Stuffed and Baked Potato Skins Recipe

I get bored of eating the same things over and over again. Especially now that I have been looking for healthier alternatives that will help me maintain a healthier diet. Which means that I don't want to eat salads and meat every single day. So as I do I went to the internet to look for healthier potato recipes because potatoes are so versatile and easy to cook. That is where I found this recipe for stuffed potato skins and I decided to make my own version of them. So here is my recipe for stuffed and baked potato skins! 

The first step will be the same thing for every single recipe. You have to make sure you have all the ingredients you need and you must gather them. Arranging them and taking a picture is obviously optional!  

You will need:

• 5 potatoes - I was making 5 servings so I used 5, that can vary depending on how many servings you want. I also used 7 (2 extra small ones) for the recipe because I like to have a little extra stuffing inside of mine. Using extra potato is completely optional, especially if your potatoes are big enough. The ones I used were medium sized. 
• 2 carrots 
• 1 tbs of mayonaise
• 2 tbs of garlic butter - If you do not have garlic butter you can use 2 tbs of regular butter and one clove of garlic. I've done the recipe both ways and the end result is the same.  
• 1 ounce of cream cheese room temperature
• 1 tbs parsley
• 1 tbs italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded Cheese - You can use whatever kind you want I used a Puerto Rican Cheese Blend because it was the one I had handy. 

After gathering all of your ingredients, the next step would be to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I only use the oven to cook the potato skins once they had been stuffed, but I cooked the actual potatoes in the microwave first because I find it to be faster that way. Although, if you prefer to bake your potatoes in the oven first, that is completely up to you! 

To cook the potatoes in the microwave, I simply washed them and poked some holes in them with a knife. Once they were clean, I placed them in a microwave safe bowl and I placed the lid on top of it (do not close it tightly).  I didn't use any oil or anything on them. Cook them for about 15 minutes or until they are tender. 

While they cook, peel and shred your carrots and leave them aside. They will be a part of your potato stuffing mixture.

After your potatoes are cooked, let them rest a few minutes before you cut them in half length wise and let them cool. You have to let them cool in order to be able to handle them and remove the flesh to make the mash that will stuff your skins.

Once they are cool, use a spoon to carefully scoop the inners of your potatoes. This is the most crucial and delicate part of the recipe because you don't want to pierce the skin. It's okay if they break a little because some mistakes are fixable when you fill them up. Try to leave a thin layer of potato all around so they don't fall apart.

I like to place my skins upside down so they are more firm and it decreases their chances of breaking until you have to handle them again. You could go ahead and bake the skins alone before stuffing them, but I didn't do it this time around.

Also, place your potato filling inside a bowl as you scoop it out. I used the same bowl in which I cooked the potatoes in.

To your potatoes, you can go ahead and the rest of your stuffing contents which are your cream cheese, butter, herbs, carrots and mayonaise. Also you can season it with salt and pepper to taste once you've mashed it all together.

If you feel like the mixture is too dry you can always add a bit more butter and/or mayonaise. I used a fork to gently make the mixture because I didn't want to break down my carrots too much since they are already grated.

Now that your mixture is prepared, you can go agead to fill the potato skins. I used about two spoonfuls per potato half. Arrange them in a baking sheet and sprinkle some cheese on top of them. 

Place them in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

And there you go! Eat them while they're still hot and with whatever side you want or on their own!

Share with me your stuffed potato creations on Instagram by using the hashtag #LoveNashiCooks and tagging me @love_nashi. I would love to see how yours turn out. I'll write to you all soon.

Love, Nashi