Saturday, August 20, 2011

Loaded Baked Potatoes for 1

Potato of doom!

Twice-baked potatoes are a thing of beauty. It's like a combination of the 2nd and 3rd best way to eat a potato (the first being french fries IMHO). You get the crispy outside of baked potato coupled with the velvety texture of mashed potatoes. I don't know if I would necessarily call these true twice-baked potatoes, so I'll just call them "loaded" - as in "loaded with toppings and deliciousness".



They are really easy to make. I didn't really put measurements, because I sort of feel like it's based on how crazy you want to go with them. And in case you're not a huge lame-o like me and make potatoes for one, you can always just eyeball the recipe for 2 or 3 or 4 people... however many you want.

And OBVIOUSLY, the Contours are totally applicable in this case. Get it? Because they can do the mashed potat'a?!?



Loaded Baked Potatoes
Makes 1 lonely potato

- 1 huge russet or baking potato
- olive oi, just keep that bottle on hand
- small broccoli floret, about a handful
- 2-3 slices of Smart (fake) Bacon
- Daiya cheddar cheese, about a handful
- chopped green onion, about 1-2 tablespoons
- pickled & sliced jalapeno, to taste
- baby spinach, about a handful 
- 2 tbs earth balance
- 1 tbs tofutti sour cream
- Salt, pepper, and fresh or dried garlic to taste

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash your potato. Give it a good scrub. Cover with a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt. 
  3. Give it a few stabs with a fork. Wrap in foil. Bake on the oven rack for about an hour, or until tender. 
  4. Place broccoli florets with 1 tsp of oil and some salt in a glass dish in the oven with the potato for the last 15-20 minutes. Remove and set aside when tender and bright green.
  5. When potatoes are finished, remove from the oven and let sit unwrapped. Keep your oven on.
  6. Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat. Cook your Smart (fake) Bacon strips in oil, flipping, until crispy. Remove from heat and set aside. 
  7. Remove the insides of the potato, keeping the shell intact. Place in a mixing bowl. Add desired amount of Daiya cheese, earth balance, sour cream, baby spinach, and seasoning to taste (don't forget salt! Potato's best friend!). Mix until smooth like mashed potatoes. 
  8. Place mixture BACK into the potato shell in the tinfoil. Top with more Daiya. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, allowing Daiya to melt. 
  9. Remove from oven, top with green onions, jalapenos, broken up Smart (fake) Bacon pieces, broccoli florets, and more sour cream if desired. 
  10. Now eat!

1 comment:

Sarah E. Hoffman said...

These look amazing. I never make baked potatoes (much less x2 baked potatoes) because I never have the right toppings. but this pic has inspired me!