Baked Potato Skins

I remember back in the 70’s through the 90’s when baked potato skins were all the rage, and every restaurant had them. Then, they all but disappeared, and you couldn’t find them anywhere. They still are difficult to find in most restaurants. The only way to enjoy them is to cook them myself, and I LOVE baked potato skins.

We leave for Cozumel early, early tomorrow morning, so I am still using up whatever I have and am not going to the store for any reason until we return home. This means I use up whatever I have, get very creative with whatever I have, and make do however I can. Usually, it all works out just fine too. One of the things I had to “make do with” was some delicious loaded baked potato skins. Or darn! 🙂

Baked potato skins are easy to make, just time consuming, but well worth every minute, and every calorie. I made them as a side dish to go along with some steak we had down. as well as using up the last little bits of my cut up vegetables that I roasted.

I like my potato skins loaded with bacon, tomatoes, green onions, and yes, even melted cheese, and then topped with ranch dressing. Some people like sour cream with their potato skins, some like ranch like I do, some like bleu cheese (French spelling, the way it is spelled for bleu cheese) dressing, and some people like all of the above. Larry would be one who would load them up with all three. I am happy with just the ranch dressing, thank you.

Preheat the oven to 425* F or about 220*C.

Rinse and scrub the whole potatoes, then poke holes in them with a fork. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Then remove from the oven, and turn the heat up to 450* F or 235* C. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly, then cut in half, and carefully scoop out the insides, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges. Save the insides for a later use. I am going to freeze mine, then make some gnocchi and/or potato bread once I return home.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook your bacon and crumble it and cut up your tomatoes and green onions.

After the insides of the potatoes are scooped out, coat them, inside and out with olive oil. Then start layering them up with the cheese, bacon, tomatoes and green onions. I added more cheese on top too, to kind of hold everything in place. I sprinkled a dash of hot sauce on top of the potatoes, then placed them back in the hotter oven to continue to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese was all melted and gooey.

Top them with your favorite topping and eat them up yum. (Old Dr. Demento reference, sorry. I couldn’t resist). 🙂

And with this, my fridge is cleaned out, and I am off. I will be off the grid, scuba diving all week. I will see you all again soon. In the meantime, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.