Twice Baked Potatoes

I can't pass up potatoes. It's impossible. You've seen the movie "Forrest Gump" remember the scene where Bubba is telling all the ways he knows to prepare shrimp? That's me with potatoes!! In fact, for me, the best piece of meat is second fiddle to potatoes.

There is art for Twice Baked Potatoes. I like the skin to be crispy and salted and peppered. I want the flesh to be fluffy, loaded with goodies. Re baked with cheese, sour cream and bacon.

Twice Baked Potatoes are made on holidays or special occasion in our family. Not because they are hard to make, because they aren't, but because they are time consuming. They are an act of love. One that I promise your family will appreciate!



Twice Baked Potatoes
6 Monster Potatoes (scrubbed clean and dry)
oil
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 pieces thick bacon
garlic powder

Start with six medium sized potatoes. Scrub (seriously! Dirt has not place in this recipe) and dry with paper towels.

Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Just a little!

Get your hands in there and oil those taters up! Don't be afraid! Have I mentioned olive oil is a great moisturizer? It's great for your cuticles, or at least that's what my Gram said! And she was the wisest woman I know!

Now Sprinkle with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Get both sides!

Bake 400 degrees until you can pierce with a knife. About two hours in my dinosaur of an oven.

I know they are hot! But carefully cut off the tops of the taters. Sometimes I buy the extra large potatoes, and then I split them down the middle long ways. But these are kinda small. Save those tops! Those are a late night snack for a bunch of hungry teenagers! (just sprinkle some cheese on them and watch them disappear!)

In a large mixing bowl, dump one stick of butter. I know it's a lot but if you are looking for a low fat blog, this isn't it!! You work out!!! Dump that butter! It's going to six potatoes! Now carefully spoon out the inside of the potatoes and dump the flesh into the mixing bowl. Careful not to break the skin!

Add to the bowl now 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of sour cream. 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Mind you, I dont measure any of this. The cheese is two big handfuls and the spices are second nature. So make sure you taste your food as you go along.

Re-stuff the potatoes. Carefully! They will be very full! Hey! I forgot something! BACON!! Oh noooo!!!

In case you don't know the easiest and best way to cook bacon, let me go over it. For this recipe you will need 5 pieces of bacon. Take a cookie sheet and non stick rack. Place bacon on the rack.

The grease will drip down. Less fattening! And you didn't have to stand over a pan that was spitting bacon fat at you! Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until cooked perfect.

Keep an eye on it. You can burn it easily! Transfer bacon to paper towels and break up into bite size pieces.

So normally you all the bacon to the bowl but I forgot! So it is on top! Oops!

Cover the potatoes with 1/2 cup of cheese.

Re-bake in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes at the most. You are just warming and melting the cheese. So keep an eye on them.