2 meals for 4 under $5

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Alix

Everymom
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Two meals for 4 for under $5!

Potato Skins

12 - 15 good sized potatoes (roughly 5lbs)
1/2 - 1 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup fake bacon bits
2 green onions chopped

Scrub the potatoes thoroughly and inspect them carefully for any icky spots. Poke them all over with a knife and place them directly on your oven rack. Bake for about an hour at 350.

When they are done, let them cool a bit and then cut lengthwise in half, and then in quarters. Scoop out the cooked potato and put aside in a sealed container. (You'll use this for round 2) Arrange the quartered skins peel side down, and cover a cookie sheet with as many as you can. Sprinkle with grated cheese and the bacon bits and onion. Put in 350 oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with salsa or sour cream for dipping. We generally prep these and toss them in on a night when we're running out somewhere.

Round 2 - Gnocchi

Take your reserved potato innards out of the fridge and let them come to room temp. Mash them with some milk when warmed up. Add an egg and squish the mixture through your fingers. Start with about 1 cup of flour and blend like dough. Add more flour a bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency. You want it to be about the consistency of a good heavy dough with just a trace of stickiness left. Pull off a blob about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a cylinder. Have a bit of flour on your counter to touch the dough into if it gets sticky. Roll the cylinder til its about 1/2 inch diameter and put aside. Repeat until all the dough is rolled into cylinders. Toss about 1/4 cup of flour into your used bowl.

Put on a BIG pot of water.

Put a blob of butter into a big serving bowl.

Go back to your cylinders and start cutting them into 1/2 inch sized squares. Toss them into the floured bowl. As you progress, occasionally toss the gnocchi in the flour so they don't stick together too much. When you have them all ready head over to your boiling water. Bring your serving bowl, butter and a good sized slotted spoon or mesh strainer.

Put several handfuls of gnocchi into the boiling water and stir constantly. You will likely get a bit of a splash so be careful. When they are all floating on the surface and the water has come to a boil again, time about 30 seconds and fish them out with your strainer and place them in your buttered serving bowl. (make sure they drain thoroughly before putting them in there) Toss gently with the butter to coat. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. Add butter as needed to serving bowl.

Serve with sauce of choice, but the most economical would likely just be a bit of salt and parmesan.

Potatoes - $3
bacon bits/green onion/sour cream/salsa - $1.00ish
egg/flour/butter/parmesan - $1.00ish
 
Thank you Alix!

Potatoes - $3
bacon bits/green onion/sour cream/salsa - $1.00ish
egg/flour/butter/parmesan - $1.00ish

....nevermind! :-p
 

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