These are a bit more work but you can do it all ahead of time. That makes for a good dinner party recipe in my book! These also freeze well. After you’ve filled the shells and topped with cheese, flash freeze them, then bag so you can just pull out however many you need for lunch or dinner.
baking potatoes
sour cream
a bit of milk
butter
salt and pepper
grated Cheddar cheese
It’s hard to give a recipe for this because so much depends on the size of your potatoes. Start by baking them at 400 degrees for about an hour, until soft when you squeeze them.
Don’t let them cool too long or they’ll be impossible to mash. Instead, while still hot, slice them lengthwise. Scoop the white insides out into a mixing bowl and lay the shells down on your baking sheet. Add the butter and mix with an electric blender just until not lumpy. Add the sour cream and milk, salt and pepper, and mix until there are no lumps. Stir in some grated cheese.
Fill the potato shells with the mashed insides and top with a bit more grated cheese. If you’d like, stop here and refrigerate or freeze until later. Bake at 350 or so (flexible depending on what else is in our oven) until warmed through.
If you want to make these more of a main dish, which makes a great lunch, add some diced ham to the mashed potatoes before you stuff the potato skins.
Looks tasty! My uncle’s recipe, the one we always use, adds a pint of sour cream and a generous amount of bacon to the mix before baking. We also use small, disposable baking pans instead of the shells.