Twice Baked Potatoes

When I grew up; it seemed like in my family, at least, that suppers usually 9 times out of 10 consisted of meat, potatoes and vegetables. Often times we had frozen mixed vegetables, which to this day I cannot eat…..I didn’t like them as a child and still don’t enjoy them as an adult. But, nowadays, it seems people are getting more and more creative and diverse in their meal preparation. Twice baked potatoes seem to be a popular side dish right now (or even appetizer for some); and they definitely dress up an everyday meal or add a little ‘sparkle’ to a fancier dish.




I found this recipe on the kraft website – it’s a great site for easy meals; and I usually end up loving the finished product. These were no exception. The garlic cooking alone, smelled amazing! They were a bit complex the first time; and don’t seem to be nearly as pretty as some could make them I’m sure, but the flavour was really really good. MS and I are both potatoe lovers….add cheese, bacon and garlic into the mix – Heaven!

PS – I halved this recipe where it was just for the two of us and it turned out perfectly – and I wished that I had done the whole recipe so that we had leftovers!




What you will need:

1 head of garlic
1 tsp. oil
4 large baking potatoes
1 cup of light sour cream
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese – divided
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
4 slices of bacon, crispy, cooked, drained and crumbled (I just purchased the ‘real’ bacon bits and they worked perfectly)


Directions:

Preheat oven at 400F. Bake your potatoes normally, prick with a fork and place on an oven rack. Cut a thin slice off the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Place this on a sheet of foil, drizzle it with oil, wrap loosely and bake for one hour.

Cut the bottoms off of each potatoe – small slice. This will allow them to stand up for presentation purposes. Then when they are cooked you will cut them in the middle to scoop out the excess – centres. Place the potatoe flesh in a medim bowl to mash. Squeeze the garlic to get the cooked portion out – this will be really easy and it will come out right away. Add to the potoatoes. Then add your sour cream and 1 ¼ cup of cheddar and the parmesan cheese. Beat until fluffy, and then spoon this mixture evenly into the shells – mounding – use it all. Place them in a shallow baking dish.

Bake for another 30 minutes and then top them with the remainder cheddar and bacon; and then bake them for another 5 mins until the cheddar is melted and Enjoy!

Printable Chicks Recipe :