Liza's BBQ Chicken Baked Potato

Being and Irish girl, I haven't met a potato I didn't like, but this is one of my favorites.  The bonus is that this is another fairly simple recipe that I came up with.  The only thing that takes time is baking the potatoes, but there are different options for how to do that!  My preference is to bake them in the oven, the old-fashioned way, but that takes about 1 1/2 hours.  The longest method is in the slow cooker, but it can be the biggest time saver, especially if you are gone all day and just have a little bit of time to put dinner together when you get home.  Prepare them as if you are baking them in the oven, scrubbing them clean and wrapping them in foil, then throw them in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 8 hrs. Of course, the quickest way is in the microwave, but I don't like the flavor nor the texture when the potato is cooked this way.  You do have to remember to pierce the skin several times with a fork and not to use foil of any type when using this method.  The other option is to use a pressure cooker, following manufacturers directions.  I've done this before and it cuts the cooking time down to about half an hour.  It's your choice as to how to cook your potatoes; here I'm sharing how I baked mine in the oven.

I guess you could say these are similar to a fully loaded baked potato.  It is certainly a filling dish that tastes good also.  The simplicity comes from using bottled BBQ sauce and already cooked chicken; whether left over from a different meal or prepackaged chicken strips that I cut into cubes.

Potatoes are dirty, so the first step is to give them good cleaning.  I use a scrubber to get into the "eyes" of the spud.  I think there would be nothing worse than getting the flavor of dirt when eating a spud!  It doesn't need to be dried, just put it on a piece of foil large enough to entirely wrap it up.

I twist the ends and put it directly on the oven rack, usually on the top shelf, which is a bit higher than the middle of the oven.  I've preheated the oven to 350 degrees, so once I close the door, I can do something else because it's going to take about 1 1/2 hours to bake.  I usually return to the kitchen about 20 minutes before the potatoes are done to begin preparing the BBQ chicken topping.

The first step is to start cooking the bacon, as this is the longest step in preparing the topping.  The picture above may look strange, but this is the way I cook my bacon when a recipe calls for crumbled bacon.  The pieces cook evenly and they are more uniform in size when done.  Also, they don't splatter grease all over the stove and they don't have to be watched closely and turned every so often.  So, I cut my raw bacon across into thin strips and put them in a medium saucepan to cook over high heat.  While preparing the rest of the dish, I stir the bacon occasionally, to ensure the pieces don't stick to the pan.  Using a slotted spoon, I remove the cooked pieces to paper towels to drain.  

I begin by cutting my chicken pieces into small cubes.  Remember they are going on the top of a potato, so they shouldn't be too big.  I place the cubes into a microwave-safe bowl.  I just learned that the way to check to see if a dish is safe to use to cook in the microwave, put it plus 1 cup of water in a microwave save measuring cup (like Pyrex) in your microwave and turn it on for 45 seconds at high.  If the dish remains cool while the water is heated, it's a safe dish to use in your microwave!

I add the BBQ sauce and stir until all of the chicken is coated in the sauce.  I then put the bowl in the microwave and heat the chicken for 3 minutes at 50% power.  I stir it, and then cook again for 2 minutes at 70% power.  My experience is that anything cooked in the microwave at a lower power setting than high (100% power) stays hot longer, besides, everything here is already cooked, it just needs to be heated.

Next I toss in the cooked bacon pieces and the green onions, which I had chopped while the chicken was in the microwave.  This is a dish that is easy to serve my son earlier than the rest of us before he heads off to class.  I just start baking his potato earlier.  I do prefer to have the flavor of the green onions be fresh, so I don't add them until after the chicken is heated in the microwave.  But, when feeding Jimmy early, I reheat the BBQ chicken mixture in the microwave, which just makes the green onions a bit softer.

How you cut and dress your potato is entirely up to you.  I like to cut mine in half and then cut a grid in the flesh, so when I add a pat of butter it melts into the spud. 

I then top it with the warm BBQ chicken mixture.  On average, I would say each of us takes about a cup of this mixture.

Of course, the finishing touch is some shredded cheddar cheese.  My preference is sharp cheddar, but my guys prefer medium.  Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Baked Potato

4 medium Russet baking potatoes

4 cups cubed, cooked chicken

1/3 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup bacon pieces, about 8 strips

1/3 cup diced green onions

1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

butter, salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash potatoes by scrubbing them under running water.  Roll in individual pieces of foil, twisting the ends tightly.  Place directly on oven rack placed higher than the middle of the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Cut bacon into pieces and cook in a medium saucepan over high heat until browned, stirring occasionally.  Drain on paper towels.  In the meantime, cube chicken and place it in a microwave-safe bowl.  Add BBQ sauce and toss to coat.  Warm in the microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes; stir.  Return to microwave and heat at 70% power for an additional 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, chop green onions and shred cheese.  Remove chicken from oven and add bacon and onions; mix thoroughly.  Place baked potato on plate; cut open and add butter, salt and pepper to taste (optional).  Top with BBQ chicken mixture and shredded cheese.