Loaded Potato Skillet

11.27.2012

Loaded Potato Skillet

Back in the day, as a student who was basically incapable of cooking, I ate a lot of potatoes because it was actually one of the few things I could cook. I could never get sick of it because there are hundreds and hundreds of ways to prepare it: baked potatoes, french fries, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes…you get the idea. It’s been awhile since I made a potato-centric dish so I felt the need to cook something potato-ish.

So here is a loaded potato…in a skillet. And there’s bacon in it too!

It’s pretty much one of the best things ever.

For 4 servings (adapted via):

2 large baking potatoes
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
4 bacon strips (use Bacos® if you’re vegetarian)
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted
Salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 c. scallions, freshly chopped

Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the potatoes as thin as you want (I made mine a little thicker though); toss the potatoes with the melted butter. Salt and pepper to taste; spread the potatoes on a baking pan. On a smaller baking pan, spread out the bacon strips (if you don’t plan on using Bacos®). Set the potatoes on the bottom tray of the oven, and put the pan of bacon strips on the top tray. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the bacon strips are crispy and the potatoes are tender and slightly browned. Remove both items from the oven when they’re ready, and turn the oven up to 425F. Soak the grease from the bacon with a paper towel and then chop the bacon strips — be careful, it’s hot!

Bacon lovin’ Bacon.

In a large cast iron skillet, arrange one layer of potatoes; sprinkle with cheese and bacon bits. Repeat until you’ve used all the potatoes.

Bake in the oven (center rack) until the cheese melts; carefully remove the skillet from the oven because it’s hot and pretty heavy. Garnish with the chopped scallions, and bacon bits.