Twice Baked Potatoes

I love serving twice baked potatoes with any steak meal I make, and I think they're perfect for having company over because you can make them in the morning (or even the night before) and then all you have to do is finish them off in the oven when you're ready.  When we're having people over, I don't like to make recipes that require me to do to much right before I serve them because it's too stressful to be messing around too much in the kitchen when people are over....I'd much rather do all of my prep in the morning and only have to worry about putting stuff in the oven, taking stuff out of the oven, tossing the salad with the dressing, etc.  Anyways, I've been making these potatoes for a long time, and they will continue to be one of my go-to side dishes.  Below is how I make mine, but you can definitely adjust the ingredients to your tastes.

Ingredients:

6 large baking potatoes

1 stick of butter

1 1/2 cups sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2-3 tablespoons chives, minced up

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Poke some holes in each potato with a fork, and bake for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, or until soft (if you're using small potatoes, it might be closer to 45 minutes).

2.  Cut enough of the skin off the top of each potato so that you can scoop the potato out of the skin.  Scoop out each potato and put into a large mixing bowl.

3.  Add butter and sour cream, and mash together.  Stir in the shredded cheese, chives, and salt and pepper to taste.  I think that the seasonings can really make or break your potato - if you don't add enough salt, these will taste really bland, but be careful not too add too much.  I usually start with a little, taste, and slowly keep adding more salt and pepper (and tasting) until it tastes perfect.

4.  Fill the potato skins with the mixture, and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through.