Baked Potato Salad

This recipe is adapted from something I found on allrecipes.

Do you want to take something to a BBQ this summer that just WOWS everyone?  Then this is it. 

It's basically a stuffed baked potato but in potato salad form. 

Ready?  This is going to be my attempt at walking you through making it like the food bloggers do, LOL.

Ingredients

Potatoes

Bacon

Onions

Mayo

Sour Cream

Salt, Pepper, Onion Power, Garlic Powder, Chives

and a ton of Cheese.

How much of each?  I'll get to that.

For today's batch, I used a 5lb bag of potatoes.  I did not peel them, I just washed & cubed.  You can peel them if wish, I like the peels.  (all photos are unedited, I'm being lazy, sorry)

 Here is the tricky part.  You want to just get them soft-ish.  Not mashed potato soft.  So your time may vary. I ended up boiling them for about 9 minutes once it came to a boil.  Your time may vary.  You want to get a tiny bit of resistance when you stick a fork in them.  Don't forget to add salt to the water.  This is VERY important. I probably added a tablespoon or more of kosher salt (the big pieces)

Before I go any further I need to add this disclaimer.  

This is in no way healthy.  

It is one of those dishes that you make occasionally.  Trust me on this.

Next,  a pound of bacon.  

I cut it up before I cook it, TJSD (The Jersey Shore Dad) cooks it then breaks it up.  It's up to you. 

I love my cast iron skillet.  It weighs a ton but it cooks bacon so nicely.  I got it from TJSD's late grandmother years ago when she stopped using them because they're so heavy. 

Om Nom.

When it's done, don't dump out the fat, we're going to use that in a second.  Just take a slotted spoon and move the bacon pieces to a paper towel or two.

I can not stress enough that you can NOT substitute Bacos. 

Never, ever. 

The onions are optional, but I like them so I used about a half a large onion today  You want to make them soft but not burny if you can. I cooked them in the bacon grease.

By now the potatoes are done. I drained them and rinsed out the pot with cold water so I could use it to mix everything up.  It's eventually going to go into foil tray. 

Confession time, I don't measure. Seriously, I just add stuff until it looks right. But for you guys I'm going to guess at a teaspoon of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders.  Then about a tablespoon of chives. 

We're going to taste it eventually so you can add more if you need to. 

Toss in the bacon & onions.

Time for my favorite part, the CHEESE!  I love cheese. 

I could eat cheese all day long.  You can see the bag says this is a Mexican Style Blend. I get this from Costco.  No idea how much was left in the bag but it was originally a 24 ounce bag.  Sprinkle some on.

 Then add more. If you want to save a little for the top, that's good. I have more so I used what was in the bag.  

And Mix it up!

We now venture back into the "I don't measure part" but I can tell you that i use 1 part Mayo to 3 parts Sour Cream.  Try 1/4 cup mayo & 3/4s cup of Sour Cream and go from there (again depending on how many lbs of potatoes you use)

And Mix it all up!

I tasted it and OMG I remember why I only make this occasionally (insert Homer Simpson drool sounds)

Transferred it to the foil tray (it's going to a party - plus we have enough dishes to wash already)

And, you guessed it, top it off with more cheese. 

Dramatic Shot

If you have the time, bake it for 20 minutes at 350 to meld everything together.  But it's not necessary.  It's good hot or cold/room temp. 

And there you have it. Baked Potato salad that will WOW everyone who tries it.  They will invite you to parties JUST because you make this for them.  They might even offer up their first born child for it, but don't take this deal, it's a trap! LOL

Speaking of deals, if I leave some in the pan for TJSD to taste, he'll do the dishes for me :) 

Enjoy!