to Ms. Pat and Gooseberry Patch for this recipe! It was fantastic!

I want to extend my apologies to those in the Eastern Time Zone who are now receiving Day 2 post on Day 3! It's been a loooong day.......

Come back tomorrow afternoon and see what I've done with the left over potatoes that were "scooped" out!
Good night all....and God Bless!