Twice-Baked Potatoes

I'm an Irish girl and I love my spuds!  I like them any way you can think to fix them.  I especially like a baked potato, but a twice-baked potato is extra special.  I don't make them often, but I also don't wait for a special occasion to put together this wonderful side dish.

One nice thing about these fancy spuds is that if you are making them for company, the majority of the work can be done ahead of time and then re-bake them in the oven and add the cheese just before serving.  I found this recipe on an insert in my Taste of Home magazine years ago and it gets 9's across the board on the Melnarik rating scale.

I begin by scrubbing the russet potatoes and wrapping them in aluminum foil.  I then bake them in the oven directly on the rack at 375°F for 1 hour.  After fully baked, I remove them from the oven, unwrap them enough to let the steam escape and let them cool for about 5 to 10 minutes so they are easy to handle.

I then cut a thin slice off the top of each potato and, using a tablespoon, begin to scoop out the center of the potato, making sure to leave the sides about 1/4-inch thick.  I place the pulp I remove into a medium bowl.

I leave the sides 1/4-inch thick so they don't break when refilling them with the potato mixture later, but I make it a little thinner on the bottom.  I want most of the potato to have the yummy added items!

To the potato in the medium bowl, I add butter, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, salt, a dash of pepper and snipped green onions (chives can be substituted).

I mix this together until thoroughly combined.

After placing the potato shells on a baking sheet, I add the cheesy potato mixture that I just combined.  Because of the additional ingredients, it will take up more room than the plain potato pulp that you removed, so it will sit higher than the cut edge of the spud.  At this point, if they weren't going to be consumed within the next half hour or so, you could let them cool, and refrigerate them until time to re-bake them.

Just before baking, I add the remaining shredded sharp cheddar cheese and into the oven they go for 25 minutes at 375°F.  If they've been refrigerated before baking, I add an extra 10 minutes to the baking time.

When they come out of the oven, the cheese on top is melted and they are piping hot and ready to eat!

I like to serve my twice baked potatoes with Smothered Chicken (also shared here on my blog) and a side salad.

This side dish does take some time to prepare, but it is so worth it!  Enjoy!

Twice-Baked Potatoes

4 russet potatoes

4 tablespoons butter, softened

3 tablespoons crumbled, cooked bacon

2 tablespoons snipped green onions

½ teaspoon salt

Dash pepper

1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Bake potatoes at 375°F for 1 hour or until soft.  Allow to cool for 5 – 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle.  Cut a thin slice off the top of each potato.  Scoop out the pulp and place in a bowl; add butter, bacon, green onions, salt, pepper and 1 cup of cheese, stirring to combine.  Spoon into potato shells and place on a baking sheet.  Top with remaining cheese; bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.