Ham & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes

These Ham & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes are a super simple meal made with easy to find ingredients. The flavor runs through because we mix all the good stuff together and bake it all together. This ain't your grandma's baked potato. It's way more awesome.

I've been procrasting the writing of this post for three days now. Maybe I'm getting too comfortable with this whole working from home thing. After dinner, I forget that I still have to do my fake job as a food blogger. I've actually been sitting down and watching a movie with my husband in the evening. It's been lovely, but it's definitely affected my productivity.

Of course, I have a love hate relationship with the whole concept of productivity. Other than dancing, all the things I like to do are pretty languid. Reading, baking, watching movies and TV. I like to take my time and keep it chill. I even walk slowly most of the time, often getting lost in my surroundings and my own daydreams. But I also like buying things, so that means I gotta make money. Hence the pressure to hustle. It's a nasty cycle.

My laziness is working in your favor today, though. We're making Ham & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes. We're using simple, cheap ingredients to turn a humble baked potato into something a extra awesome. Okay, maybe it's a little more work than just splitting open a baked potato and dumping a bunch of stuff on top, but the result is well worth the effort. Every bite is perfectly mixed. You'll love it.

How to make Ham & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes

Bake your potatoes however you like. To do them in the oven, prick the potatoes with a fork a few times, rub them with some oil and salt, and bake them at 350 F (175C) for at least an hour. It depends how big your potatoes are. A sharp knife will slide all the way into the potato easily when they're ready. If you're pressed for time, you can cook them in the microwave instead for 10 minutes, turning them over halfway through. You could definitely cook your potatoes ahead of time if you want.

Once the potatoes are cooked, cut each one in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out most of the flesh of the potato. Be careful to leave the skin intact so you can refill it later. Add the potato flesh to a big mixing bowl, then add your mix-ins. Here we're using cheese, delic ham, fresh chives, sour cream and cayenne, but this is just a concept. Poke around in your fridge and see what looks good. Smash and stir this all together. You can use a fork or a potato masher to break up the potato if you like. Once everything is combined, scoop this back into your waiting potato skins.Then put them back in the oven under the broiler (or grill for you Brits) until the cheese gets nice and melty and you start to get some lovely browning.

Twice Baked Potatoes are undoubtedly superior to regular baked potatoes. Trust me. You'll know when there's not a speck left on your plate. Enjoy, my friends.

Looking for more awesome potato recipes? How about this Loaded Baked Potato Casserole?

Don't forget to share your recipe photo on Instagram with the hashtag #awesomeon20. Happy eating.