Twice Baked Potatoes with Crispy Green Beans and Shallots

 

Yesterday was the first snowfall here in Central Pennsylvania. I totally thought I was going to take a nice brisk walk to pick my son up at school but I went outside and SNOW! Seriously, wasn’t ready for that one because at the beginning of the week it was like 60 degrees. Hello November and real cold weather that I’ve been dreading since the start of school!

November also means Thanksgiving aka fata$$ fest aka my kind of Holiday. I have to be honest here, things that involve cooking and food are pretty much right up there on my favorites list. Stuffing face with lots of yummy stuff = YES! Now don’t get too carried away and dump a bunch of soup cans on anything, because you know that’s not how we do here at 3Boys!

ENTER…. these totally over the top and amazing Twice Baked Potatoes! Yes, that’s right. A potato that is baked twice and quite literally stuffed with butter, sour cream, chives, and cheese. I don’t know who thought this whole thing up, but thank you!!! Not only are these potatoes stuff with goodies, they are also TOPPED with goodies. Crispy green bean “fries” and shallots. Amazing…. that’s all I can really say. Scoop it out, pick it up like a ‘tater skin, do what you have to do because you’ll be stuffing your face with these and wondering how something this delicious was so easy to make!

Let me just say these words again in case you missed them…crispy shallots! These things are like the new French fried onions that don’t come out of a canister. I promise they are so much more flavorful then those canned things anyway, and top these potatoes perfectly. Do yourself a favor and make some extra because they are a perfect guilt free topping for basically anything. Salads, sandwiches, broccoli, asparagus, you name it….crispy shallots will make it better. 🙂

Ok, some tips here:

1) Use FRESH chives. Please don’t sell yourself short on this one. Fresh chives are readily available, easy to chop up, and make a world of difference when it comes to the taste of these potatoes. They are a really inexpensive way to make your potatoes 1,000 times more flavorful.

2) Use ORGANIC breadcrumbs (whole wheat if you can find them). Why? Well, I’ve talked about this a lot on here but I’m going to say it again. The mainstream canned breadcrumb brands use horrendous ingredients that are completely unnecessary and dangerous. Hello Progresso, 4C, and the like! We’ve seen your 50+ ingredient list and we are done with your nonsense. Breadcrumbs DO NOT have to contain dangerous hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, tons of GMO ingredients, and preservatives. We are done with you and your products because they are poo-poo and we know better. Good riddance! Ok, I’m done but seriously, you can make your own using my Whole Grain Breadcrumb recipe, or you can buy an organic brand and check the ingredients to make sure there isn’t anything weird in there. P.S. – The pictures on that post are ugly. Just a warning! 🙂

3) Don’t be afraid to generously season. Potatoes are bland, therefore you need to season them. Go heavy on the salt and pepper or your potatoes will be just kind of ok. I used about 1/4 tsp for 4 potatoes. Potato sizes can vary so give your filling a taste before you bake them again. The last thing you want to happen is for your potatoes to already be served before you realize they are on their way to blander then blands-ville.

4) Use a piping bag and star tip for a really beautiful end result. Yes.. the old piping bag can even be used for potatoes! I used a large star tip and the potatoes came out really easily. Then you can throw the top back on or serve it beside the potato. Either way, they look really nice.

 

This is a two part recipe. It looks really time consuming but I promise, the green beans and shallots can be thrown together in just a few minutes and the potatoes basically just make themselves in the oven! Sounds like a great recipe to forget about while you are having your Thanksgiving Day glass o’ wine, don’t you think?

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 large russet potatoes
• 4 Tbsp salted butter (or 1/4 cup)
• 4 Tbsp sour cream (or 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1-2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
• handful fresh chives

Directions: Wash potatoes. Wrap in foil, bake in oven at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until potatoes are soft. Remove potatoes from oven, unwrap and allow to cool slightly. Cut top off of potato, about 3/4 of the way up. With a spoon, scoop out flesh of potato, making sure to leave a decent amount of potato around the shell, in order for your shells not to cave. Mix flesh with butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, and chives. Pipe or scoop into shells, top with cheese, and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until tops are slightly browned.

Crispy Green Beans and Shallots

Ingredients:

• 2 cups French style green beans
• 2/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (organic preferred because big name brands DO use trans fats, hfcs, preservatives)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt (if using plain or lightly salted breadcrumbs)
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp water
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 large shallot
• 1/4 cup whole wheat white flour

Directions: Wash and trim green beans. Mix breadcrumbs with olive oil and spices. Whisk egg and water. Dip green beans in egg wash, then roll in breadcrumbs. Green beans will not be completely covered, however sprinkle any remaining breadcrumbs on top for extra crispies! Place on sheet tray. For shallot: slice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge in flour and place on sheet tray with green beans. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove green beans, and bake shallots for an additional 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

To assemble: Top potatoes with crispy green beans and shallots plus additional crispy breadcrumbs.

 

 

0