"Healthy-er" Twice Baked Potatoes

This is another recipe I played around with for years.

Finally, I settled on on these ingredients,

and these potatoes have converted lots of kids into broccoli-eaters!

large russet baking potatoes (1 per person)

butter (about 1 Tbsp. per potato)

cottage cheese (we use low-fat)

cheddar cheese (we use low-fat)

broccoli (steamed & chopped)

salt & pepper, to taste

Start with baking potatoes @ 350 degrees. Depending on the size of the potato, it will take 60-90 minutes to get them nice & soft inside. (the ones in the photo above took 95 minutes!!)

The skins need to be firm when you're done, so that they'll hold up as "boats" when you stuff them, so don't oil the skin or wrap in foil when you bake them.

Once the potatoes are baked, let the cool a few minutes, then slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside of the potatoes, leaving "boats" to stuff.

Add butter, salt & pepper (to taste) & cottage cheese (roughly 1/4 cup per potato) and mash together.
Chop the broccoli "trees" into super tiny bits, so that they appear more like a spice in the filling than a vegetable.

Add the chopped broccoli to the potato/cottage cheese mixture.

Add some grated cheese. Mix well.

Time to stuff your potato shells!

Fill all the potato boats till their stuffed nice and full.

You may have some left over mixture. Chatelaine likes to take the leftovers to lunch the next day! It's still super yummy, even when not stuffed in the skin.

Place in a baking dish sprayed with little cooking spray. Cover with more grated cheese.

Sometimes we sprinkle paprika on top, for color.

Serve with a yummy side salad and a smile.