Bacon Cheddar Ranch Twice Baked Potatoes!

This is another recipe I have my mother in law to thank for. Truthfully, I probably have the majority of my cooking to thank her for. Confession, as much as I cook now (daily) and as much as I love it (adore!) I was never a chef growing up. Then I married my hubby a couple months before my 21st birthday. I quickly realized that he had been spoiled by his mother, who is a fantastic cook, and I had no idea what I was doing in the kitchen. Whoopsie. Eating out and frozen meals were not going to cut it. What's a girl to do? I sat my booty down and watched like 2 straight weeks of Food Network. Seriously. Then I took my freshly educated butt to the kitchen and got to work, cooking all kinds of things I had seen on TV. The result? SO much good food. And such a happy husband! I was hooked. I wanted to cook every food I'd ever liked! I even found I liked some foods I previously thought that I hated. Every time we went home to visit I would pick up a different cooking tip from my fabulous mother in law, and these are my husband's most favorite form of potato. But this should really be EVERYONE'S favorite form of potato, they're freaking delicious! Bacon, cheddar, ranch- ummm yeah, I'm all in. 

So while I have the incomparable Mary Ann Keomuongchanh to thank for about a million things (most importantly, producing the love of my life!) today I simply thank her for helping me find my love of cooking. There are very few things in life as satisfying as serving a good meal to the people you love. That's just the best feeling! :-) And I GUARANTEE if you serve these potatoes to the people you love, they will appreciate it, & you will feel super fantastic about your bad self! :-)

Ingredients: (4-6 servings, depends on how hungry y'all are..) 

4 baking potatoes

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup ranch dressing

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

3 strips bacon, cooked & crumbled

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash potatoes and poke all over with a fork so that steam can escape while cooking. There are about 325802734092 ways to bake a potato, this is my method- bake them as you see fit!

Me poking my potato, like my neon nails?!

Step 2: Place potatoes directly on oven rack and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until they are baked through and soft to a little squish. Your baking time will depend on the size of your potatoes- mine took about 55 minutes! 

Step 3: Cut potatoes length wise.

Step 4: With a spoon scoop out the insides and toss in a medium sized mixing bowl. Place empty skins in a baking dish to be filled in a sec.

I'm holding the skin with an oven mitt because this was a literal hot potato.

Step 5: Add milk, ranch dressing, 1/2 cup cheese, bacon, salt, & pepper to potato insides and stir until combined. You may need to add a bit more milk if you feel the mixture is too dry- taste til it's perfect!

Step 6: Fill empty potato skins with bacon cheddar mixture.

Step 7: Top potatoes with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and return to hot oven. Bake 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

I think my favorite part of this recipe is that when you get your potato you don't have to prepare it. You know when you get a baked potato and you have to add your own toppings and all you really wanna do is dig in? Yep, no lag time here. Just dig in. :-) ENJOY!