Loaded Baked Potato Skins

Warm potato skins loaded with cheese, bacon, sour cream, and green onions.  A delicious gameday snack.

The first College Football Playoff National Championship is tonight (this afternoon for us in Hawaii) so I thought I'd share a football snack.  These Potato skins really hit the spot.  They are slightly salty and crisp baked potato skins loaded with all my favorite toppings.  These skins are baked and not fried so they don't get as crisp as the deep fried kind you can get at restaurants but they are delicious and easy to make.

Declicious #bakednotfried Loaded Baked #PotatoSkins  [Tweet this]

First off you need to start with great baked potatoes and I have a trick that makes them awesome.  You rub the potatoes with olive oil and sea salt before baking them (it's super simple but makes a huge difference).  Click the link for more details.  Then cut into wedges and slightly hollow each wedge.  Now you have the base potato skin.  Don't throw away the potato insides.  I saved them to make Gnocchi (I'll post that recipe eventually) or add them with some eggs and sausage/bacon to make a breakfast hash...there are plenty of things you can make with it.

Start with great #bakedpotatos for Loaded Baked Potato Skins  [Tweet this]

Loaded Baked Potato Skins

Ingredients:

4 baked russet potatoes, cooled (even refrigerated over night would be fine I think)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Bacon, cooked and chopped
Sour cream
Green onions, sliced

Cut each baked potato into wedges.  I had medium to small potatoes so I cut them into quarters (cut in half long ways then cut each half in half again--longways) if you have really big potatoes you may be able to get more.

Carefully scoop out, you don't want to tear the skins, all but about 1/4-1/2 inch of the potato insides making the wedges concave so they can hold toppings.  At this point I refrigerated them to make the next day (or just make them the same day) but I bet you could freeze them laid out on a sheet pan for about 1-2 hours then store in a freezer bag until you want to use them too.

Lay out the skins, skin side down, on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle on as much cheese as you like and bake at 400 F for about 10-15 minutes.  Then switch to broil and broil for a little while until cheese is well melted.

Remove skins from oven and top with bacon bits, a dollop of sour cream, and some green onions.
(alternatively just use a dollop of Loaded Baked Potato Dip on top of the re-baked skins)

Serve immediately.  Makes about 12 skins which was fine for 2 people but we would have liked even more...they're delicious.

Enjoy.

Linked to: 2 cup, Teach Me, Lou Lou Girls, Ticke my tastebuds, Tasty, Merry Mon, Wed Roundup, Cook Craft share, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends, Best of the Weekend

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Best of the Month August 2014

A recap of my most popular posts from August 2014

I'm late again.  Oh well at least I'm still getting this post made.  I have had a good few months.  I think I'm getting more regular visitors and each post receives 200 or more views.  I hope this keeps up.  I've still been promoting my posts on Google plus and I have about 3 communities I post to regularly.  I also still try to share my posts in multiple link parties through out the week.  My pictures are improving although as summer ends and winter begins it is darker when I eat dinner and that's when I usually take pictures.  Hopefully I'll be able to edit them or figure out how to better light my photos without too much trouble.

Here are my most popular posts:

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

I love dips and apparently so do others.  This dip was delicious and very popular with 1014 views and 130 +1s.  It quickly moved to the top of my most popular blog posts and has been shared and pinned many times.  I'm very proud.

Bacon Day Round Up

I know good and well this got pinned.  I even pinned it at least once so I don't know why pinterest is wrong....  I put the wrong date on the picture (it was the 30th not 31st) but no one seemed to mind too much.  this post got 285 views and 45 +1s.

Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Again I know this one has been pinned a few times too but it's just not registering for some reason.  283 views and 24 +1s.

Pureed Carrot Soup

Ditto as above about the pin count.  248 views and 23 +1s.

Pork and Peas Stir Fry

Again the pin count is incorrect but this was accepted to FoodGawker.  231 views and 45 +1s.

Check out my most popular posts from August 2013:

Click picture to be taken to BOM August 2013

Linked to:  Sat Night Fever, Share Sun, See ya in the gumbo, Merry Mon, Two Cup, Lou Lou Girls, teach Me, Wonderful Wed, TYSH, Eat Create, Best of the Weekend

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5 Cookout Essentials

My 5 most important food items to have at a good cookout.

Man Crates, gifts for men, contacted me to write a post about 5 things I think are essential to have at a cookout. Man crates is trying to make gift buying for men easy.  There are all kinds of categories to please just about anyone.  I think many women would like to receive a "man" crate too.

So I realize the typical time for cookouts is ending with summer but I live in Hawaii so we can cookout year round.  Also I think you can cookout anytime you want you don't need special weather for it although I understand not wanting to be outside in the cold winter...but winter is not here yet so go outside and enjoy it while you can.

When it comes to cookouts I don't think you really need any special equipment but there are some food items that I think everyone likes to see at a cookout.

1.  Beverages

Beer is always the first option for me and most people who consume alcohol but for those who don't I think Sweet Tea is a must.  Growing up in the south we always had sweet tea (brewed in a glass pitcher in the sun) during the summer.  It was always Lipton and had a lot of sugar in it.  Now I choose healthier green tea and less sweetener like this:

Cold Brewed Green Tea

 

2.  Chips and Dip

Everyone loves chips whether tortilla or potato it's always great to have an easy snack while waiting for your burger to cook.  I have many recipes for dips and salsas but this is my favorite:

Loaded Potato Dip

 

3.  Hot Sauce

My husband loves spicy foods and if he could he would add his favorite hot sauce to everything.  We always have Sriracha on hand but this is the family favorite (it's made by friends of ours from TX):

Ass Burn Sauce

4.  Jalapenos

Still on the spicy theme my husband loves jalapenos.  He always likes to add them to his burgers or even hot dogs.  He'll really put them on just about everything.  Whether raw, pickled, diced or sliced he loves them in all forms.  Here is an easy recipe to make your own pickled jalapenos:

Pickled Jalapenos

5.  Cookies

I don't know many people who don't have some kind of sweet tooth and when eating outside it's easier to have a quick hand held dessert like cookies.  These are traditional but my husband's favorite:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Two Cup, Teach Me, Lou Lou Girls, Tickle my Tastebuds, Brag About It, Whimsy Wed, Cook Craft Share, Full Plate, Eat Create, Freedom Fri, Best of the weekend, See ya in the Gumbo, Merry Mon, Tasty Tue

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Loaded Baked Potato Dip

A dip made with sour cream, green onions, cheese, and bacon bits.  It's like a loaded baked potato on a chip.

I don't know if the rest of you are as excited as I am, but college football starts this weekend.  I love watching college football (I like NFL too).  There are only a few teams I really care about (my alma mater and my husband's alma maters--he has a PhD so there are a few) and the rest I watch jeering against a rival or just have on in the background hoping for a good game.  My husband even brings our second TV into the living room so we can watch 2 games at once (one time we had games on both TVs, 2 laptops, and a cell phone).

Get excited about football w/ Loaded Baked Potato Dip  [Tweet this]

Besides the football, I love the food.  Usually, it's just me and my husband but occasionally a friend or two and I love having some kind of football snack for us.  Dips are an especially great gameday snack and this one is one of my new favorites.  I love a loaded baked potato and that's what you get with this dip.  It's the perfect addition to just about any potato product.  I dipped chips, but it would also taste great with fries, tots, wedges, skins, even mixed in with mashed potatoes.  Try some at your next football gathering or any gathering.

#Dips are great #gamedaysnacks  [Tweet this]

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Ingredients:

16 ounces sour cream
1/2 pound of bacon, cooked and chopped
1-2 cups green onion slices
1-2 cups shredded cheese (your choice)

Place the sour cream into a large bowl and stir in all the other ingredients.  Add a hand full at a time and stir until it looks fully loaded to you. Reserve some of each to sprinkle over the top as a garnish (optional).

Serve with your favorite potato product.  Enjoy.

Linked to:  Two Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Teach Me, Tasty Tues, Brag About It, Whimsy Wed, Wonderful Wed, The Yuck Stops Here, Wed Roundup, Cook Craft Share, Eat Create, Freedom Friday, Foodie Friends, Pretty Pintastic, See Ya in the Gumbo, Merry Monday

Featured on:  See Ya in the Gumbo,

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