Recipe

Ingredients

• 10-12 baking potatoes (I use russet potatoes)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1.5 to 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (I prefer sharp cheddar, but mild cheddar will work too)
• 2 lb pulled pork ( you can make your own, but I prefer to buy it already made in the freezer section, my favorite is Nick’s Famous Bar-B-Q which I find at our local Kroger)
• 3 green onions for garnish
• BBQ sauce of your choice for garnish
• sour cream for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. If you’re using frozen pulled pork, let it thaw and then warm in a large pot on low heat.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Wash and dry potatoes. Rub a light layer of olive oil over each potato and bake them spaced apart on a cookie sheet for 45 to 60 minutes. Check at 45 minutes by inserting a butter knife into the center of the largest potato, if the butter knife slides down the width of potato easily they are done. If the knife does not slide smoothly cook for another 15 minutes and try again.
4. After the potatoes are done, let them sit for 15-20 minutes until cool enough to handle.
5. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop the soft inside of the potatoes into a medium sized mixing bowl, set the skins aside.
6. In the bowl with the potato insides, add the butter, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder and mix to combine (you can use a hand mixer or stir well with a spoon). You’re basically making mashed potatoes here.
7. Line potato skins up on a baking sheet. Scoop mashed potato mixture into each potato skin. Place a scoop of pulled pork into each potato skin. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the potatoes.
8. Bake potatoes on 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.
9. Garnish with green onions, sour cream and BBQ sauce drizzle to taste.
10. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• You can use chicken instead of pulled pork. This is a great, easy BBQ shredded chicken recipe.
• There is a lot of room for flexibility with how much of each ingredient you use. For example, you can use one or two spoonfuls of pulled pork for each potato, a little or a lot of cheddar cheese. It’s really up to you, what you have and your taste preferences.
• If you are going for convenience, buy a package of prepared pulled pork in the freezer section. You can usually find freezer options with and without BBQ sauce, so again just choose whichever you prefer (or whichever you can find!).