Who doesn't love potatoes? They're so versatile - mashed, roasted, scalloped, baked, hashed, french fried, etc. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is twiced baked, which is baked then scooped out and filled before baking once again. Twice baked potatoes really lend itself to some creativity because the filling can utilize whatever you have on hand and capture all sorts of great flavor in a perfect serving. I prepared these Cheddar Double Stuffed Potatoes for a recent Sunday Pork Roast Dinner and guests raved about them!...
In essence, these potatoes are a twist on loaded baked potatoes topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, scallions, and crispy bacon. Rather than topping the potatoes with these great ingredients, I made a mashed potato mixture with these tasty tidbits mixed in. This created my filling that I filled the potato shells with... and I topped the filled potatoes with another healthy dose of more cheddar cheese before baking. The result is a delicious potato side dish that could even be a meal in itself if you use extra large potatoes.
Cheddar Double Stuffed Potatoes
recipe adapted from Rachel Ray2 large Russet potatoes, cleaned and pricked with a fork several times each
Drizzle olive oil or vegetable oil
2 slices center cut bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used both sharp yellow and white cheddar)
Salt and coarse black pepper
Preheat a small nonstick pan over medium high heat. Rub potatoes with a drizzle of oil. Place potatoes on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 12 minutes, rotating once.
While potatoes cook, add chopped bacon to hot skillet and brown until bits are crisp. Add scallions and cook scallions together with bacon 1 minute more. Transfer bacon bits and green onions to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Allow potatoes to cool enough to be handled, 5 minutes. Preheat broiler to high.
Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh into a small bowl. Smash potato flesh together with sour cream until combined using a potato masher. Stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese, bacon and scallions and season with salt and pepper, to your taste.
Scoop filling back into potato skins, top with additional cheddar cheese and place on a cookie sheet. Place potatoes in oven and brown under broiler, 6 inches from heat for 5 minutes.
