Meet The Shannons: The Betty Crocker Project : The Old School Twice Baked Potatoes

In college, we used to eat brunch every Sunday (or basically whenever) at this kinda rundown diner. The short cut there was this random road through the woods but it was kinda off the highway so all the logging trucks could stop by there on their way to and from the Olympic Mountains. They were pretty famous for their Potato Boats. What is a Potato Boat you ask? Well my friends, Potato Boats are huge twice baked potatoes with various "works". I mean they are obviously not organic - I mean these guys were like Cadillacs. OK - maybe they are more like the size of a shoe but that's still pretty big. They were the perfect hangover cure and pretty much one of my favorite food memories from my years in Olympia, WA.

Everyone loved Potato Boats. Who wouldn't love Potato Boats?

When we hit this recipe, I keep thinking about those long lost boats and how much we all love twice baked potatoes now matter how big or small they are. This recipe is the Betty Classic but who knows maybe if you guys like it - I'll recreate some of those old boats. Let me know what you think.

Before we start doing some double baking - I wanted to show a little love for Girlie Girl Army and 2 Girlie Girls in particular. Kathryn Hostettler recently interviewed us for her The Best Vegan Thing I Ever Ate series on GGA and I have to admit we were beyond flattered but also we loved her fun and original questions. Especially coming up with our guest list for our dream dinner party (we went the time-space continuum not a liability route). And of course Chloe Jo Davis who has always been very supportive of our little project!

OK - Let's make some boats!

The Old School Twice Baked Potato

4 Large Baking Potatoes (you'll want to go Russet over like a Yukon Gold because they are firmer)
1/4 Cup Margarine
1 Tablespoons and 2 Teaspoons Nutritional Yeast
1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 Cup Daiya Vegan Cheddar Cheese (shredded - you're going to want another 1/4 Cup to sprinkle over the top)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Chives (diced)
1/3 Cup Bac-Os ( or whatever your favorite vegan bacon bits are - I think crumbled smoked Tempeh would be awesome too)

Heat oven to 375. Peirce the top of each Potato a few time with a fork. Try to poke them where you will later be splitting the Potato. It just looks nicer and helps them keep their shape better.

Bake 1 hour to an hour and half - just until the Potato is tender when you stick a fork into the holes you poked before. You can also tell by how soft it is when you lift with your oven mitt.

Place them aside to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, cut them in half length wise and then gently scoop out the center of each - leaving some Potato along the edges to help the skin keep it's form. Scoop the Potato into a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer until it is fluffy.

Increase your oven temp to 400.

Now add Margarine, Nutritional Yeast, Sea Salt and Black Pepper and blend until it your Potatoes are smooth. At this point you can taste them to see if they need more Salt or Pepper. Once you like the flavor, stir the Bac-Os, Chives and Daiya with a large spoon until it is completely blended. Then gently fill each Potato shell with the Mashed Potato Mix. You want them to be completely full and over flowing a bit. Take your spoon and gently push the Mashed Potato Mix in there to really seal it in. Sprinkle some of the extra 1/4 Cup of Daiya over the top of each Potato.

Gently place them in the oven - I out mine on the rack so they wouldn't fall over but Betty suggests an ungreased cookie sheet. I suspect her way leads to a cleaner oven in the future.
Bake your Potatoes for another 20 to 25 minutes. Pull them out once the Daiya is melted and let cool a little before you serve. Enjoy!