Baked Potato Throw Down!

Guys! Remember last year when my brother came home for Spring Break and the Boys Team joined us for a super fun and tasty Grilled Cheese Throw Down?! Well, he’s back again for break and we’ve invited the Boys Team to another MIHM Throw Down. This time, with some St. Patrick's Day spirit and Irish luck, we’re throwin’ down some baked potatoes!

The rules to this Throw Down are simple: provide your own creative toppings for a baked potato and make enough to share. Although some of us were trying to keep our ideas a secret, by the time everyone was running around the kitchen preparing their potatoes, we all knew what our taste buds were in store for. Everyone did such a great job creating unique topping ideas so let’s get right to it.

First up, and talking a big game, we have my dad. You might remember that he added salmon to his grilled cheese sandwich last year, which was unexpected but surprisingly delicious. This time around, he brought back his signature fish. My dad hollowed out his baked potato and filled it it with barbequed salmon, tomatoes, lettuce, and a lemon dressing. His potato was pretty tasty, and he didn’t stop reminding us that it was the best one on the table. :)

 

Next, my mom presented her baked potato. She made a baked sweet potato, topped with homemade black bean chili, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. You can’t go wrong with chili and cheese. We really liked the variety of the sweet potato (since the rest of us used normal potatoes) and she gets bonus points for making her chili topping from scratch!

 

 

My brother is always thinking outside of the box! His potato was a one-of-a-kind take on another favorite food of his – the cheeseburger. After grilling mini turkey burgers, he added tomato, lettuce, cheese, ketchup and the turkey burger to the potato. To eat his creation, we had to assemble the potato like a burger, with the baked potato replacing the bun. The whole family loved his burger because it was delicious, fun to eat and like eating a burger and fries at the same time!  

 

And lastly, I served up a baked potato with butter and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. The carb overload was well worth it as this potato was savory and scrumptious. I didn’t exert the extra effort to make the macaroni and cheese from scratch, but I think the Kraft version added a bit of nostalgia since we gobbled that up as kids.

 

We’re sure baked potatoes have come a long way since our Irish relatives made their way to America, as was reflected on our kitchen table last night! We had quiet the variety to choose from:

 

Because this was a friendly Throw Down, no winner was crowned. We are all winners in our own right for being so different and creative with our toppings! It was a lot of fun to take the simple meal of a baked potato and jazz them up.

 

With the help of the boys team, we enjoyed a great potato feast, some Irish beer and our favorite Irish Coffees for dessert. Happy St. Patrick’s Day from MIHM!