Nest Full of New

Who doesn’t love a good baked potato?  This delicious looking recipe was found on Pinterest through The Village Cook and was just begging to be made for friends on an early football Sunday.  I’ve had an egg on lots of things in my life…on oatmeal, as a sandwich, on asparagus, even on a hamburger (if you haven’t tried this one, add it to your list!) and, of course, with potatoes in the form of hash browns or home fries.  Never have I had an egg in a baked potato.  Well, here we go…Ripped From Pinterest!

Sunrise Potatoes

Recipe inspired by The Village Cook

Ingredients
baked potatoes, slightly cooled
melted butter
kosher salt and black pepper
shredded cheese of your choice
eggs
additional fillings: sauteed vegetables, bacon or ham, chives, onions, salsa, etc.

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice a layer off the top of each potato.  Use a spoon to gently scoop out insides, leaving a thin layer of potato against the skin and avoiding puncturing the bottom.  (Save the potato guts – they’ll make great mashed potatoes later!)

Brush inside of each potato with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add a layer of shredded cheese into each potato and then fillings as desired (we used cheddar cheese and diced ham.)  Fill each potato about 3/4 full.  Crack one egg into each potato.  Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper.  Top with additional cheese and toppings, if desired.

Place potatoes on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes.  Egg whites should be set and yolks soft.

 

The Verdict

 

Here are the photos of the original recipe and my attempt.  These were really easy to make. I rubbed the skins of my potatoes with butter and sprinkled them with salt and garlic powder before wrapping them in foil to bake.  I also used chopped ham rather than bacon this time. When I make these again, if I use ham I will brown it a bit before adding it to the potato. I also recommend dropping in the eggs carefully. I thought I had pretty good aim, but I lost some of the whites over the edge of the potato on a couple of them. I served these with crunchy onions (like the kind you use in green bean casserole,) sour cream and salsa.  Next time, I’ll be sure to have chives or green onions on hand, too.  Finally, mine were a little overcooked and the yolks not as soft as I would have liked them to be.  Overall, this was another hit at my house and we’ll see this one come up in rotation again.