Traditional Comfort Food with a Twist

When deciding what to eat, two aspects are essential: cooking food that will provide enough energy to keep us going throughout the day and a price that will fit into a college student’s budget.

I am not a self-proclaimed “foodie” or extraordinary chef by any means, but I’ve recently developed a desire to create nutritious and hearty meals. The series “In the Kitchen with A” will entail  my new cooking self-discovery.

I want to share with you dinner meals that combine similar ingredients throughout each meal and won’t break the bank for the week.

On my quest for hearty meals, I chose the main ingredient to be beef.

Beef has a great source of nutrients for our everyday nutrition such as protein (for strong muscles), zinc (helps create a strong immune system), phosphorus (builds strong bones and teeth) and complex B vitamins (helps you release energy from food).

For this week’s meal, I found a recipe with a twist on an old winter comfort food. When I think filling comfort food, I think of potatoes. An easy go to meal is a loaded potato, but this loaded potato recipe is a little different because it combines the ground beef with it.

As my oven preheated to 425F, I took two potatoes and jabbed a few fork marks into the potatoes, so they don’t explode when baking in the oven. I let them cook for 45 minutes. While the potatoes were cooking, I prepared 1 lb. of ground beef in a pan and added taco seasoning. I didn’t use onions for this meal, but you definitely could. Once the potatoes were done, I cut through each potato half way and added in my ground beef, sour cream and shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top. I added salt and pepper to my preference. It was a super filling and delicious warm dinner.

It’s great for a quick dinner or late night snack.

Fully Loaded Potato Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

What you need:

4 Baking potatoes (1- 1 ¼ lbs.) (I used two 2 potatoes)

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. (1- 1 ¼ oz.) Taco Bell Taco Seasoning Mix

1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

4 green onions, sliced

½ cup Sour Cream

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Prick each potato several times before baking oven for 45 minutes or until tender

Meanwhile, brown meat and drain extra grease. Add in seasoning mix as cook as directed on package.

Cut potatoes in half; top with meat mixture and remaining ingredients.