Written in Food: Taco Potato Recipe

Hello, Winter! Of course with Winter means cold weather, busy holidays and a desire for hot comfort food. So how do we make it all work? We kill two birds with one stone and we make our left overs work for us, that's how!

This dish was inspired by a local sub chain that my family really enjoys, and it provided the perfect means of using up some left overs we had and needed to find a new way to enjoy. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that the possibilities are endless! Everyone can assemble their own potato allowing for a super fun taco/potato bar opportunity! This means providing a fun meal that allows for experimenting and creativity! It also means that this would make a great party dish!

Because there are so many easy variations of this meal that you can do, I'm going to start by sharing with you how my family often makes it. We can play with variations after that.

Ingredients:

1-2 potatoes per person (if the potatoes are small, you may want to go with 2 per person)

Olive oil

kosher salt

Potato toppers

Left over (or a fresh pot of) chili- about 1 ladle full per potato

shredded cheese

shredded lettuce

diced tomato

sour cream

butter.

taco chips

black pepper

Instructions:

-Prepare your baked potatoes. I prefer to do so in the slow cooker (but feel free to prepare your potatoes using your favorite method) by following these steps:

Clean potatoes

Put each potato in the center of a square of aluminum foil

Poke holes into potato

Drizzle Olive oil over potato

sprinkle with Kosher salt to taste

Fold corners up to meet together and roll them to seal the foil packet

Place on slow cooker

Cook for 4-5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low

If your potatoes are layered or stacked in the slow cooker, rotate half way through giving each potato a chance to be on the bottom layer

Potatoes are done when you can easily puncture the potatoes with a fork

-When potatoes are almost done, or done and the slow cooker is adjusted to "warm", heat up chili (about

- To assemble, cut potato in half and lay open faced and top potato with toppings.

Other fun toppings you may want to try:

- left over taco meet

- cheese sauce

- peppers

- salsa

- guacamole

- your favorite taco fillings!

I know my family loves when we make this, but what I want to know is did you try it? What did your family think? Let us know in the comments!