Forget The Diet Stuffed Potatoes |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 75 Minutes |
Ready In: 75 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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This is the way my girls like their potatoes - I like doing them this way, too, because I can make lots of extra to freeze or use in lunches. I also like that I can prepare them the day or morning ahead, and they’re ready to go in the oven (or on the grill) when I’m ready to heat them up. Read more . Of course, there are hundreds of variations on this recipe, so use whatever filling ingredients you like - I’ve added cooked crab, shrimp or chicken, cooked broccoli and a host of other veggies…this is the “basic” recipe that you can expand on however you like! I’ve broken the ingredients down to what it equals per potato, so you can increase - or decrease - the recipe easily. Ingredients:
4 red potatoes (i always use reds because i think they have more moisture than russets and mash up better) |
1/2 cup butter (2 tablespoons per potato) |
1/2 cup sour cream (2 tablespoons per potato) |
1/4 cup cream cheese (1 tablespoon per potato) |
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (1 tablespoon per potato) |
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice (2 tablespoons per potato) |
1 teaspoon salt (1/4 teaspoon per potato) |
1 teaspoon garlic powder (1/4 teaspoon per potato) |
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard (just a dash per potato) |
a bit of half-and-half to thin the filling if it is too thick, but i rarely have ever needed this addition |
8 slices bacon, fried crispy, drained well on some paper toweling, crumbled finely (2 slices per potato) |
additional grated cheese for topping |
Directions:
1. Wash potatoes under cold water, dry well with paper toweling, and wrap each one in foil.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour, until potatoes are soft when squeezed.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. Remove potatoes from oven, unwrap and discard foil, and cut each potato in half lengthwise.
5. Lightly spray or butter a large baking sheet.
6. Protecting your hands with paper toweling or a cloth towel, pick up each potato half and scoop out the inside, placing the empty skins back onto the baking sheet, and placing the scooped out potato in a bowl. You want to leave a bit of the potato inside the skin to give it enough sturdiness and stability to hold the filling once you have mashed everything - removing too much of the potato from the skin will cause the skins to collapse and make it very difficult to stuff them.
7. When all the potato is removed from the skins, add the remaining filling ingredients EXCEPT the crumbled bacon and the additional grated cheese for topping.
8. Mash filling ingredients together until butter has melted and everything is blended together well - it’s ok to have potato “lumps” in the mixture! If you feel that you want the filling thinner, add a bit of half-and-half to thin it. You don’t want it too thin, though, or it will spill over the potato skins when it is baking again.
9. Scoop the filling back into the empty potato skins.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until filling is hot throughout.
11. Remove pan from oven and top each potato with crumbled bacon and the additional grated cheese.
12. Return pan to the oven and continue to bake for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
13. Serve immediately.
14. Refrigerate leftovers, and reheat in a microwave or oven.
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