Downhill Part 2

I don't want this to devolve into a lot of finger pointing. If we are going to get to the bottom of why America is declining we can't be always be playing the blame game. I am going to , by the process of elimination, whittle down the list of possible culprits by identifying the innocent until only the guilty remain. That way we can avoid...

The discussion about the  Endowment for the Arts got pretty heated.

Lets start with the conservative side. Conservatives get pretty angry that the "producers" in our society are not properly rewarded. Me to. I think that people that put in a hards day... wait... That's not who conservatives are talking about when they talk about "producers". Conservatives are talking about Ann Rand and Atlas Shrugged ( you might have bumped into her in 9th grade when some english teacher tried to slide in We the Living or Anthem. The former her own Diary of Ann Frank only with the Soviets playing the Nazis and her not dying. The later Childhoods End for dummies.) When they talk about "producers" they are talking about the rugged individuals that create businesses through hard work, self reliance, and no government hand-outs. OK, I like those people too so we'll take them off our list.

Now of coarse the conservatives like to bandy that term around to include pretty much everybody filing a 1099 form at tax time. Not going to cut it my friends. Rand, and real conservatives, were talking about real producers only. No sucking off of the government tit. No mortgage tax credit. No medicare. No public parks. No public schools. No redistribution of wealth from one persons labor to you. Alright, maybe there are 8 or 9 people like that currently living in the United States, and my hats off to them. They might even all be Republicans. Still 8 or 9 people leave several hundred million still on our suspect list. Hmm? What to do? What to do?

Not a vegetable anymore.

Well, we can check with the main stream media. They must know who the good folks are. It's a shame about the conservatives. Those rascals  are so loud about who sucks I figured there would also be more about who the good folks are. Oh well, at least we eliminated 8 people from possible guilt. This new angle might take some time though, so until I can get my research done maybe it's time to knock off a side dish for Easter dinner.

From plate to vein, it even looks the same.

Twice baked potatoes are an easy, delicious side dish that have no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever. In fact on top of the obvious damage to your artery walls they will also cause an insulin spike in the blood it-self that would do a piece of pound cake proud. Let's get started.

You will need at least 5 big-assed potatoes all roughly the same size. Bake them. 350 degrees for an hour at least. take them out when a knife will pierce the skin easily. This whole recipe is do ahead. Cooked potatoes freeze beautifully. East is usually in April, start right after Christmas if you want.

1. Cut the cooked potatoes in half.
2. Scoop out as much of the interior as possible without breaking the skin.
3. Put the potato innards in a bowl. Add a tablespoon of butter, Mmmm butter!, for each potato used, not each half. 
4. Now add a tablespoon of sour cream for each potato.
5. Now add a big handful of shredded cheese. ( I vote for smoked gouda, but do what ever you like. This is still America).
6. Salt and pepper. Always salt and pepper.
7. Green onion might be nice. Finely chopped broccoli? Minced roasted garlic? All 3? This is a very forgiving recipe.
8. Mix it good. I mean have at it. Do not be gentle. When you are done the stuff should be soft enough to extrude through a pipping bag in case you want to get fancy.
9. Refill the shells.
10.  Give them another 35 to 40 minutes in the oven. Maybe while your leg of lamb rests?

They really will freeze nicely. Just wrap them tight in foil. To reheat stick one in the microwave for 5 minutes then finish it in the toaster oven.