Baked Potato Bar

This post was sponsored by Annie’s Homegrown.

Potato, potahhhto.

baked potato bar | immaEATthat.com

I have a soft spot for potatoes because even though they’re a vegetable, people like to judge them and pretend they’re a lesser vegetable.  Potatoes, I am here for you.  You’re a great vegetable and I will eat you.  Especially when you’re topped with sour cream, sour cream & onion cheddar bunnies, chives, red bell peppers and bacon.

The key to baked potato making is the olive oil.  A baked potato with non-crispy skin is a wee-bit of a let down, so step one to make a baked potato bar = olive oil your potatoes up.

baked potato bar | immaEATthat.com

Be generous.  One tablespoon/potato should do the trick.

Then, step two = season the potato more than you think you should with sea salt & pepper.  Bonus points if you have one of those fancy containers of truffle sea salt that you have to keep wrapped in multiple layers of plastic wrap because otherwise it makes your whole kitchen smell like truffle.  I want to like truffle, but I’m experiencing a bit of ambivalence towards it.  In small amounts I can deal.  But when my entire kitchen smells like a giant mushroom I’ve realized I can’t deal.

baked potato bar | immaEATthat.com

Next up, bake the potatoes until the skin is crispy and the insides are soft and then…go topping crazy.

If you choose to add bacon to these guys, I have to tell you that I’ve been baking my bacon lately and it turns out perfect.  I’m a crispy, no-chewy-bits-at-all bacon person, and the oven can achieve that outcome.  I just put bacon on a baking sheet and pop it in a 375ºF oven for 20ish minutes and BOOM crispy, non-burnt bacon.  It’s great.

Also great is how sour cream & onion anything is made to be put on a baked potato.  So please do top your potato with sour cream & onion bunnies.  Gonna love it!

baked potato bar | immaEATthat.com

Baked Potato Bar

Ingredients:

potatoes
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper

toppings
Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (I used White Cheddar Bunnies, Organic Cheddar Bunnies, and Sour Cream & Onion Bunnies)
bacon
red bell peppers, finely chopped
sour cream
chives
sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Wash and scrub your potatoes and place on a baking sheet.  Poke each potato a couple times with a fork.  Drizzle each potato with ~1 tablespoon olive oil (be generous!).  Then season each with a sprinkle of black pepper and sea salt (again, be generous!).  Bake for 1 hour, or until fork tender.  

Cut potatoes open and fill with toppings!

baked potato bar | immaEATthat.com