Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice baked potatoes.. what are those?!

They are simply amazing.

You not only bake the potato in the oven for an hour, but after that you scoop out the inside and mix anything you like in your potato and stuff it back inside, then you bake it again! The extra baked potato gives you this crunchy top and not to mention a crunchy skin, simply amazing!!!

If you are on a diet, you can make this with sweet potato, or simply use little amount of ingredients such as light sour cream, chives, and no butter.

Me however, I just can’t fathom eating a baked potato without the works! I added gorgonzola cheese, some real bacon bits, light sour cream, light cream cheese, garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder. I substituted the gorgonzola in RJ’s potato with shredded cheddar cheese.

To get started, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Roll each potato in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Lay aluminum foil on a baking sheet and place the potatoes on the foil. Pierce several holes in the potatoes with a fork. Place in the oven for 1 hour.

Take out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes. You will need an oven mit or glove and hold the potato and shred the skin off of the top of the potatoes. Then, take a spoon and gently scoop out the center of the potatoes making sure to leave the bottom skin in tact by leaving a little potato left on the bottom and on all sides. Place the potato insides into a bowl.

Mix your sour cream, cream cheese, gorgonzola (or other cheese), bacon bits, garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder. And anything or everything you can think of! Take a masher and mash this to mix together evenly. Once smooth and mashed, stuff the potato mix inside the shells. Place back into the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on how hungry you are! If you want your stuffing mix to be crispy on the top, you should leave it in the full 30 minutes.

The best part about this side is that it tastes great with so many meals! It is a great pair with steak, seafood, pork, even by itself! And what I love most about these potatoes is that you can mix and match so many ingredients! You can go creative with southwest flavors, like pico de gallo, shredded chicken, southwest ranch!

So many ideas, so many ways to make this great side!!! I hope you enjoy

 

Fresh Green Beans with Lemon Butter Sauce & Sun Dried Tomatoes

 I love vegetables! I think one of the easiest and best fresh-tasting veggies out there are green beans. Nothing beats that satisfying crunch when you bite into a crisp beautifully green bean. You may think it’s easier to just buy a can and pop it in the microwave, but I can guarantee that it will take you almost just as much time when making them fresh! And it tastes 100% better! Not to mention you don’t skimp out on those vitamins and minerals you may be missing out with the canned version.

I made this particular recipe with my Steak Involtini (ahhhmazing!) and I thought it went perfectly together!! But, you don’t have to make these with just Italian dishes, it would taste good with almost any dish! The lemon butter sauce really brings out that green bean flavor and the sun dried tomatoes give it that extra bite! I promise you will not be disappointed with this side dish!

First you want to rinse off all of your green beans well. Then, snap off the ends of each bean, almost like you would the ends of asparagus. Then, add salt to some water in a medium sauce pan and bring to a light boil. Add your green beans, being sure to stir often, and lightly boil for 4-5 minutes. (If you like your green beans on the softer side, just boil for an extra 2-3 minutes) Once it’s done, you will see that they turned a bright green color. Drain the green beans then place in a bowl of ice water, or run ice cold water over the beans for a few minutes. This is called blanching and it basically keeps the green beans bright color and also keeps it crisp

In the same saucepan, melt about 2 tbsp of butter on medium heat. Once melted, turn your heat down slightly (to med-low) and add your green beans, lemon zest, sun dried tomatoes, salt & pepper, and stir. Once stirred, add lemon juice. Stir constantly for about 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce is well mixed and the sun dried tomatoes are warm. Serve and enjoy!!

What you’ll need:
1 lb fresh green beans (or less depending on how many people you’re feeding)
2 tbsp butter
Zest of half of a lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes (about a hand full)
Salt & pepper to taste