Twice Baked Potatoes

A simple dish that goes great with "Asparagus everyone will love," is Twice Baked Potatoes. Yes, everyone can (and probably has) made them, but everyone has a different way of doing it. There are certain things that make a recipe unique, which is why I'm sharing this one with you.

Christmas Eve is a big to-do at my parents house. Dinner was made up of a veggie tray, and cheese and cracker tray to start. This yummy appetizer is followed by Wild Rice Soup and Twice Baked Potatoes and salad. Talk about amazing. Since this year Clark and I will not be joining my family for the holidays, I thought I would cook up a taste of "home" for dinner tonight. Twice Baked Potatoes are very easy. They take some time, but it's spread out so you can do other things while they are cooking.

While eating just twice baked potatoes may not be entirely satisfying, you can always serve them as a side with something else (soup, chicken, steak, etc). However, if you are looking for a simple dinner to have (home cooked) before you have other priorities, I would highly suggest them. A potato every now and then isn't bad for you, and these potatoes happen to be very filling (especially when served with "Asparagus everyone will love").

Supplies:

- 2 Potatoes (if you're making more, just do the math for the recipe. I just made these for Clark and myself, so this is perfect for just two!)

- 1/3 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

- 1/4 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese

- 2 TBLSP Butter

- 1/3 C Milk

- 1-3 Garlic Clove, depending on the size of the cloves (or 1/4 to 1/2 TSP Garlic Powder)

- 1/2 TSP Onion Powder

- 3/4 TSP Paprika

- 1/2 TSP Oregano

- 1/2 TSP Crushed Red Pepper

- Dash of table Salt & Black Pepper Pepper


Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

- Scrub the potatoes thoroughly. If you eat the potato skin, you want to know you washed it well.

- Poke the potatoes with a knife or fork two to three times before putting them in the oven.

- Bake the potatoes for 45 to 60 minutes. Do as you wish while they're cooking!

- When you take the potatoes out, place them on a cookie sheet. Cut them each in half length-wise. Let them cool for around 10 to 20 minutes.


- While the potatoes are cooling, place the butter, cheese, spices, and milk in a large mixing bowl. Don't mix them just yet!

- Once the potatoes are cool, scoop out the insides of the potatoes into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Mix up as well as possible. It should be somewhat chunky.


- Taste the filling and make sure you approve. Adding more spices is always a good thing. No worries if you don't follow the recipe precisely as I wrote it!

- Add Salt & Pepper to taste.

- Scoop the mixture back in to the potato skins. Making a mess and/or filling the potatoes unevenly is pretty much a given.


- Put the cookie sheet with your new creations back into the oven and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until you see the filling of the potatoes browning a bit on top. If you want them crispier on top, cook them longer. If you still want them a bit gooey on the inside, stick to the 20 minute mark.


- Let the potatoes cool for five to ten minutes (depending on how hungry you are) and enjoy your creation. While they are cooling, if you are eating them on their own, would be a good time to put the asparagus in the oven!

ENJOY!