Twice Baked Potatoes

When I was in Florida on my girls' weekend getaway, I had some marvelous twice baked potatoes at a seafood place. I wanted to recreate them at home, so I experimented a little. I came up with a pretty good version, I think. My family gobbled them up, so I did something right!

The beauty of these potatoes is that they can be frozen and baked for the second time at a later date. Such a convenient side dish to have on hand! These potatoes pair beautifully with steak, chicken, pork and seafood.

Here's what you need:

6 large potatoes
1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 teas sea salt
2 teas garlic powder
2 teas dried parsley
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (I used white cheddar)

Scrub the potatoes well and dry with a paper towel. Place directly on the oven rack to bake. I bake mine at 350 degrees for an hour and a half.

While the potatoes are baking, melt a little butter in a small pan. Add the diced onion and cook until soft and browned. Set aside.

Allow the baked potatoes to cool enough to handle. Slice each potato in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the potato pulp from each half, leaving a 1/4-inch shell.

In a mixing bowl, combine the browned onions and potato pulp. Stir in the seasonings, herbs and sour cream. Feel free to add whatever seasonings your family likes here. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese. Take a little taste and see if you need to add more seasonings. Spoon this filling back into the potato shells.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tops of the stuffed potatoes.

If you're going to serve immediately, bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

  To freeze for later, wrap each stuffed potato half in plastic wrap. Place in a Ziploc freezer bag. To serve, remove as many halves as you need from the freezer. Allow to thaw in the fridge for a few hours. Then bake as directed above, increasing the baking time a little.