For many people, twice baked potatoes are the definition of comfort food. But let’s face it…many versions of this spud recipe are full of fat and not much else. It doesn’t have to be that way, however, especially in the harvest season when the garden is still filled with fresh vegetables. Here’s how to make twice baked potatoes that are delicious, filled with healthy veggies, and can be frozen for future quick-cook meals. Pair these with a salad and you have a fast and filling meal.
I made a bunch of these at once so that I could freeze them for later. You can use the same recipe for a few potatoes at a time…just adjust the amounts.
Step 1: Wash the potatoes and coat them lightly with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees until they are soft when you squeeze them, about 40 minutes depending on how large they are.
Here are the ingredients I started with. I had summer squash, green beans, broccoli, chard and kale in the garden. I also picked chives, parsley and thyme from the herb garden, and I roasted some garlic in the oven when I baked the potatoes. Add the cheese of your choice – I had, as you can see, some shredded Mexican blend, a log of goat cheese, and about a half a tub of whipped cream cheese. I was, of course, making many twice baked so that I could freeze them.
Step 2: When the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the oven and cut them in half. If you roasted garlic with the potatoes, squeeze the soft cloces out of the paper into a bowl. Let the potato halves cool while you chop the veggies you are using into small pieces. Saute the veggies in a bit of olive oil until they are just barely cooked and then dump them into the bowl with the garlic. Chop the herbs and add to the bowl – mix well.
Step 3: Scoop out the potato from each skin half into the bowl with the veggies. Place the skins on a cookie sheet. Add the cheese to the potato and veggie bowl and mix all together – I used a potato masher. You could use an electric mixer but be sure not to beat the mix for very long or it will get gummy. Season with salt and pepper, and fill each empty skin with a large spoonful of the potato/veggie/cheese mix.
If you are eating the potatoes right away, top with a bit of grated cheese and bake them for about 20 minutes until hot. Serve right away.
If you are freezing these for later, put the cookie sheet with the stuffed tomatoes into your freezer overnight. The next day, take the potatoes out and stuff them into a plastic bag. Return them quickly to the freezer. You can seal the bag with a soda straw tucked into one end, and then suck the air out of the bag so that the potatoes remain fresher. With this method the potatoes will be loose in the bag and can be removed one or two at a time.
Think how nice it will be on cold winter days to take a quick dinner of comfort food out of the freezer, knowing it was all made from ingredients that were fresh from your garden!
