Easter Dinner, Part 2: Roasted Garlic Twice Baked Potatoes

Putting together an entire Easter meal can be quite a daunting task, especially if you are having a large family gathering.  Twice baked potatoes to the rescue!  These can easily be made a couple days or even weeks ahead and frozen until needed.  So while you are busy making your other sides or just enjoying the time with your loved ones, the potatoes can be popped into the oven for reheating without a second thought.

Ingredients

9 russet potatoes, medium size

1 head garlic

1 t olive oil

4 oz cream cheese

½ cup sour cream

4 T butter, softened

½ t salt

¼ t pepper

¼ to ½ cup milk, if necessary for thinning potatoes

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice top of garlic head off.  Place garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Fold up foil around garlic.  Scrub the potatoes clean and pierce each with a knife several times.  Place potatoes and garlic in hot oven and bake for 1 to 1½ hours, until potatoes are done.  Take potatoes and garlic out of oven.

Take garlic out of foil.  Squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of skin into a large bowl.  Mash garlic with a fork.

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise.  Scoop out inside of potato, leaving ¼” layer of potato attached to the skin, and place in bowl with garlic.  Set skins aside.

Break up potatoes with a masher and add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, salt, and pepper.  Mash together until desired smoothness, using a mixer if smoother consistency is desired.  Add a little milk if potato mixture seems too thick.  Stir in cheddar cheese and bacon.

Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Spoon potato mixture into each potato skin, pressing into the skin and mounding on top, and place filled skins on sheet.

To serve immediately: Place pan with potatoes in oven and bake 15 – 25 minutes until potatoes are hot.

To freeze for later use: Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in freezer until potatoes are frozen, which will take several hours.  Once frozen, wrap each potato in plastic wrap and place in gallon resealable freezer bags.  Store in freezer up to 3 months.

To reheat frozen potatoes: Preheat oven to 350º.  Take potatoes out of bag and remove plastic wrap.  Place potatoes on baking sheet and loosely cover with foil.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes until potatoes are hot.