Simple Potato Skins {Don’t Waste Your Potatoes on French Fries}

Growing up, a local diner served a lip-smackin’ plate of potato skins. Gooey cheddar cheese and crunchy bacon bits in crisp potato shells… My friends and I would order a couple plates of these tasty appetizers and eat them as our main course.   

 

It took a few years, but I realized those mouthwatering morsels weren’t exactly the healthiest dinner option out there. I started choosing salads and grilled sandwiches instead. While my taste buds enjoyed those more nutritious meals, they still had a hankering for potato skins. But we eventually stopped visiting the diner, and I soon forgot about them.

 

Fast forward to January 30, 2011. A week before the Super Bowl. Completely out of the blue, I got the biggest craving for potato skins since my diner days. It took a couple of weeks, but I finally found the perfect potato and ended my diet’s potato skin deficiency.

 

 

Potato Skins

serves 2 as an appetizer, or 1 as a meal

Feel free to substitute bacon for the pepperoni or use your favorite cheese. Top with sour cream, if desired.

1 potato

¼ c. broccoli, chopped (fresh or frozen)

¼ c. grated mozzarella cheese

4 pepperoni pieces, diced

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Pierce potato all over with a fork. Cook in the microwave for 8 minutes, turning it over halfway through. Let it cool for 2-3 minutes, then scoop out the insides and leave ¼-inch of the insides next to the skins. Reserve the flesh for another use (like mashed potatoes!).
3. Spray insides and outsides of the hollowed-out skins with cooking spray, and place skin-side down on a baking sheet. Cook for 8-12 minutes, until beginning to turn crispy.
4. While skins bake, steam, boil, or sauté broccoli for 2-4 minutes, or until tender. Rinse with cool water, drain, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss in a bowl with mozzarella.
5. Remove skins from the oven, and fill with broccoli and cheese mixture. Top with pepperoni. Reduce oven heat to 400° and cook potato skins for 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Serve hot.