I love to cook. Love. But let’s face it. I have four children. It is what it is, and the opportunity to immerse myself in the kitchen doesn't always present itself. For this reason, I have several recipes in my arsenal that allow me to 're-purpose' (if you will) my meal into something else the next day. Last night we had a baked potato bar with our steaks. I loved bars of any kind, because the kids have fun being able to create their own meals, I love seeing them get creative in the kitchen, and nobody/s complaining that something they don’t like ended up on their plate.

Tonight, I will use the same, leftover ingredients of said potato bar, to make twice baked potatoes- a meal on its own if accompanied by a salad or other vegetable. I simply baked more potatoes than we would need last night, and saved them for tonight.

Twice baked potatoes don't have to be re-purposed... they are quite delicious on their own the first time, or accompanying a meal at any time.  Personally?  I like the play on twice baking the twice baked (say that five times fast). 

First bake: baked potato bar

Ingredients:

6-10 russet potatoes (extra for the next night)

sea salt

evoo

sour cream

green onions, sliced

salted butter

bacon, cooked and crumbled

cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

While heating, scrub potatoes well. Pat dry and pierce skin several times with a fork. Pour a generous amount of sea salt on to a paper plate. Using you hands rub a generous amount of olive oil on the skin of each potato, and roll potatoes in salt. 

Place directly on oven rack. I tend to roast potatoes in the upper 3rd of my oven, placing a jelly-roll pan that's been lined with tin foil on the bottom rack underneath potatoes to catch any olive oil drips. Bake for 45-60 minutes, testing with fork for tenderness. The fork should go in easily when done.

For the potato bar, I simply provided butter, sour cream, chopped onions, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese in bowls for people to add to their potatoes as desired, making enough to ensure extras, for the twice baked potatoes tonight.

Second bake: twice baked potatoes

Ingredients:

6 baked potatoes (see above)

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of salted butter

1/2 cup of sour cream

4-6 green onions, sliced

6 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled (you can omit bacon for vegetarian, or if twice baking as a side)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the top off of baked potatoes, leaving about 1/8 of an inch of potato flesh attached to skin, to provide some stability.

Using a spoon, scoop out potato flesh, leaving again 1/8 of an inch of potato on the inside so skin holds together. Place in bowl. Place hulled out potato skins into a baking dish, sprinkling the interior with salt, and saving tops for later.

Do this for all six potatoes.

Mash the scooped out interior by hand using a potato masher or fork. Add cheese, sour cream, butter, onions, and bacon. Stir until combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture into potato skins, and cover with the removed top. (As a variation, I will also bake the top separately, cover it with additional shredded chedder cheese and scallions to make crispy potato skins as well).  

Return to oven and cook for 15-20 minutes more (if making immediately). You can also make ahead the night before, or in the morning, and refrigerate the stuffed potatoes at this point, and save for later

If this is a second bake - cook for 30-40 minutes until potato is hot throughout.

Tip: If you are using pre-cooked, cold potatoes from the night before, you will need to melt the 1/4 of butter before adding to the potato flesh, as it will not be warm enough to melt the butter on it's own.