Every time Jason comes home, I love fattening him up. He’s completely deprived of quality, homemade food when he’s up north so I make it a mission to have his favorite foods all lined up. These potato skins was one of the many fattening, artery-clogging food items that I made for him when he was visiting during spring break. But then again since this was baked, I guess it’s not that bad for you, right?

Now this was my first time making potato skins, and even though it was fairly easy, I was a bit surprised as to how time-consuming it was to make. You first have to bake the potatoes for an hour, then you slice them in half and scoop out the insides, and then they go back in the oven for 20 more minutes, 10 minutes on each side. Once that’s done, they get topped with the good stuff, bacon and cheese, and they get baked a final time for 5 minutes. There’s lots of baking involved so be sure to plan enough time to make these.

But even though it was a bit tedious to be taking these potato skins in and out of the oven, every effort was worth it once you take that first bite. I mean, cheesy bacon goodness sitting in a pothole of potato? Yes! And don’t forget that added sour cream on top, which just makes everything better. I think Jason enjoyed these as much as I did, especially because he ate about 5 of these without even blinking!

Loaded Potato Skins (adapted from For the Love of Cooking):

Yields 6 servings

• 6 russet potatoes
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
• 12 dollops sour cream
• 3 green onions, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a cooling rack inside a baking sheet.

Scrub the potatoes clean under cold, running water.

Place the potatoes onto the prepared baking sheet and pierce the potatoes about 6-12 times with a fork. (This will allow steam to escape during the cooking process.)

Place into the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until tender; let cool enough to handle.

While the potatoes are baking, heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Cut each potato in half horizontally, then carefully scoop out the center of the potato, reserving for another use, leaving about 1/4-inch of potato on the skin.

Brush both sides of each potato skin with olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place into oven and roast for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the skins over and roast for an additional 10 minutes.

Add the bacon and cheddar into each potato skin.

Place into the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Add a dollop of sour cream to each skin and top with green onions.

Serve immediately.