Baked Potato And The Kitchen Challenge With No Sink

Baked Potato And The Kitchen Challenge With No Sink

This week has been a real challenge. Several nights have been below zero and the inevitable has happened my water lines froze up.

I had some food made up still in the refrigerator so I did have some go to dinners. The problem was cleaning the dishes the food had been in. It was a laborious chore and one I don’t care to repeat until I get water in my sink again.  That means I will have to resort to making dinner with foods that don’t require pots pans or real dishes.

That is a challenge since I do want a real dinner not a sandwich and as much as I kid about it I am not buying hamburgers from McDonalds or eating frozen dinners.

Breakfast is no issue I use a foam cup and make oatmeal with trail mix to give me nuts, fruit, and seeds. Then I add a couple of teaspoons of flax seed and some milk. Lunch is a given as well. I have a helping of Greek yogurt from low fat, vanilla, yogurt that I buy in three pound containers. I add to that granola so I get more on the essential nutriments needed for the day. That way when its dinner time I can make a meal that I will enjoy and not feel guilty about not fulfilling my daily requirements for my body.

I do try to add a green vegetable of course protein of some sort that is also important to my nutrition.

That will be a challenge while I wait for the temperature to warm up and my sink to be usable again.

The first thing I thought of was baked potatoes.

It’s been a while since I made them so I wanted to be sure I did it right. Usually I will just put a potato in a plastic bag and put it in the microwave for five minutes but since this was my main meal I wanted all the bells and whistles and that included crispy skin.

I looked it up what was the best way to bake a potato and this is what I came up with:

1.    Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Scrub 4 medium baking potatoes (we recommend russet) and pierce in several places with a fork.

3. Rub with a little canola oil and place directly on an oven rack (no pan required).

4. Bake about 1 hour or until soft.

5. Split open lengthwise and squeeze to push flesh out slightly.

6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

The potatoes are now in the oven next what to put in it that will not require clean up. Quite a challenge.

Yes I know I could just put some sour cream and chives or green onions but this is dinner and I want to be satisfied.

This is what I came up with:

Ingredients 

Two baked potatoes

Cooked Chicken

Broccoli

Mixed Mexican Cheese

Butter

Directions

I can heat the chicken and frozen broccoli in the microwave in a paper cup. When the potatoes are done

Top it with the mixture.

I then can either put them back in the microwave or oven and melt the cheese on them.

This should be a good dinner.

I will put this on a foam plate with a standard plate under it for stability. I have some salad in the refrigerator I may put on the said with Italian dressing.

My only clean up will be the fork I eat my dinner with. That I can handle.

I found a few more ideas when I was looking and here are some of the suggestions I came up with:

BLT

Melted butter, crisp cooked bacon (diced), chopped tomato, and shredded lettuce.

Cheeseburger

Ground beef cooked with onion and garlic, shredded American cheese, and diced tomato.

Chili

Chili and cheese

Sausage and Peppers

Italian sausage sautéed with bell peppers and onions and grated Parmesan.

Spicy Chickpea

Canned, drained chickpeas sautéed with cumin, turmeric, and garlic; Greek yogurt; and chopped parsley.

I will give these ideas a try when my kitchen is back in action but for now the meal I am planning sounds good to me.