Twice Baked Potatoes are for Lovers

They are also for adventurous types who do not mind being burnt while cooking. I qualify, on some level, in both of these categories.

When I made my meal plan for the week, sipping on a blueberry iced tea and surrounded by the ambient sounds of my local Starbucks, it didn't really bother me that I've never made a twice-baked potato before. I hardly considered the fact that I've probably only eaten them two or three times in my life. No, here was a culinary challenge!

...And then I had to scoop the hot potato out of the hot skin, leaving one-eighth of an inch of flesh around the edges to create a nice little potato-boat.

I have survived the ordeal, however, and this first attempt was quite a success. I'm going to explain what I did tonight, and what I think will make the recipe better next time... once my fingerprints grow back, that is.

Twice-Baked Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes

2 large baking potatoes
4 Tbsp. light sour cream
3 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried minced onion
2 Tbsp. chives
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

1. Clean potatoes, poke holes and wrap in tinfoil. Bake at 400*F for 1 hour.
2. Remove potatoes from foil wrappers, retain wrappers. Laying each potato on its side, slice across to remove about 1/2 inch of the side of the potato; discard. Using small spoon, carefully scoop soft potato from the skin, leaving about 1/8-inch of potato attached to the skin to create a boat-like shell. Place soft potato into mixing bowl.
3. Coat insides of potato shells using 1 Tbsp. margarine. Place shells back on tinfoil, keep in heated oven while completing next step.
4. Add light sour cream, remaining margarine, pepper, garlic powder, dried minced onion, and chives to mixing bowl. Mash potatoes well, until very smooth.
5. Remove shells from oven. Spoon heaping amounts of mashed potato mixture into each shell. Top with grated cheddar cheese, sprinkle with chives. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until mashed potatoes are golden brown and cheese has melted.

Notes:
- I'd like to add maybe 1/2 c. grated cheddar and 1/2 c. skim milk to step #4. I think it would make the mashed potatoes even creamier and more delicious.
- The minced onion flakes are pretty much optional; I used them to bring out the bite that you'd get if you were using fresh chives. Dried chives (what most people have on hand) don't retain their flavor very well, so adding the onion gives a little extra kick!

Meal Idea:
- We had this with peppercorn marinated steaks and a fresh carrot-green bean mixture with dill.

Enjoy!!