Twice-Baked Potatoes

Twice-Baked Potatoes

4 medium sized baking potatoes

1/4 cup chive cream cheese spread

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

2 chives or green onions, chopped

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup hot already made instant mashed potatoes

Coarse salt, like sea salt or kosher salt

Ground pepper

Pierce potatoes with fork. Place them on a large cookie sheet. Rub with 1 Tbsp butter and sprinkle them with coarse salt. Bake in a 350 oven for an hour, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a hot pad, split each potato in half, being careful not to tear the skins. Using a hot pad(because they will be HOT), hold a potato half and scoop out most but not all of the insides, placing the innards into a bowl and the almost empty skin back onto the baking sheet.

Once you have done this with all the potatoes, add to the bowl the cream cheese, butter, onions, and cheddar cheese. Stir well. Add the already made instant mashed potatoes, salt and pepper, and stir some more. Scoop the filling back into the potato skins. Sprinkle with additional cheddar cheese and bake at 350 until cheese melts, about 5-10 minutes.

My dear mother-in-law makes these often, and they are worth the extra work. Add more or less of any of the items to the filling to get the consistency and taste you like. I add the extra instant potatoes because I like my skins to be extra full, but you don't have to. The chive cream cheese is yummy too, but again not necessary. That's just how I like to make them.