May 14, 2010

Bacon & Chipotle Twice-Baked Potatoes


While I may not have the well traveled taste buds of a true food connoisseur, I like to think I have pretty good taste when it comes to one particular class of cuisine. Bar food. Wings dripping in hot sauce. Heaping piles of hot, salty French fries. Gooey deep fried mozzarella sticks. If there was an expert in such a field, it would be yours truly.

So when I recently made an amazing bar-worthy cilantro turkey burger with a spicy chipotle ketchup, I needed the perfect accompaniment. And what better way to tame the heat of a spicy meal, than by serving an even spicier side dish? (We definitely like it hot around here. But to those with sissy taste buds, omitting the chilis will yield a milder, yet equally delicious potato.)

This was my first experience making a twice-baked potato, and the creamy, cheesy, bacony deliciousness left me fervently regretting all those wasted dinners with sub par burger sides. Sorry French fries, but I've moved on to greener, tastier pastures...that are covered in bacon.


And even better, these potatoes are extremely simple, too. First, wash and bake your potatoes for about 50 minutes, then cool, slice in half, and scoop out the flesh. You want to make sure you leave some of the potato in the shells. If you attempt to scoop it all out, the shells will loose their shape and could fall apart.


Next, mash the potato with a  potato masher to get the pulp nice and creamy, then mix in bacon, green onion, sharp cheddar, low fat buttermilk and spicy, flavorful chopped chipotle chiles.

And to really speed things along, it's pre-cooked bacon to the rescue. Just zap the strips in the microwave for about 30 seconds.


Then stuff all that creamy, cheesy goodness back into the shells, top with more cheddar and bake for 15 minutes. (The perfect amount of time to cook your burgers.)


These potatoes were AWESOME. The skins were crisp and the filling, well, definitely didn't taste light. Heavenly is more of an appropriate adjective.

Luke and I majorly chowed down. Bite after bite, we stuffed our faces with delicious spicy cilantro burgers and creamy spicy potatoes, ignoring the fact that our tongues got no intermission whatsoever from the chipotle's heat. We didn't care. This meal was so good, we seriously felt like we were at a sports bar. (Note: The kind of sports bar that serves awesome bar food, not the kind that smells like a frat house.) 

So while our tongues definitely took a hit with this ultra spice-filled meal, it was worth it. You just can't beat the combination of bacon, chipotle, green onions and cheese. Spicy. Creamy. Cheesy. And gone in seconds.



Bacon & Chipotle Twice-Baked Potatoes
Lorrie Hulston Corvin, Cooking Light, December 2008
Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed shell)

Cookbook Note: If you don't care for the spicy chipotle chiles, omit them—these simple potatoes are good either way. Remember this side dish next summer; it is quite good with barbecue.

Ingredients:
6  medium baking potatoes (about 3 pounds)
1 1/4  cups  low-fat buttermilk
1 1/4  cups  (5 ounces) shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/3  cup  thinly sliced green onions
2  tablespoons  finely chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1  teaspoon  salt
4  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (drained)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake potatoes at 450° for 50 minutes or until done; cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Combine potato pulp, milk, 3/4 cup cheese and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Spoon potato mixture evenly into 10 shells; discarding remaining 2 shells. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over potatoes. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 241 (22% from fat), Fat: 6g (sat 3.1g,mono 2g,poly 0.3g), Protein: 9.6g, Carbohydrate: 37g, Fiber: 4.1g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Iron:1.9 mg, Sodium: 464mg, Calcium: 168mg.
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22 comments:

Writing Without Periods! said...

These look fab. We are having ribs tonight so these potatoes will go along nicely.
Mary

Kat said...

This looks incredible....I usually stuff mine with cheese and brocolli...but I might have to switch it up to this ;)

Anonymous said...

Those look amazing! I love anything with bacon so these are tops! Thanks for sharing and I love all the food pics and recipes, by the way.

Kristen @ Change of Pace said...

My husband would LOVE this... I might try them this weekend :)

julie said...

How juvenile am I, I read fart house instead of frat house and thought "hmmm... I've been to a few bars like that before".

Despite my sophomoric musings, these, I can already tell, are amazing. I LOVE loaded baked potatoes and I LOVE twiced baked potatoes.

Rachel said...

You say fart house, I say frat house...same thing really! ;-)

Rachel Cotterill said...

I love twice-baked potatoes... this reminds me it's been ages since I made them :D

Anonymous said...

You had me at Chipotle!! Love the idea of these twice baked potatoes. I love entertaining with twice baked, because you can make them ahead of time and then just pop them under the broiler when ready.

Great job! p.s. I am adding you to my blog roll since you like spicy shit! :D

Aimee @ Ain't Yo Mama's Blog said...

When I saw the word "bacon" in the comment above me on SITS today, I knew I was stopping by!

These potatoes look incredible! I'm so with you on *bar food*. I like to think I have a good palate and have tasted a variety of foods around the world, but nothing comes close to the comfort and taste of good bar food. Can't wait to check out your other recipes!

Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!

-Aimee

Anonymous said...

oh wow, this looks fantastic! My mouth is watering, stopping by from sits, have a great weekend! anne

www.anniebakes.net

teresa said...

definitely my kind of food too! see this is what i love about cooking light, you're allowed to eat cheese and bacon!

Mary said...

My hubby plans on smoking a brisket tomorrow and this will be the perfect side dish! Thanks!

Dr. Heckle said...

Those look delicious! Although I have to admit that I'm a sucker for anything with bacon and cheese...

3 hungry tummies said...

They look amazing, these will go down so well with a few pints of chilled cold beer!

Pam said...

Delicious looking! I will have to make this soon!

Ronnica said...

I love twice-baked potatoes, but I've never made them myself. I'm going to have to try this! They're good for you, right? ;)

Unknown said...

The twice baked potatoes look fantastic! My family would love this recipe. Thanks for posting it!

Kerri said...

Oh my gosh I am so putting you on my blogroll!!
My hubby makes the BEST twice baked potatoes, but the pics in your side bar look TOO good!

Kerri said...

Oh, btw, stopping in from SITS

Mhel said...

I love making twice baked potatoes. Its a lot of work compare to the regular baked ones, but its all worth the effort. Dropping by from SITS!!

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

oh how I love me some twice baked potatoes. and these with chipotle and bacon...come on now!!!!

Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's for Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com

Shamrocks and Shenanigans said...

we have discovered that if you add chili on top of the twice baked potato that you have a meal and dont have to feel guilty (or at least that is what I tell myself lol) about eating the potato without meat. LOL

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