Not long ago, I posted a recipe for Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes. While enjoying our dinner, my clever husband was inspired by a brilliant idea: prepare the potatoes per the recipe linked above, but change the filling ingredients from dinner to breakfast foods. John’s brainchild simmered on the back burner for a few weeks and finally became a tangible reality a few evenings ago.
Scrambled Eggs & Bacon Potato Skin
serves 1
Ingredients:
1 large russet potato
extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 slices center-cut bacon
2 eggs
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup finely shredded cheese (I used a cheddar/Monterey jack blend)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Scrub and dry potato. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp of olive oil over the potato, and rub over the entire surface. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place directly onto the oven rack, and bake for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, microwave the bacon slices between layers of paper towel for 2 minutes. Crumble and set aside.
When the potato is cooked through, allow it to cool on a cutting board for a few minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Cut just the very top off of the potato and chop the “top” into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Scoop out most of the potato flesh from the skin, leaving enough so that the potato “boat” retains its shape, and reserve the flesh for another use.
Sprinkle in 1/2 of the shredded cheese.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl.
Add the eggs to the skillet, and scramble until the eggs are almost set. Add in the bacon and potato pieces. Stir gently to mix the ingredients together and to finish cooking the eggs.
Spoon the egg/bacon/potato mixture into the potato skin. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
John’s creative concept and my exceptional cooking skills, (note the sarcasm… this recipe is super simple and requires very little effort), combined to make a tasty meal.
Although I loved John’s idea for breakfast-themed potato skin, I was in the mood for a jazzed-up sweet potato skin. Instead of eggs and bacon, I filled my sweet potato skin with tangy goat cheese, buttery walnut pieces, and tart-dried cherries.
I could easily eat this simple meal once a week!
Sweet Potato Skin with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Dried Cherries
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese
2 Tbsp toasted walnut pieces
2 Tbsp dried cherries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Scrub and dry potato. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp of olive oil over the potato, and rub over the entire surface. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place directly onto the oven rack, and bake for 40 minutes.
When the potato is cooked through, allow it to cool on a cutting board for a few minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Cut just the very top off of the potato. Set aside.
Scoop out most of the potato flesh from the skin, and reserve the flesh for another use. [Sweet potato skins don’t retain their shape as well as russet potato skins, so it might be a bit floppy].
Add on the goat cheese, walnut pieces, and dried cherries.
