So we had a bunch of russet potatoes laying around and decided to have one of our family’s favorite dishes. Twice baked potatoes. But, since I’ve got an insatiable curiosity for the novel, I set some aside to do “weird things” to. We ended up with bbq potatoes, cinnamon sugar dessert potatoes, and the “quadruple bypass”(our normal recipe is only double bypass), but the big hit of the night(that we wish we had made more of) was the Po-Taco.
Here’s an approximate recipe.
4-6 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed.
1-1 1/2 cups of your favorite chunky salsa
2-3 tsp of garlic salt
2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup half and half
2/3 - 1 cup of shredded cheese(mexican blend - Cheddar Cheese, Monterey Jack, Asadero, Queso Blanco or your own mix)
Bake potatoes at 400 for an hour, or until slightly soft when rolled between your hands.
Split all the potatoes into halves and remove most of the flesh, setting it aside in a large mixing bowl. Place the potato halves open side up in a casserole dish.
Cream together the butter, garlic salt, potato flesh, and half and half until you have a very thick mashed potato, leaving some small chunks if you prefer that in your mashed potatoes.
Fold in the salsa and a third of the shredded cheese.
Re-fill the potato shells until they’re level, do not overfill) and top with remaining cheese. You may have some filling left over. This can be baked separately in a ramekin or discarded.
Bake at 350 for twenty minutes or until cheese is fully melted in the center of the potatoes.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, until they’re cool enough to handle with your hands(the filling will stay hot for quite some time).
Serve.
Enjoy,
Steven