Last week I bought a large bag of russet potatoes. I love potatoes, but I didn't really have any ideas on what to cook other than mashed potatoes and stew or curry. Then my friend told me about twice baked potatoes. I had never made them before but they sounded delicious so I took a stab at it. Now I know how long it takes to make them and I don't think I'll make them very often. Also, I had no idea of the proportions so I made too much of the "loaded" part of the potatoes. Now I have leftover chili. I unintentionally made the "loaded" part with ground beef, onion, and tomato which is essentially chili. I don't mind. It's all delicious.
 |
| The "loaded" part |
 |
| Potatoes covered in extra virgin olive oil before being baked |
 |
| Baked potato prep |
 |
| Baked potatoes with the insides scooped out |
 |
| Mashed potatoes and the "loaded" |
 |
| The "loaded" stuffed back into the potatoes |
 |
| Finished product with delicious melty cheese on top |
 |
| Leftover "loaded" that will become chili |
Twice baked loaded potatoes (Warning: This recipe will give you lots of leftover ground beef mixture)
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 28 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
- half onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- salt, pepper, cumin, oregano to taste
- extra virgin olive oil
- shredded cheese
- 6 russet potatoes
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1 tbsp butter
Procedure
- Cook the onion and garlic with about 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large pan and then add the salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano. When the onions are cooked and begin looking a bit clear add the ground beef and canned tomato. Mix well.
- While the beef is cooking, place the 6 potatoes on a microwaveable plate. Use a fork to stab small holes in each potato.
- Cook potatoes in microwave for 15 minutes on 60% power.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- When potatoes are done, cover a baking pan with foil and place the potatoes on the sheet. Cover the potatoes with the olive oil.
- Bake potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Check on the beef mixture and try to cook out as much of the liquid as you can.
- When potatoes are done, cut a small slice off each potato and then dig out the potato like a little boat. (See pictures above).
- Mix the potato innards with about a quarter of the beef mixture. Add the cream cheese and butter. This makes the "loaded" part of the potatoes.
- Put the "loaded" part of the potatoes bake inside the little potato boats and bake at 400 F for about 10-15 minutes. Top with cheese. Enjoy!
