With the chilly weather and my cold lingering last weekend, we decided to keep Valentine’s Day close to home with a homemade dinner – pan-fried steak, tossed caesar salad and my favourite steakhouse side dish, the much loved Twice Baked Potato.
You can prepare this earlier in the day and then pop them in the oven in time for dinner, making them a delicious make-ahead side dish. Filled with creamy mashed potatoes full of bacon and cheddar, these are a perfect comfort food side.
I made a whole batch, which gave us enough for dinner and lunches for a couple of days, but you can also freeze the leftovers.
- 4 baking potatoes, washed
- canola oil
- kosher salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup greek yogurt (sour cream)
- ½ cup cheddar cheese (and extra for the topping)
- ½ cup crumbled bacon (bake your own in the oven while it preheats to bake the potatoes!)
- ½ tsp seasoning salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Wash, scrub and dry potatoes. Prick with a fork. Rub with canola oil and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until cooked through and soft.
- Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly until you can safely hold them. Lower oven to 350°F. With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the insides of the potatoes out into a bowl, leaving a rim of potato along the skin to give them some support.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash together potatoes, butter, milk, greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, bacon, seasoning salt and pepper.
- Fill the potato shells with the filling and sprinkle with extra cheddar cheese on top.
- Return the potatoes to the oven for 15 minutes or until warmed through. Turn on the broiler and broil the potatoes for 1-2 minutes until the tops are golden and bubbly, watching them carefully.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash, scrub and dry potatoes. Prick with a fork. Rub with canola oil and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until cooked through and soft.
Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly until you can safely hold them. Lower oven to 350°F. With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the insides of the potatoes out into a bowl, leaving a rim of potato along the skin to give them some support.
In a large mixing bowl, mash together potatoes, butter, milk, greek yogurt/sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon, seasoning salt and pepper.
Fill the potato shells with the filling and sprinkle with extra cheddar cheese on top.
Return the potatoes to the oven for 15 minutes or until warmed through. Turn on the broiler and broil the potatoes for 1-2 minutes until the tops are golden and bubbly, watching them carefully.
We had ours for Valentine’s Day with pan-fried marinated and tossed caesar salad (with some extra bacon and parmesan for good measure!)
