Broccoli Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes

Lets just get to the point. There are three reasons you should make these.

1. They taste so freaking good!
2. It is a fairly inexpensive but very filling side dish or main course.
3. You can freeze them after cooking and pull them out anytime for a super fast hot lunch. Anyone else tired of the turkey sandwich for lunch?  This recipe made 8 and after baking and cooling, I wrapped and stuffed them in the freezer for a quick side dish or lunch. Ok I did eat one for dinner and left one in the fridge for lunch tomorrow, so only 6 actually made it into the freezer.

I found this tasty little broccoli cheddar potato recipe on Budget Bytes. I am a huge fan of this blog. You should definitely head over there and check out some of the recipes.  I basically followed her directions but made some minor changes reflected in the recipe below.  I am super excited to be able to grab these out of the freezer for a quick and delicious meal.


Broccoli Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes

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adapted from Budget Bytes

yield: 8 potato halves


Ingredients
4  large baking potatoes
1/2 of a 16 oz. bag of frozen broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups grated medium or sharp cheddar (Divided- 1 cup for filling 1/2 cup for topping)
1/2 to 3/4 cups low-fat sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp butter (softened)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
freshly ground black pepper to taste



Preheat the oven to 425. While the oven preheats, scrub those potatoes clean and pat them dry.  Remember to prick the potato skins with a fork or a potato explosion may occur.  I know that sounds fun, but try to stick to the recipe ok?

Place whole potatoes directly on the center oven rack (you did prick the skins right?) and cook for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  When potatoes are done the internal temperature will be about 210 degrees, and you can easily slide a fork into the center of the potato.  After removing potatoes, turn down oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Let the potatoes cool for about 10 minutes.  During this time cook the broccoli according to package directions, except I only let mine cook for about half of the time indicated on the package.  Cook just long enough to get a bright green color and still crisp to the bite.  The broccoli will cook more after you stuff the potatoes (twice baked remember?) and if you overcook the broccoli now it will be mushy and not that beautiful bright green color in the finished recipe.  Chop the cooked broccoli so that you don't have any big pieces of broccoli in the potato filling.

Slice the cooled potatoes lengthwise so that the wider flat sides of the potato will rest on the counter.
Scoop out the potato with a large spoon and put into a mixing bowl.

Leave some of the potato in the skins or they will not hold their shape very well. *IF your potatoes are not cooked completely and are still hard, Beth from Budget Bytes recommends to carefully scoop our the hard flesh and microwave for a minute at a time until soft enough to mash*

To the bowl of potatoes add sour cream starting with a 1/2 cup and add additional 1/4 cup if needed. My potatoes were huge so I thought they needed the extra sour cream, besides who complains about extra sour cream? Next add the chopped broccoli, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, butter, salt, garlic salt and freshly ground pepper to potato flesh.

Use a fork to mash the potatoes. Mix everything together enough to combine but do not over mix or you will get gummy potatoes.

Spoon potato mixture into potato skins and place on a baking sheet.  Top potatoes with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar.  This is just for a garnish to make them pretty. If you love cheese then use the entire half cup, for less calories just use about 1/4 cup and sprinkle a little on each piece or just leave it off entirely.

Baked the filled potato skins until the cheese melts and the edges get a little crisp and lightly browned, about 20-30 minutes.  I cooked mine for 30 minutes and they were perfect!

*To freeze leftovers
Place cooled potatoes on a flat surface (like a small baking sheet) that will fit in your freezer.  Stick the potatoes in the freezer uncovered long enough to make them solid and easy to handle.  Place potatoes in a large freezer bag. I wash and reuse my freezer bags for the sake of the environment and my budget, but I don't always use bags, any kind of container for freezing will work!

*To reheat leftovers
You can reheat frozen potatoes in the microwave until hot and steamy (about 2-4 minutes depending on the power of your microwave).  I recommend stopping halfway through and using a fork to "fluff" the potato so that everything cooks evenly.