Jalapeño Popper Twice Baked Potatoes

For the potatoes:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Wash potatoes. Prick them all over with a fork, brush with melted butter, and lightly season with salt. Bake potatoes in a baking pan (mine was 9 x 13) for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes, or until you can handle them.

For the jalapenos (see note):
Turn broiler on and place oven rack on the top rung. Remove the stem and cut jalapeños lengthwise. Place them on a baking sheet skin side up and broil until the skins are blackened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a small Ziplock baggie. Close the Ziplock baggie and let them steam for 5 minutes. Remove them from the bag and peel off the skin. Chop (and remove any seeds/devein if necessary) and set aside.

Assembling:
One potatoes have cooled, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the filling. Leave a small border of potato, so it can stand up on it’s own (see note). Place the potato skins back into the baking pan.

In a stand mixer, place potato flesh, cooked/diced bacon (reserve 1/6 of it for the topping), cream cheese, mayo, Greek yogurt, butter, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, roasted jalapenos, and half of the cheddar cheese. Mix until well combined.

Scoop the filling back into the potato skins and top with remaining cheese.

Lower oven temperature back to 425 F (and oven rack back to the middle). Put pan into the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with remaining bacon and chives, if desired. Serve immediately!

Notes:
1. Not sure how to cook bacon? Place bacon in a cold pan. Turn heat to medium. Cook until crispy! Once cooked, place on a paper towel to soak up extra grease!
2. Jalapeno peppers can vary in spice level. I used 1 whole jalapeno and 1 whole jalapeno that was deseeded/deveined and thought the spice level was perfect. I tell you to roast 4 just in case you want to add more. Start with less (maybe 1 pepper deseeded/deveined) and add more as you see fit!
3. If your potatoes aren’t staying upright after you’ve scooped the the filling, cut off a bit of the bottom so it’s flat.