Perfect Low Fat Baked Potatoes with veggies

I tried this baked potato recipe out last night and it's absolutely tasty and super easy to make. It's written for "crock pot" to be used for the baked potatoes, but I just cooked them in the oven. I made a few additions of my own, which you may not want to include (like bacon) due to calories and/or cost perspectives. I'll write this for 4 servings. I slightly under-cooked the broccoli so when it was re-heated they would finish cooking and not be a soggy gross mess.

4 baking potatoes

10 ounces of fresh crimini mushrooms

1-2 broccoli crowns, cut into small florets (discard the stems)

About 2 tblspoons of cooking oil

Salt and pepper

(optional red pepper flakes to spice it up)

¼ to ½ cup chicken broth

¾ cup plain greek yogurt ( used Fage)

Crock Pot method - rub some cooking oil (or add a pat of butter to the foil before wrapping)over the peel of 4 whole potatoes  If you skip this you will end up with a dry peel that will break apart and not taste as good.  Wrap the 4 baking potatoes (they are a little larger than the cheap Russet potatoes in a bag) in foil. Prick with a fork to allow the steam to come out instead of explode your potato.

NOTE on purchasing potatoes: I've taken to hand selecting my taters in the bulk area of the produce department because the bags are just getting lower quality all the time, so even though it seems like a savings, I end up throwing potatoes away. Hand picking nice, firm, no visible damage or green tinge means less waste and a higher quality potato. Place them on low for 8 hours, then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Oven method – prepare the potatoes as described above, but instead bake them in the oven on 400 degrees for about an hour or until you can easily stick a fork in them.

Using a little bit of cooking oil, sauté 10 ounces of crimini mushrooms that have been quartered (or sliced is fine too) for about 2 minutes.

Add the broccoli florets to the pan and sauté until slightly “crisp yet tender” about 8 minutes. *Remember my note from above about under cooking if you want to save the topping for reheating later

Remove from heat and set aside

My broccoli topping (with bacon, onions, garlic)

Now, split your potatoes and carefully scoop out the insides into a medium bowl, leaving the peel to be your “shell” so-to-speak. Add the Greek yogurt and a bit of the chicken broth to the potato flesh and mash this up till it’s smooth like mashed potatoes. Add as much broth as you need to reach this consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add red pepper flakes to taste if desired. Scoop this stuff back into the potato and top with your broccoli, mushroom mixture. Eat and enjoy!

Changes I made: I cooked up a few slices of bacon till crispy, removed, cooled it and chopped into small bits. I used the bacon grease to sauté a 1/3 sweet onion, then added 3 fresh garlic cloves chopped for about 30 seconds…then I added the mushrooms and followed the steps above. Mind you, these additions kill the “low fat”ness of the dish but mmmmmmm, it’s good!