There is a deep joy that comes with seeing friends who you’ve known for many years. This afternoon I had brunch with some of my college friends and we laughed, we drank, we reminisced, and we put a lady-vacation onto the calendar.  Anyone have suggestions for Montreal or Quebec? We are heading there in April!

Also, with the arrival of fall, and the clocks shifting back an hour, it is officially comfort food season.  Last week I made meatloaf and this weekend these twice baked potatoes were exactly the warm treat I needed.

The process for making twice baked potatoes is pretty straightforward.  First, you bake the potato, then you remove the baked insides with a spoon and mix in anything your heart desires. You are essentially creating mashed potatoes in a bowl and then carefully spooning them back into the shell.  Then, the potatoes get one more quick trip under the broiler to crisp up and then you can top them with a few extra treats prior to serving.

For this recipe I chose to add greek yogurt rather than sour cream but I am in no way pretending that these are healthy.  We served them with a roasted pork loin and a warm brussels sprout salad.  What are your favorite ways to make twice baked?

Recipe makes 2 potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 russet potatoes
• 4 pieces of thick cut bacon
• 5-6 whole cloves of garlic
• 3-4 tablespoons of butter
• 3 oz of greek yogurt
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cheddar cheese
• Green onions
• Diced red onion (3 tablespoons)

Steps and Notes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Poke holes in the potatoes and place onto the oven rack. (set a timer for 1 hr)
3. On the stovetop cook the bacon in a wide pan until crispy
4. Remove from the pan and place on a plate with a paper towel. Once cool, cut into small strips/bits
5. With 25 minutes remaining add the garlic cloves to a small baking dish and cover with a bit of olive oil. Bake until soft. Remove and smush with a fork.
6. After an hour test the potatoes by removing to a cutting board. Cut a slit down the top middle and carefully squeeze from the top/bottom end.
   • Note: They might need 10-15 minutes more time to bake.
7. Once the potatoes are soft carefully scoop out the inside of the potato and place into a bowl. Add the butter, greek yogurt, roasted garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork.
8. Spoon the potato mixture back into each skin and then top with cheddar cheese
9. Broil for 5 minutes
10. Remove and sprinkle each potato with the bacon bits, red onion, and green onions

Thoughts for Next Time:

• The pioneer woman suggests using cheddar jack cheese
• SkinnyTaste makes a variation topped with broccoli and cheese
• Simply Recipes has a blue cheese and chive variation
• Some wordpress searching landed me on this ‘beans and greens’ potato!
• And these two recipes for twice baked sweet potatoes and twice baked sweet potatoes with bacon and chives