Twice cooked stuffed potatoes, baked with everything and anything, is an easy meal for busy homes!
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of those fabulous vegetables we could eat all by itself; roasted, boiled, grilled or fried.
Potatoes are hard not to love simply because they are versatile and they accommodate just about any flavor or ingredient you want to put with them.
Potatoes were the first food I fed my children when they were just starting to eat food (and not just milk), and will probably be the last food we eat before departing this world LOL!
Various Ways To Cook Potatoes
Roasted potatoes, skin on, are about the easiest way to cook a potato. Toss those scrubbed potatoes clean, toss in olive oil, coarse salt and some fresh rosemary and you could eat potatoes this way just about everyday.
Oven Fried Potatoes are another great way to enjoy the nourishing ‘skins left on’ a potato and not have the potatoes swimming in oil the way oil fried potatoes have.
The oven is set to 450, potatoes sliced to the desired size, tossed in a little olive oil, not much, salted and let them crisp up in the oven.
And, where would comfort good be without good ole mashed potatoes! Peeled, boiled, seasoned and whipped into fluffy white clouds of deliciousness!
What Is A Twice Cooked Stuffed Potato?
A big ole russet potato, scrubbed, skin on and baked in the oven for an hour. That is once cooked. Simple, nothing to do except toss a bunch of potatoes into the oven and roast them.
This part can be done early in the day, put the cooked potatoes aside until dinner time when you are ready to make a meal out of them.
This step can also be done at ‘meal-prep time’ over the weekend when you have time to plan out meals for the busy week ahead.
Twice cooked happens when you are ready to open the baked potato, stuff it with whatever you may have in the fridge, bake it for a brief time again, and you’ve got an entire meal in less than 15-minutes!
Stuffed Potatoes
The question is; what to stuff those potatoes with! A favored stuffing for many busy young families is bacon, cheese and of course toss some broccoli in there. I can’t think of a faster meal to satisfy a busy family on weeknights.
Vegan stuffings are a healthy and satisfying way to stuff the potato; tomatoes, spinach lemon vinaigrette and a little cashew cheese would make for a fabulous stuffing. Red beans and cauliflower with a little salsa verde would be fabulous as well.
A little gourmet touch to these ole spuds would be nice for those adult, fireside meals. How about a cheesesteak stuffed baked potato? Oh yes please!
Got a little leftover chili, either loaded with meat or a fabulous black bean chili? Stuff that in the baked potato and in 15-minutes you’ve got dinner.
What To Stuff Potatoes With?
- Zucchini – cut confetti style
- Broccoli – cut into tiny pieces
- Cheeses – shredded
- Beef, chicken or turkey – pre-cooked and shredded
- Roasted peppers – cut into tiny strips
- Fried onions – perfect for topping a vegetarian potato
- Bacon – pre-cooked for a crunchy topping
- Leftovers – stews, chili or the solids in a soup
Potato Skins – Stuffed & Twice Cooked
Here’s another fabulous approach to twice cooked potatoes that actually carves out two separate meals; bake the potato, cut it in half, scoop out the cooked potato for another meal and fill the skins with your favorite filling, roast one more time and you’ve got dinner, or at least a yummy side dish.
When I was growing up, no one ate the skins on the potato. How ignorant. Now we know the skin offers so many wonderful health benefits as well as great flavor.
What to make with the scooped out cooked potato? That’s easy! Add it to any soup stock to make for a creamier broth. If you like to make bread or are willing to try an easy recipe for Potato Bread, then the cooked potato is the perfect ingredient for bread making.
How To Make Twice Cooked Stuffed Potatoes
Deciding what you want to stuff the potato with is entirely up to you, even though I am sharing one of my favorite stuffing here with you.
While the potato is roasting, you have an hour to precook any meats you may want in the stuffing, or simply pull out some leftovers.
Once the potato is roasted and cooled, cut an oval opening on the top, scoop out some of the cooked potato, which can be mixed with stuffing ingredients and spooned back into the cooked potato cavity.
Wrap the potato in foil, store it in the fridge if it is for later, or pop it back into the oven at 400 for 15-minutes and you’ve got dinner.
This is a great, not to mention fun, way to serve a large crowd for game day or casual gathering of friends.
Ingredients Needed
- Russet potatoes
- Broccoli
- Bacon
- Onion
- Butter
- Mushroom
- Garlic
- Cheese
- Chives
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Equipment Needed
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Baking sheet pan
- Saute pan
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Stovetop or burner
- Oven
TWICE COOKED STUFFED POTATOES
Ingredients
- Russet potatoes – 4, scrubbed clean
- Broccoli – 1/2 cup, cooked and chopped
- Bacon – 1/2 cup, cooked and chopped
- Onion – 1 medium, chopped and caramelized
- Butter – 1 tbsp
- Mushrooms – 1/2 cup, chopped
- Garlic- 2 cloves, crushed
- Cheese – 3/4 cup, shredded
- Chives – 1/4 cup, chopped
- Olive oil – 2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400
- Place scrubbed clean, unpeeled potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Cool
- While potatoes bake, cook the bacon and chop into small pieces.
- Melt the butter in a pan and caramelize the chopped onions along with the chopped mushrooms.
- Cut a long oval in the top of the baked, cooled potato and carefully remove much of the cooked potato.
- In a large bowl, place the cooked, scooped out potato, the chopped broccoli, caramelized onions and mushrooms, crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and half of the shredded cheese. Mix gently.
- Stuff the potato mixture back into the cooked potatoes. Top with the remaining cheese, bacon and sprinkle the chopped chives.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 15-minutes. Serve
Video
Nutrition
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.