Loaded Potato Bites

Baking the Potato

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes a few times with a fork.
2. Whisk an egg white until frothy or use olive oil and brush the outsides of all of your the potatoes. It's optional but is so worth doing. The olive oil or egg whites will help the seasonings stick to the potato. You can just use olive oil or nothing on your potatoes prior to baking. The end result will still be delicious!
3. I usually sprinkle kosher salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme on a cutting board and roll the coated potatoes around or simply sprinkle seasonings all over each potato.
4. Bake potatoes for about 60 minutes, until tender. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your potatoes.

Add the Toppings

1. While potatoes are cooking chop up your bacon and cook until crisp. Reserve some bacon fat inside your skillet and fry up some onions, either sliced or diced. They taste so good on top of these baked potato slices too.
2. Allow potatoes to cool slightly once cooked. I use oven mitts to hold one at a time. They must be cool enough to handle or risk burning yourself.
3. Slice with a sharp knife into ¼ - ½ inch rounds and place on a well greased tinfoil lined baking sheet. I usually just coat with cooking spray.
4. Next add the shredded cheese, onion (if using) and bacon pieces. Pile cheese, onion and bacon pieces in the middle of the potato. The cheese, as it melts, has a tendency to spread and will melt all over your pan if you're not careful.
5. My husband piles cheese, onions, bacon and a little more cheese to top it off. He feels they hold together better with the extra pinch of cheese on top.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes. Broil until cheese browns.
7. Remove from oven, allow to cool a few minutes, and serve with ranch dressing or sour cream. If you're in the mood to make an amazing homemade dip check out our recipe list of the BEST DIPS EVER. They are all delicious! Enjoy every bite!