Potato Skins

Only two weeks until the Super Bowl... potato skins are a classic football food in my book. These are really not that difficult to make. They're not the healthiest snack you could choose, but you can take a mini vacation from your diet for Super Bowl Sunday and enjoy some of these with a nice cold beer and a great football game on TV. You can bake the potatoes a day head if you want and then simply assemble them on the day you want to enjoy them.

Potato Skins
5 to 6 medium potatoes (Idaho/russet/baking/etc)
1 to 2 cups shredded cheese (I use a mix of jack & cheddar)
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup chopped green onion (green part only)
non-stick cooking spray or olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Bake the potatoes until tender. Allow the potatoes to cool, then slice each potato in half length-wise. Using a small spoon, scoop the potato out of the skin, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato attached to the skin all around. 

     

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or coat with olive oil. Arrange the hollowed out potato skins on the baking sheet. Fill each potato with the shredded cheese. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Place the potato skins in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove the skins from the oven and sprinkle bacon generously over the cheese. Pop them back in the oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and bubbly. HINT: I don't put the bacon on until the last 5 minutes of baking because that way it stays crispy, rather than sinking into the melted cheese.

          

Remove skins from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped green onion. Transfer to a plate and serve with sour cream.

Enjoy!