Recipe: Potato Skins

I came across this recipe at Simply Recipes while looking for recipes for Potato Skins… I’ve made them before… but I wanted to see how others make them… actually the recipe is basic and pretty much how I’ve made them in the past…

I just had to include the recipe in our Super Bowl Menu. It takes time to do these… but they are easy and can be done ahead…. which as you know … I really like.

The day before, you can bake the potatoes while you do other things…. I let mine cool completely… I cut them in half and scooped out the potato…. and lined them up in airtight containers and kept them in the fridge….

When I go to make them...I set them out to come closer to room temperature… and then I picked up the recipe from there… by the way… I scooped out the potato and put it in an airtight container…. We really like baked stuffed potatoes… and you never have enough inner potato to re-stuff the skin… so that’s what I use the saved extra potato for.

I figure about 1 ½ potatoes per person if I’m serving lots of other things… if I’m not serving much else…I figure at least 2 potatoes per person…. And then I throw in a couple more to round it out. Trust me… you won’t have leftovers.

The ingredient quantities will be dependent on how many you are making.

These are very easy…. I know you will enjoy them!

Potato Skins Recipe:

All you need:

Potatoes (I use Russet)
Olive oil for rubbing on the potatoes
Chopped green onions
Shredded cheese (I use cheddar)
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Sour Cream

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub and dry the potatoes.

Rub the skins with a little olive oil.

Bake them for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.

Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the potato from the skin. Leave about 1/8 to a ¼ inch of potato on the skin.

Brush both the inner and outer portion of the skins… sprinkle the top side with salt.

Lay them either on a rack or a pan (I line my pan with Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick Foil).

Return them to the oven for 10 minutes.

While the potatoes are in the oven, cook the bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels.

Crumble the bacon. Set aside.

When the potatoes have finished baking 10 minutes, remove them from the oven.

Flip them over and sprinkle salt on the top side.

Return them to the oven for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Let potatoes cool enough to handle.

Arrange the potato skins on a cookie sheet.

Grind fresh black pepper over them.

Mound shredded cheddar cheese on each…. about 2-3 tablespoons
Sprinkle with crumbled bacon bits.

Bake for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Using tongs remove the potato skins from the pan onto a serving plate.

Place a small dollop of sour cream on each and sprinkle with chopped green onions.