Twice Baked Cheddar, Maple, & Bacon Sweet Potatoes

We love sweet potatoes. It's that simple. They are sweet and healthy and just so inviting. Last night I tried something different. We love twice baked potatoes, but they aren't all that healthy, and we have grown tired of the "roasted" version, so . . . this what I came up with. This dish is savory, sweet, and comforting. It was served it along side a massaged kale (from the garden!) salad, you'll be seeing that recipe very soon.

~This recipe can be easily multiplied to serve as many as you'd like.

~This recipe can be made a few days ahead of time. After stuffing, instead of re-heating, put your potatoes in a covered container in the fridge, when ready to serve, place on a baking sheet and heat  at 350 degrees until warmed through.

Twice Baked Cheddar, Maple, & Bacon Sweet Potatoes - GF 

• 2 whole sweet potatoes
• 2 pieces thick cut bacon, diced
• 2 ounces cheddar cheese. shredded
• 1T maple syrup
• S&P

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the sweet potato skins, pierce with a fork a couple times, and place in the oven, straight on the rack. Cooking time will vary based on the size of your potatoes, normally it will be between 30 minutes and a 1 hour.

In the mean time, cook your bacon* in a dry pan, over low heat until crispy. Drain* on a paper towel and wait for the sweet potatoes.

When potatoes are fork tender, remove from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes. Lay potatoes length-wise and cut off the very top (you want most of the potato to be in tact so you can stuff it). Scoop the flesh into a bowl. If you need, hold the potatoes with a kitchen towel so they don't burn your hand. Be careful not to go through the skin of the potato, this is what is holding your finished product together. In the bowl, mash the potato flesh, bacon, cheddar, and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure to taste so you know your final product will be perfect. Divide the filling into equal portions and stuff back into your potato skins. Place your potatoes on a baking sheet an put back in the oven for another 15 minutes, just to warm through. They are ready to serve.

   

*I always have bacon in my freezer. I find it so much cheaper to buy it when it's on sale and keep it until I need it. Once I get it home, and have some time, I open the bacon package and lay the pieces flat on those plastic cutting boards (or some wax paper) and place in the freezer, once it is frozen, I bag it. This makes it very easy to pull out just a few pieces for cooking. You can cook bacon from a frozen state, whether you dice it for this dish, or bake it for breakfast. This tip also works well with citrus. If you have a left over lemon, slice it thin and lay it flat, once it's frozen, bag it! Fresh citrus ice cubes for your water (or sangria) whenever you want them.

*Instead of wasting the bacon grease, you can allow to cool, then freeze it in a tupperware and use it for another recipe. You can continue to add "fresh" grease on top of your already frozen stash each time you cook bacon.