Steakhouse Twice Baked Potatoes

Recently, I took a cooking class with The Chopping Block in Chicago, IL featuring a classic steak dinner with all the trimmings as well as great advice on grilling meats!

What's great about these courses is that no matter where you are at with your cooking skills, there is always something new to learn--a tip, better technique, or mastering proper form!! 

Best of all, these recipes are meant to be simple to encourage more home cooked meals all while maintaining incredible flavors--and, you realize just how good can be without the restaurant bill and tip!

I added these Twice-Baked beauties to the Spicy Grilled Chicken Thighs and Back-up Summer Salad for a great night with friends on the patio! You can, too!

Steakhouse Twice-Baked Potatoes

Equipment:

Baking sheet 
Parchment paper

Mixing bowl

Functioning Oven

Ingredients:

2 Russet Baking Potatoes

Grapeseed or Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

3 strips bacon, cooked & chopped

1/2 cup Gruyere or Sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2-3 scallions, chopped

1/3 cup 2% milk

1/3 cup Sour cream
2 Tbls butter

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands and the potatoes.
2. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
3. Bake the potatoes after rubbing with olive oil and sprinkling with salt & pepper on parchment lined baking sheet x 40 minutes.

4. Allow the potatoes to cool before cutting in half and scooping the flesh into a bowl.

5. Mash the potato filling with butter, sour cream and milk, and season with salt and pepper.

6. Add the bacon, cheddar, and scallions. Stir well.

7. Season the potato halves with salt and pepper.
8. Add the potato filling to each potato half and sprinkle with a little extra cheddar cheese.

9. Bake the potatoes on the baking sheet until golden brown and bubbly x 10 minutes.

Great addition to Spiced Up Turkey Burgers, Bandilicious Chicken, or Souvlaki Summer Chicken Skewers, or try the Dragon Bites!

Stuffed Potatoes

If you have a microwave, you can certainly make a regular "baked potato" on any given day, but if you add just a few extra minutes to your prep time, you can have yourself a tasty meal with enough leftover for the next day.

Found this recipe from Cooking Light's 'Dinner Tonight Cookbook'. Easily made in 20-30 minutes, including the 8 minutes baking time.

Equipment:
Large Baking Sheet
Microwave
Medium Mixing Bowl
Small saucepan or skillet

Ingredients:
3-4 Baking Potatoes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
2-3 Tbls butter
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated (I use cheddar, gouda, whatever is in the fridge)
1/2 cup cooked ham, chopped
1-2 green onions, finely sliced (optional if you don't like onions)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.  Preheat oven to 450-500F degrees.
2. Scrub the potatoes and "stab it" 5-6 times

3. Place in the microwave and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave on "HI" for 6 minutes.
4. Turn potatoes over at 6 minutes and microwave for another 6 minutes.  Total time:  12 minutes.
5. Prep garlic, cheese, ham, and green onions.

6. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over MEDIUM heat and sauté garlic x 30 seconds.

7. Add milk and simmer.

8. When potatoes are tender, allow to cool x 3-5 minutes.
9. Cut potatoes in half and score the pulp with a 1/4" border to easily remove the pulp with a spoon.

10. Combine the pulp and milk mixture in a mixing bowl.

11. Add cheese, onions and ham.  Season with salt & pepper.

12. Equally divide the pulp mixture into the potato halves and sprinkle with cheese.

13. Place on a large baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden on top.

14. Top it off with sour cream and enjoy.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Who doesn't love a baked potato with all the condiments: Warm. Comforting. Filling. Satisfying.

I stumbled upon this recipe for the soup version while flipping thru Cooking Light. It seemed so simple and so easy that I practically made it "just to see" if they were talking smack.

Turns out, the results were pretty darn good (and pretty much gone) within 30 minutes of getting the bowls out.

Cooking Light kept their promise--simple, satisfying, healthy alternative to the restaurant version. In fact, this past November, this recipe was featured in their 'Best Recipes of Our First 25 Years' edition. If you don't believe me, try this recipe originally by Ann Taylor Pittman / October 2010.

*I do add more olive oil and butter than the original recipe, and I have listed regular chicken broth to simplify for college students, but the original recipe has 2 tsp olive oil, no butter, fat-free/low-salt chicken broth.

Equipment:

3-qt Saucepan
Medium mixing bowl
Whisk or fork
Functioning stove top
Electricity or current electric bill paid

Ingredients:

4 (6 ounce) potatoes (red, yukon, russet), approx 1 1/2 lbs.
1-2 Tbls of olive oil*
1 Tbls of butter*
1/2 c onion, diced
1 1/4+ c chicken-broth*
3 Tbls of all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided 1/2 c and 1 1/2 c
1/4 c low-fat sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Garnishes:

2 strips bacon (microwaved on paper towels) chopped
1/2 c sharp cheddar, shredded
2 Tbls green onions, sliced
Extra low-fat sour cream

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.
2. Wash the potatoes and pierce with a knife

3. Microwave potatoes on HIGH for 10-13 minutes until tender.
4. Remove potatoes, cut in half and set aside to cool.

5. In 3-qt sauce pan, heat olive oil and butter on MEDIUM.

6. Add diced onions and sauté for 3-4 min. Stir frequently. Do not brown.

7. Add chicken broth.

8. In a separate bowl, whisk flour and 1/2 cup of milk together until smooth. Add remaining milk.
9. Add milk-flour to saucepan. Bring to boil for 1 minute. Stir frequently.

10. Add sour cream, salt, pepper. Adjust to taste.

11. Remove meat of potatoes and mash. Disgard the skins.
12. Add coarsely mashed potatoes to soup / saucepan.

13. Get your bowls and fill them up.
14. Garnish soup with bacon, cheddar, sour cream, and green onions.

Let me know what you think. I know what Jon thinks. Take care and have a great week.
Savor your education and time at college. I had blast!


"Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better"  Jim Rohn

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