Bacon-Cheese Potato Skins (Gluten-free)

Set these out for a snack or appetizer and they’ll disappear in no time! Offer a plateful to hungry teenagers and they’ll quit asking how soon dinner will be ready. While watching a game or a movie, serve these with a veggie tray and you won’t have to be in the kitchen during the action.

Potato Skins with Bacon and Monterey Jack – Gluten-free

Bacon-Cheese Potato Skins — Gluten Free

4 medium russet potatoes

4 slices bacon

1/3 cup sour cream (make sure it’s gluten-free)

1 tablespoon fresh chives, snipped

1/4 cup butter, melted

1-1/2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (or you can use cheddar — make sure it’s natural cheese)

3 tablespoons Tabasco Sauce, or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, optional

1. In a 400 degree F. oven, bake the potatoes for 1 hour, or until done; let cool. Meanwhile, cook and drain the bacon; crumble it. Mix the sour cream with the chives; put in small serving bowl and chill until ready to use.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut length-wise to make two relatively flat pieces.

3. With a spoon, scoop some of the potato out of each skin, leaving about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick potato shells. (Save the scooped-out potato for another dish.) Butter the entire surface of each skin, inside and out.

– If you want to fix ahead, prepare up to this point and refrigerate, covered, up to 24 hours. Let return to room temperature and continue:

4. Place the skins on a cookie sheet and broil until well-browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of shredded cheese into each skin.

6. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the cheese.

7. Broil the skins for 2 more minutes to melt the shredded cheese. Serve with the sour cream dip and Tabasco Sauce or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.

8 servings.

This gluten-free recipe is designed for those with gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, or celiac disease, but I’ve found that people who have no food allergies like it, too. It is wheat-free, barley-free and rye-free, as well as egg-free, nut-free and soy-free. It’s ideal for your gluten-free diet.