Twice Baked Potatoes For Valentines Day Food

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the potatoes directly on the rack in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pierce each potato in a couple spots with a fork and continue to bake until tender, about 30 minutes more. Remove potatoes from the oven, and turn the heat down to 375 degrees F.
• Hold the potato with an oven-mit or towel, trim off the top of the potatoes to make a canoe-like shape. Reserve the tops. Carefully scoop out most of the potato into a bowl. Take care to leave enough potato in the skin so the shells stay together. Mash the potato lightly with fork along with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the butter and sour cream. Stir in the scallion, nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Season the skins with salt and pepper. Refill the shells with the potato mixture mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the potato filling. Brush the reserved top with the remaining butter and season with salt and pepper.
• Set the potatoes and lids on a baking sheet, and bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
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TWICE BAKED POTATOES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Steps:

• 1. Clean potatoes.
• 2. Dry with a towel. Then rub with olive oil.
• 3. Sprinkle with salt.
• 4. Pierce potatoes with a fork.
• 5. Place potatoes in a pie dish. Cover with foil and bake 1 hr at 350 degrees. Or, microwave covered with wet paper towel until done; about 5 to 8 minutes.
• 6. Let cool.
• 7. While still somewhat warm cut potatoes in half longways. Using a spoon, carefully cull out potatoes within 1/4" from the skin. Place hollowed potato to the side.
• 8. Combine culled potato, milk, and butter. Mix until smooth.
• 9. Fold in sour cream, Swiss, and cheddar cheese until well blended. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
• 10. Fill potato skins with mixture.
• 11. Bake potatoes for another 15 minutes in the oven or 2-3 minutes in microwave.
• 12. Top with chopped green onion and bacon bits.
• 13. Optional: Top with fresh red bell pepper that has been cut with a 1' mini heart cookie cutter to let them know you love them!!! Enjoy!

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Position racks in the top and middle of the oven, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Take the butter out of the refrigerator to soften. Scrub the potatoes clean and pat them dry. Poke holes all over them with a fork. In a large bowl, toss them with the oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place the potatoes directly on the top rack, and place a baking sheet or a piece of foil on the middle rack to catch drips. Bake for about 1 hour, until the skin is crisp and potatoes offer no resistance when a knife is inserted in their centers. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Slice the top third lengthwise off the potatoes. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving 1/4-inch border of potato on the skin, and transfer the flesh to a medium bowl. Scrape the potato tops of all flesh, and add the flesh to the bowl. Place the bottoms on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Snack on the tops - chef's treat - or discard.)
• Mash the potato flesh with a fork or potato masher. Add the butter, and stir until smooth (try not to overwork). Add the milk, sour cream and cheese and stir to combine. (If you want the filling softer, add more milk.) Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the chives, if using.
• Mound each potato skin with a quarter of the filling. Bake the potatoes until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

MAKE-AHEAD TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Wash potatoes and pat dry.
• Place potatoes, not touching, on a large baking sheet.
• You may need two baking sheets.
• Spray potatoes generously with non-stick cooking spray.
• Sprinkle outside of potatoes with a little salt.
• Bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until potatoes "give" when gently squeezed, indicating they are done.
• In large mixing bowl, add butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper and mix well.
• With a serrated knife, cut baked potatoes in half lengthwise, being careful to leave skins unbroken.
• With large spoon, scoop out the inside of potatoes, leaving a thin layer of potato attached to the inside of the skin.
• Place potato skin shells, skin side down, on the baking sheet used to bake the potatoes.
• Put scooped out potato in mixing bowl as you remove it and mix to combine with butter mixture, adding skim milk as needed to make potatoes the consistency of slightly stiff mashed potatoes.
• You may need a little more or less milk to get the final desired consistency.
• Using the palm of your hand to support the potato shell while filling, spoon and press potato mixture into each half potato shell.
• Return filled shell to baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with shredded cheese and pat cheese to make it adhere to the potatoes.
• TO SERVE IMMEDIATELY: Return baking pan of potatoes to oven and bake about 15-25 minutes until potatoes are hot and cheese is melted.
• TO FREEZE FOR LATER USE: Cover potatoes with plastic wrap and place baking sheet in freezer, leaving several hours until potatoes are completely frozen.
• Remove potatoes from freezer and wrap each potato in a resealable plastic sandwich bag.
• Place wrapped potatoes into one or more gallon resealable freezer bags.
• Store in freezer for up to 3 months.
• TO COOK FROZEN POTATOES: Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place potatoes on baking sheet and loosely cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake about 45 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or more until potatoes are hot.
• Do not over bake.
• This method keeps the potato skins firm and crisp.
• If time is short, place potatoes in microwave and cook on high about 10 minutes.
• Remove and then place in 350°F oven to finish cooking.
• IN A BIG HURRY: These potatoes can be completely heated from frozen state in the microwave, heating them just until they are hot.
• Potato skins will be softer than if cooked in the oven.
• OR, they can be defrosted in the microwave and reheated, uncovered, in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

ULTIMATE TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
• Bake for another 15 minutes.

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Rub them with the canola oil and bake for 1 hour, making sure they're sufficiently cooked through.
• Slice the butter into pats. Place in a large mixing bowl and add the bacon bits and sour cream. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F.
• With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support. Lay the hollowed out potato shells on a baking sheet.
• Smash the potatoes into the butter, bacon and sour cream. Add the cheese, milk, seasoned salt, green onions and black pepper to taste and mix together well. (IMPORTANT: If you plan to freeze the twice-baked potatoes, do NOT add the green onions.)
• Fill the potato shells with the filling. I like to fill the shells so they look abundant and heaping. Top each potato with a little more grated cheese and pop 'em in the oven until the potato is warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.

BEST TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Microwave (or bake in oven at 400 for 1hr) the potatoes until done.
• Allow to cool a bit.
• Slice about a 1" strip of the skin off the top of each potato.
• Carefully scoop out the pulp, placing in a large bowl, and leaving potato shells intact.
• Mash the potato pulp along with the margarine.
• Add milk, sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper; combining well.
• Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells, piling high.
• Top with the crumbled bacon or bacon bits.
• Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Use a fork to pierce the potato skins.
• Bake the potatoes unwrapped for about 1 hour, or until soft, in the preheated oven.
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Over medium-low heat melt the butter in a large saucepan. Combine onion, mushrooms, red pepper, garlic powder, pepper, chives and salt. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft.
• Slice open the baked potatoes and, keeping the skins intact, scoop the insides into a medium bowl. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl. Mix in the sour cream. Pour in 1/2 of the cheese and continue mixing until all ingredients are well blended.
• Using a large spoon, fill the potato skins with the mixture. Top with bread crumbs, the remaining cheese and bacon.
• Return the potatoes to the preheated oven and continue baking for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the filling is slightly brown.

EASY TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Bake potatoes in a 375 degree oven 1 to 1 1/2 hours until done.
• When potatoes are done let them cool 10-15 minutes.
• Then slice them in half lengthwise.
• Using a spoon carefully scoop out the potato, leaving a little on skin so they don't break. Save the skins.
• In a large bowl mix all the ingredients except 1/4 cup cheese, green onion and paprika with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. If not creamy enough add a bit more milk.
• Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Spoon potato mixture evenly into shells.
• Top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and green onions.
• Sprinkle lightly with paprika.
• Return to oven until hot and cheese is melted, about 15-20 minutes.
• Or you can wrap in saran wrap and put in a freezer ziplock bag and freeze for use at another time.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Clean and scrub baking potatoes. Pierce skin with a fork once or twice. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft and firm.
• Let potatoes cool slightly. Cut baked potatoes in half and scoop out pulp within 1/4 inch of the shell edge. Mash the pulp with milk, salt and butter to taste. Stuff shells with mashed pulp mixture sprinkle tops with grated cheddar cheese. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.