Stuffed Potato skins with Avocado Cream

By dette

The crispy skin of a baked potato has been a favorite of mine since childhood. I always waited to eat mine so it could be the grand finale of my meal. how nice to know the skin is the healthiest part of the potato too. \and what better way to make the most of it than to stuff it with outhwatering melted chedar cheese, fresh tender abroccoli, smoky Canadian bacon, and cool avocado cream.

Ingredients

• 8 small russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 c. broccoli florets, coarsely chopped (about 8 oz)
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 3 pieces Canadiana bacon, finely diced (about 3 oz)
• 3/4 c. grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 3 oz)
• 1 recipe Avocado Cream (recipe follow)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450.
Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork and wrap in paper towels. Microwave on high until the potatoes are cooked through, 13-15 minutes. Remove from the microwave and cool until the potatoes are easy to handle. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out all but 1/8 inch of the inside of the potatoe, leaving the skin intact. reserve the scooped-out potatoes for another use.
Brush both the inside and outside of the potatoes with the oil and sprinkle with the salt. Place the potatoes, skin side down, on a baking sheet and bake until the skins are crisp and the edges are golden brown, about 20 mintues.
In the meantime, make the filling. \steam the broccoli until crisp-tender 3-4 mintues. Spray a nonstick pan with coooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the Canaadian bacon and cook until crisp, stirring often, 3-4 mintues.
Toss the broccoli, with the cheese. Divide the filling equally among the potatoes. Lower the oven temperature to 400 and return the potatoes to the oven until the cheese is melted, about 5 mintues. Sppon 1 heaping tablespoon of the Avocado Cream on top of the broccoli-filled potatoes and garnish with the scallion greens (from the Avocado Cream recip) and 1 tsp of the crisped Canadian Bacon bits.

cal 210; tot fat 11g; sat fat 3.5g;mon fat 5.6g; poly fat 1g; prot 9g; carb 23g; fib 5g; chol 20mg; sod 350mg;