Chris's Week Seventeen Recipe: Twice Baked Potatoes for Two

When having lunch with Tricia and Jenni a couple weeks ago, I received precious little sympathy when I complained that I had twenty more years than they did of recipes that I couldn't duplicate.

Well, it really can be a problem, but fortunately there are enough significant variations on "I've made this before" that I think I'll be able to pull through. I've made twice-baked potatoes in the past, but the filling didn't include veggies and bacon like these do.

Today's recipe is a variation of the recipe found here. Knowing that even one potato would be enough for two meals for me, I used only one large baking potato. This recipe would make a great side for dinner for two. I should note that I actually sauteed twice the amount of vegetables called for. I'll put the extras into spaghetti sauce later in the week.

Twice Baked Potatoes for Two

Bake 1 large baking potato at 400F for one hour or until soft inside.

Cook 4 slices bacon - I used the microwave.

Saute together in 1T of olive oil until the onions & peppers are soft:

1/4 large onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/3 package fresh mushrooms, chopped

Slice the baked potato in half the long way and scoop out its innards! Mash up the insides a bit, add the vegetable mixture and mix with:

1/2 t Penzey's Black & Red

a couple of grinds of black pepper

1/2 t salt

1 T chopped fresh chives

2 heaping T whole yogurt

most of 2 oz grated extra sharp Cheddar

Put the potatoes in a baking dish/pan and fill. Sprinkle on top:

cracker crumbs

the rest of the cheddar cheese.

Return to the oven and bake for about 15 min or until the cheese is bubbly.

Would I make this recipe again? Oh, I think so! Note that even 1 T of fresh chives is not very strong, but the Penzey's Black & Red spice certainly is!