Potato Skins with Sriracha Dipping Sauce

Tonight the hubby and I had a couple friends over for pizza and games. I didn't make the pizza (we ordered it) but I did want to make something tasty for our little get-together. And what's better than potato skins? 

I remember the first time I had a potato skin. I was at Applebee's in Ohio and thought I had never had anything better. I was probably about twelve years old at the time and I was overly dramatic (as per usual), but it was seriously delicious and I wanted nothing more than to continue eating them! Now that I'm married and on a budget, I can't have restaurant potato skins very often anymore (insert sad face here). But I found out that I can totally make these at home! I've made them before and they are super-duper easy to make and are so delicious! You'll think you're eating skins from Max & Erma's or Applebee's! 

Now, usually, potato skins are served with straight-up sour cream or ranch dressing. But for today, I thought about using the same sriracha sauce recipe I made for my black bean veggie burgers. Hubby and I loved this sauce on the burgers and onion straws so I thought, "Why not try this delicious, kicker sauce on potato skins?" I'm glad I did because it is so incredibly delicious! The sauce gives that creamy texture that you get with sour cream or ranch dressing over the crunch of the bacon and crispy skins. It turned out absolutely delicious!

What You Need:

• 6-8 large spuds
• shredded cheddar cheese
• crispy bacon or bacon bits (I used bits because they're easy)
• olive oil
• salt

How to Do It:

First, you'll cook the potatoes. I found that the easiest way to achieve this is to microwave the potatoes until they are soft and a fork can be inserted and removed easily. When the potatoes are cooked, cut them in half and let them cool a little or you could burn yourself.

When the spuds are cooled a little, scoop the innards out and reserve them for mashed potatoes for dinner tomorrow! Don't scoop all the innards out, you want to keep a little of the potato to keep the skins from falling apart.

Now that the spuds are scooped, lay them out on an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet. Brush the inside of the potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle a little salt.

Flip the spuds over, skin-side up, and brush the skins with olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt again. Now they're ready to pop into the oven on 400°F for roughly 15 minutes. 

When you check them out, you'll see a little golden-brown around the outside of the potato. Now, leave them skin-side down and add a little cheese to the spud boat and sprinkle in some bacon bits too. Sprinkle a little more salt (not too much) and pop back in the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Now they're looking absolutely delicious and it's time to eat! Serve with a little bit of that delicious sriracha sauce and bon apétit!