Twice Baked Potato Boats

I had planned on making twice baked potatoes for a side dish for a birthday dinner. Four adults, so four potatoes, right? Well, when I went into the grocery store, I found these massive baking potatoes. Just look! I knew that these would be "potato boats!" I added the quarter to provide a size comparison. I quickly decided that two of these beauties would be more than enough for my dinner guests.

After scrubbing with a vegetable brush, I lightly added a little olive oil and sprinkled with coarse Kosher salt. A few little slits cut into them with a knife, then they went into a 350 degree preheated oven for two hours.

When the potatoes were cooked through, I removed them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.

Then I sliced them lengthwise and scooped out the cooked potato from the four halves and placed the potatoes into a medium sized mixing bowl.

I added a softened stick of butter, 1/2 cup of sour cream, salt and freshly ground black pepper. The potatoes were still so hot that the butter melted immediately. Then I added 1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese and stirred to make sure everything was mixed together well. Taste to see if you need additional salt and pepper. You may need a little more sour cream depending on the size of your potatoes.

Using a large spoon, I filled the four halves of the potato with the mixture and topped with an additional 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.

Then to finish them to perfection, I chopped 4 slices of cooked bacon and carefully added on top of the cheese.  I placed the potatoes back into the oven for about 4 - 5 minutes until the cheese was melted.  

The last addition? A sprinkling of freshly chopped chives!

These were amazing and won rave reviews.