Loaded Baked Potato
Over my years of camp counseling there was always one meal that I knew I could look forward to at least once a week. That meal was the potato bar. Now, after living in Idaho and seeing how the true potato lovers fix up their spuds, I have a sure fire way to please your whole family with this simple to put together potato bar.
Instructions
Set Up a Potato Bar
1. Your first step is to prepare your potatoes. Now, there are a lot of different ways to cook your spuds. What I recommend is to cover your potato in tin foil and just sit it on the oven rack for an hour and a half at about 350 degrees. Once the potatoes are done, cut them lengthwise as shown in the picture above and use a spoon to scoop out all of the insides into a bowl. Be careful not to break the skin as that will become the bowl to put the potatoes back into. In the bowl of potato innards place about a half of cube of butter, 2 tablespoons of garlic salt and onion salt, pepper and kosher salt for every 4 large potatoes. Mix well. Add milk to your desired consistency.
2. Next, scoop the potato mixture back into the potato shells and set on a plate. That's all you have to do with the potatoes. If you really want you can just throw the whole potatoes directly out of the oven on the plate for a more rustic potato bar, but I tend to like the twice baked potato that we made in step one.
3. Now it's time for the topping. Put out taco meat, cheese (both shredded and nacho), diced tomato, olives, bacon, sour cream, chives, and whatever else you have ever imagined putting on a table. Add some lettuce and tortilla chips so that people can choose to opt out of the potato and make a taco salad instead to give variety.
4. Now it's time to ring the dinner bell. Your hungry mouths can choose everything from a potato with plain butter and salt, to a completely loaded spud to keep them satisfied for the rest of the night.
Tags: back into, into bowl