Introducing: The Savory Sitter
by Jan 6th, 2011 // Dinner, Healthy, Kid-tastic
Introducing: The Savory Sitter
This is Heather, our go-to baby sitter. She’s holding my baby girl. Aren’t they cute? When I first met Heather, I’d often instruct her to heat up chicken nuggets in the toaster. Shortly after she started sitting for us, she took a hostess job in one of Suzanne Goin’s restaurants and subsequently started her own food blog Three More Big Bites. That’s when I stopped suggesting nuggets and started asking Heather what kinds of things she wanted to make with the kids. Heather was full of great ideas about what she could cook with my kid and I decided to start The Savory Sitter Series. The Savory Sitter Series will be filled with baby sitter friendly recipes and ideas that guarantee a thoughtful meal will be served, even in your absence. Take it away, Heather!
Hi! Heather the babysitter here. For most evening babysitters out there, the easiest dinner option is picking up the phone and ordering a pizza. As much as I love an excuse to chow down on pizza while catching up with my favorite kids, it’s a lot more entertaining (and more nutritious) for us to make something at home, from scratch, with vegetables and all.
This baked potato bar makes for such an easy and fun dinner activity. Rebecca already had some russet potatoes in the fridge. All I had to do was wash them, turn on the oven and pop them in. We built a Lego spaceship while the potatoes were baking. When they were done, I lined up some kid-friendly the toppings in small bowls with serving spoons and we each made our own tater towers! It was the perfect, foolproof, babysitter meal. Now for the recipe…
Baked Potato Bar Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45 mins to 1 hour
Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes
1 can turkey chili, heated
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 /2 plum tomato, finely diced
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes. Using a fork or skewer, poke a few holes in the potato skin before placing directly on oven rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until skin is loose and potatoes are soft. While potatoes cool, set up chili, onions, tomato, cheese, sour cream and chives in separate small bowls with serving spoons. Cut potatoes lengthwise to create a trough for the toppings. Top potatoes as desired!
PS: Moms, if you are leaving right around dinner time, you can put the potatoes in the oven while you’re getting ready and the sitter can set up the toppings bar upon arrival!

Heather, you look great and so does your blog! Can't wait to see more of you on here. I am so guilty of leaving the babysitter with a delivery pizza box in addition to my kids!
Thanks Dana! I'm so glad you like it. I'm honored to be a part of Cooking With My Kid!
Yahooooooot! I love Heather!!!!
I love you too Yoko!!!
Sitter Series? Genius. Baked potato bar? So fun! Thanks to both of you for sharing!
Oh, the baked potato bar. I haven't encountered one since the sorority house. Might need to make this for dinner tonight, sitter or not.
That really made me laugh!
Me too! And I wasn't even there.
I am always looking for new meals to cook with the kids that I babysit!! Loving this series!!
I'm so glad to hear from another babysitter! More fun and tasty babysitter meals to come! Stay tuned! -Heather the Babysitter
Ok, I want Heather as MY Sitter!!
I GET her as my sister! yay! this is a great post, Heather. Love the idea of a potato bar. i can attest that everything you make is amazing so I can't wait to see the next post in this series!
[…] Heather The Savory Sitter here, bringing you another babysitter-friendly snack idea. If your sitter is anything like me, she […]
[…] Heather the babysitter here, bringing you another easy after school kid-tastic snack that also happens to be the perfect Super Bowl recipe. This artichoke dip is based on a beloved family recipe. The original, my Aunt Betsy’s artichoke dip, calls for copious amounts of mayonnaise. Which, delicious as it is, isn’t the ideal snack choice for healthy, active, and growing children. So I experimented with yogurt hoping to create healthier version. […]
[…] the interruption from Healthy Family Cookbook week, but Heather the babysitter is here to bring you another babysitter-friendly snack idea. When I was kid, my mom […]
[…] Heather the babysitter here bring you another babysitter friendly snack. Remember those amazing Apple […]
[…] Introducing: The Savory Sitter | Cooking with My KidJan 6, 2011 … It was the perfect, foolproof, babysitter meal. Now for the recipe… Baked Potato Bar Recipe. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45 mins to 1 hour … […]