Too tired to cook? Then these spuds are for you

The dinner menu comes together on the way to school most days. A suggestion crops up from the back seat. Some days, the plan is a bit grandiose and needs scaling back.

This time, however, the boy hit paydirt in suggesting baked potatoes.

"You know, with some bacon and cheese and green stuff."

The green stuff in question is whatever fresh herb we have on hand. Sure enough that night, the potatoes roasted at a steady 400-degree clip. Rubbed in a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with Kosher salt and garlic powder, they basked in their foil-encased furnace for about an hour until they reached the Zen state of fluffy softness.

The potato bar assemblage: freshly chopped cilantro (we had a bequest and have been using it generously), sharp Cheddar, freshly fried bacon, some grated Parmesan, a little butter and sour cream.

Dinnertime gold.