Susan's Twice Baked Taters

Susan's Twice Baked Taters (So Easy!)

Ingredients:
Russet Potatoes (however many you want)
Cream Cheese or Sour Cream (adjust)
Shredded cheddar cheese  (adjust)
Milk (adjust)
Salt & Pepper


Bake several russet potatoes in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Be sure to pierce the potatoes before baking or they will explode. I use a knife to pierce on the side of the potato where I'm going to split it later for this recipe.

Take your hot baked potatoes and split them in half long-ways. Quickly remove the potato from the skin with a spoon into a mixing bowl. It's going to be hot so you might use a pot holder to keep from burning your paws. Place skin on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet to stuff later.

In your mixing bowl, add shredded cheddar cheese or any cheese you care for. Use whatever amount you'd like. I try to go lite on the cheese because frankly we don't need that much fat. Add either sour cream or cream cheese or both if you wish. Today I used some fat-free cream cheese that I wanted to finish up. Add milk, salt & pepper to your liking and use a mixer to blend. Add enough milk to make consistency of mashed potatoes. I tend to use a little less because I like my taters a little dryer. 

You can spoon the mixture back into the skins or use a pastry bag and get all fancy with it. I decided to get fancy today!  You can add a little shredded cheese to the top or bake them naked. Get creative. You could had bacon bits ~ that would be fun!

I love this pastry bag.

Stick 'em back in the 350 degree oven for about 15 or 20 minutes to reheat.  Today I'm putting these in the fridge and will reheat them later for supper. These reheat very nicely and I promise if you take them to a potluck straight out of the oven, they will disappear in a heartbeat.

Enjoy!




Notes: These are a great, easy, inexpensive side dish to take to potlucks or dinners but you can really dress them up with extras like bacon bits, chopped green onions, a little paprika, a sliced jalapeno on top for your spicier friends. I also like that you can make them ahead and serve them the next day. 4/3/11 Update: I froze two of these to see how they would reheat later. They were perfect! So ... I'll be doing this again and freezing some for later. Great to add to lunch or dinner. I love these!