Man-Proof, Kid-Proof, AND Easy to Clean

I wanted to share my latest 'discovery' about Longaberger pottery.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a scientist by training and that is how I approach life....lots of questions and a lot of skepticism, testing, and analysis.  Well you can be sure that I have put the Longaberger pottery through the wringer by now.  My latest experiment was to test how easily my 9"x13" baking dish came clean in the dishwasher WITHOUT washing it ahead of time.  I made lasagna in it, scraped off the stuck on noodles, put it at the front of the lower rack and....it came out spotless.  I made chicken enchilada casserole, burnt the cheese on the edges, scraped off the bits of tortilla still stuck on the bottom, put it in the dishwasher, and .....voila! it came out spotless again.   My husband made lasagna, burnt the sauce all over the edges, put it in the dishwasher just like that, and ....it came out spotless!  Boy! I tell ya, this would have saved me so many "discussions" with my husband about how he needs to scrape the dishes off better before he puts them in the dishwasher and then me having to wash them by hand again after they had already been through the dishwasher.   Not to mention that the dishes no longer get chipped around the edges even though loading the dishwasher seems to be a contact sport for "some people I know". :-)

Twice-Baked Potatoes Recipe

As I mentioned in my last post, I use my Longaberger Handled Platter to bake and serve one of my family's favorite dishes:  Twice-Baked Potatoes.  The recipe is from "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest" by Mollie Katzen (she calls them Rebaked Potatoes).  Her recipe serves two people, but you can multiply accordingly.  We use 6-8 potatoes and have leftovers for breakfast with eggs!  Yummm....

2 fist-sized potatoes
3 Tbs. (low-fat) mayonnaise
1/2 cup (low-fat) cottage cheese
1 hard-boiled egg, finely-chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dill weed
1/2 packed cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp. prepared mustard (we use sweet-hot mustard)
paprika and extra grated cheddar

Ahead of time:  Bake the potatoes for about 45 minutes at 375 F until done.  When cool enough to handle, slice in half length-wise and scoop out the insides leaving the skin intact (leaving about 1/4 inch of potato flesh).

Place all the potato innards in a bowl, and mash them with the mayonnaise and cottage cheese.  Add all remaining ingredients, except the paprika and extra cheddar.  Mix well.  Adjust spices according to your own personal taste.

Divide the filling evenly among the potato skins.  Sprinkle some extra cheese over the tops of the potatoes and dust with paprika if desired.  Place the potatoes in your Longaberger Handled Platter or 9" x 13" Baking Dish and bake for 35 minutes at 375F until potatoes are hard and cheese has melted.

Remove from the oven and serve just as they are.  Be sure to use a trivet!  Add a salad and you have a wonderful meal for family or guests.

Celebrating the Season with Longaberger's Handled Platter

One of the first items I purchased after becoming a home consultant, was the Longaberger Woven Traditions Handled Platter. I had seen an ivory one in last year's catalog that was used to hold a beautiful candle arrangement for Christmas. It has been one of my favorite items. We served our turkey on it at Thanksgiving as well as our Cornish game hens for Christmas dinner. It was beautiful as well as easy to carry securely using the handles. My neighbor, Mary, ordered one to use for Christmas and was very happy with it as well.

Prior to the holidays, I used the platter to bake and serve nachos as well as Twice Baked Potatoes (recipe in another post). Since all of Longaberger's pottery is vitrified, you can prepare and refrigerate dishes ahead of time and then simply put them in the oven when you are ready to cook (as long as you place the cold dish in the oven as you preheat it so that you slowly bring it up to temperature). Afterward, you can serve the food directly from the baking dishes, since they are so beautiful and coordinate with all the other Longaberger pottery. And last, but definitely not least, vitrified pottery is so easy to clean. You simply scrape off the large pieces of food and place the pottery in the dishwasher or you can soak briefly in warm soapy water and easily wash by hand.

Before owning Longaberger pottery, I used to use the inexpensive glass bakeware. I always felt as though I needed to spend the least amount of money I could on things for my kitchen--I don't know why. However, now that I have used the vitrified pottery from Longaberger, I could never go back. It has saved me so much time in the kitchen as well as made the whole family feel more nurtured by our meals simply because of the ease of use and the beauty of the dishes.