I have foregone trying to take fussy photographs and decided to go with showing real family food this year. That's one of my resolutions for this blog. It's hard not to want to fuss with the photographs when I take them but now I don't really have the time to do that. Most of the photographs I take this year will be of food we will be immediately eating. So I have been setting up the shoot really quickly (with a crying baby in my ear) and snapping a few photos to show you the recipe. So a quick apology if things start looking a little less than perfect. Oh but it will still taste good even if there is a stray bean, or splattered meat on the plate. The reason I've decided to forego the fussiness is I have a ton of really good solid family friendly recipes that I've been dying to share with you but never have got round to photographing them properly. So this year I am opening the vault on our staple weekly recipes and finally able to share them with you.

This recipe we make at least once a month and it's perfect for any season. It's a spin off from a well worn recipe that hubby had printed off in a blue folder he cooked from before we were married. Yes my husband can cook and well but it doesn't happen very often these days as he is on bath duty while I cook dinner. It's all about teamwork at the moment as we juggle two kids. Anyway back to these baked potatoes. They make the best mid week dinner and there are so many ways you can pimp these little babies up. I have shown you the stock standard way of serving them with the Mexicans spiced kidney bean and mince mixture stuffed inside the crispy baked potato topped with a good dollop of sour cream, sweet chilli and a sprinkling of spring onions. What you could also add is a good handful of coleslaw, grated cheese and/or guacamole, salsa and if you are a heat freak like me some sliced jalapenos to finish it off. A smattering of fresh coriander or basil wouldn't go astray either here. Coriander is a forbidden herb in our house. Hubby cannot stand it the taste or smell of it. Me on the other hand I love it but I love him to much to bring it into the house. Ah the sacrifices.

The meat mixture could be made ahead of time or even put into a slow cooker to slowly bubble away through the day if you're at work. I just would add a little bit more liquid. I parboil the potatoes before roasting them to speed up the process a little bit. I would totally swap the potatoes for sweet potatoes if you are so inclined too. I am hoping that J.D will one day be excited when I serve this dish but with the regression in his palate he just will not eat anything with a little bit of spice in it. Don't get me started on the kidney beans. He would freak out if they even touched his plate. Ah the joys of two year olds. They are so fickle with their food. However mummy and daddy dig this recipe a lot and I hope your family does too. Enjoy.

Double Yummy Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 25-30 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes
500g beef mince
1 large brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon mexican chilli powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
400g tin crushed tomatoes
2 large tomatoes, diced
400g tin kidney beans

Topping

Sour Cream
Sweet Chilli
Spring Onions, finely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Peel the potatoes and place in a large saucepan of water. Bring to the boil. Boil the potatoes until a knife pierces through but is still slightly firm.
Drain the potatoes and place back into the saucepan. Drizzle with olive oil. Tip onto the baking tray and place into the oven for 45-50 minutes.
Meanwhile in a pan over a medium heat, drizzle in a little olive oil and place in the mince.
Cook for 10-15 minutes until well browned. Remove from the pan into a bowl and set aside.
Drizzle a little more olive oil into the pan and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or so until the onions are translucent.
Add in the ground coriander, cumin, and mexican chilli. Cook for 30 sec to a minute until the spices become fragrant.
Add the mince back into the pan along with the dried oregano, salt and pepper, tinned tomatoes and diced fresh tomato. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Add the drained kidney beans into the pan and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes with the lid on.
Once the potatoes are cooked remove from the oven and cool slightly before plating up.
Cut a slit in the top of the potato and open slightly. Spoon the mince mixture into the opening of the potato. Top with a dollop of sour cream, sweet chilli and a sprinkling of spring onions.