It’s that time of the month again, when we snoop around another food blog, pick out something to make – tweaking it sometimes – and post it. It’s another round of the Secret Recipe Club, and my designated blog was Sarah’s Curious Cuisiniere, another blogging friend from before, making me a happy camper.
In between new work schedules and the blogs, my life is hectic but I feel more energized than ever. Who knew I would thrive on having to make lists to keep track of my day? But it is what it is and I’m getting more organized by the minute – I’m knocking on wood mind you.
These last weeks I’m all for recipes that are either simple or pile a lot of flavors, like the pumpkin cheesecake where I kinda put together a lot of components to get into the Halloween season as much as I could in one single post. That’s called organization, a rather new concept for me, ha.
I went back and forth between the broccoli cheddar twice baked potatoes – which resulted in the ones you see here – the italian flatbread (on my bucket list for a long time), mustard dill bread and the potato crusted spinach mini quiche. In the end the simple won, and I also needed something to eat myself that went beyond delivered empanadas, which I’ve been eating in an amount embarrassing to admit.
Double baked or loaded potatoes are popular for a simple reason, they’re awesome! They usually have cheese and are crispy all around with a soft center. How can you not love that? I added some ground beef that I had cooked with spices, oregano, pepper and paprika and was planning on using with pasta and tomato sauce. Or maybe some brown rice and grated cheese. That’s the kind of food I eat.
Or make a simple shepherd’s pie. Which incidentally could’ve been the title of these double baked potatoes. After all , the ground beef is there together with the mashed potatoes.
Or make a simple shepherd’s pie. Which incidentally could’ve been the title of these double baked potatoes. After all , the ground beef is there together with the mashed potatoes.
But let’s not forget about the cheese, a perfect ingredient if there was one. I had a hunk of provolone in the fridge, that had been there forever. Meat and provolone, they go together like jack and jill. We have it as an appetizer here, grilled on the bbq with some oregano while the meat is grilling. It melts and gets crunchy in some spots, all greasy and so ridiculously good.
So into the mashed potatoes it went together with some grated parmesan.
We had national elections here yesterday, and as they’re mandatory is a quiet day usually when you vote and then get together for a sunday lunch or coffee. Or at least that’s what I did. These potatoes were part of that meal. Perfect.
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Description
You can substitute the beef for chopped ham or crispy bacon.
Scale
Ingredients
- 2 medium potatoes (scrubbed)
- 2 Tbs milk
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup cubed provolone cheese
- ½ cup cooked ground beef
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch hot paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Microwave potatoes with skins until tender when pierced with a fork. Mine took around 10
- minutes. Cut in half, scoop out pulp leaving a ¼ inch border and transfer to a bowl.
- Mix in milk, parmesan, half of provolone and beef and blend very well.
- Add salt, pepper and seasonings. Taste and adjust.
- Mound potatoes with this mixture, pressing so you get all in the four skins. Dot with the remaining provolone cubes, pressing lightly to adhere.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden.
- Serve immediately.
adapted from Curious Cuisiniere
What a great choice for SRC this month!! Looks so warm, cozy, and hearty! Yumm!
These sound absolutely amazing and your pics are fab. I wish I could reach into my screen and try one! Great SRC pick.
I love anything with potatoes. These have got to be good!
Love your meat and cheese filling for the potatoes, and glad you enjoyed the recipe! These really are like a portable shepherd's pie!
That looks delicious Paula! I love comfort food and this is right up my alley. YUM! 🙂
This looks so hearty – yum! We're moving toward winter here and this is just the kind of thing I'm craving. Add a salad and dinner's done! 🙂
Wow Paula! These look amazing and your photography is beautiful. I want these now!