Dear Potato:
Spud, oh how I love thee. Baked, whipped, roasted, grilled, hot or cold–your endless possibilities make me swoon. Roasted just with salt & pepper, or with cheese and butter and other things I shouldn’t have very often, you know I’d recognize you anywhere. Now, if I need to back off every so often due to your carb bomb, don’t feel slighted. You know that I’ll always come back (whether I should or not). Let’s get together for a date soon.
Stay tasty,
Love Dee Dee
Yeah, that’s about right. I love potatoes. It’s definitely one of my “desert island” foods. Mashed garlic potatoes with tons of butter and sour cream–that’s what I figure they’d find on my fork when I finally keeled over on the island.
But there are so many other ways to jazz up the basic mashed taters! Baked? Sure! And I figure if they’re good baked once, why not twice? And who doesn’t love a little bacon & cheese on top to make the spud feel extra special?
Everything in moderation, I know. Which is why this particular incarnation of my buddy the spud is one that doesn’t make an every night appearance. But when whipped up and baked to perfection, it’s a perfect pairing for just about any protein. In this case, with a juicy steak, it can’t be beat (or whipped! Buh-dum-dum).
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 2-4 people | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 80 minutes |
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This recipe is a variation on The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Twice Baked Potatoes. I've changed out the sour cream for Greek yogurt to make myself feel a little better about putting the cheese and butter in there. It's an elegant presentation for a special meal, or can be a meal in itself when topped with other ingredients. Another reason to love the spud--versatility, baby.
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- 2 large Russet baking potatoes
- 1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/2 cup bacon, crumbled about 3 pieces, fried and drained
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 1 tbsp. chives, chopped
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse & dry potatoes. Rub with canola oil and place on baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes to an hour, checking to make sure they are fully cooked at the 45 minute mark (my oven runs hot). To check done-ness, pierce with a fork. If the fork goes in without any resistance, they're done.
- Keep the oven on at the same temp. Allow the potatoes to cool for 10 minutes. Cut them in half, and scoop out insides, leaving a rim around the edge of the potato so that they don't collapse on themselves. Place them back on the baking sheet.
- Using a fork, mash the potatoes with butter, Greek yogurt, milk, and salt & pepper,
- Add bacon crumbles and chives and mix.
- Add most of the cheddar cheese, reserving a little bit to sprinkle on top of each potato.
- Place potatoes back in the oven and bake for 15 more minutes, or until the cheese melts and starts to brown on top.
- Serve with additional bacon bits on top ('cause, yeah, it's bacon).
As you can see, I've tried to change up my love for the spud by using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and 2% milk instead of whole milk. And the taste was the same to me! While in the long run, that's not likely to make this a "healthy" dish, I sleep better at night knowing I at least made an effort.
