Southwestern Stuffed Potatoes

The other day I called one of my closest friends to see if she wanted to go to Vallarta with me. (thats the name of my favorite Mexican market). Little did I know that she had never been!! Well...did we have fun! I've been there a gazillion times but this time was the most fun ever. I got to see it from the perspective of a newbie. She was in awe. We walked every isle and stopped and looked and saw and explored. It was a blast.

And both of us bought things that we've never bought before. Like this:

Salvadoran Chorizo....Aren't those babies beautiful?! Oh man and if you could smell them! The spices....UN  FRIGGIN REAL!!! Ya, next time I go...I buying lots more of them.

So, now what do I do with them? I searched the web. And hardly found anything. I looked on Food Network....natta! They didn't have anything on there with Salvadoran Chorizo. Hmmm.....think think think.

Well, I did find this cool little video of Aida (from Food Network) making Mexican Potato Skins. Looking back at the video, what she calls Mexican chorizo isn't. I think it was Salvadoran Chorizo and she didnt know it? Hmmm. Interesting. 

But her version wasn't really enough. I mean, it was potatoes, chorizo and cheese. 

The End.

Well heck...lets boost those babies up a notch or 2.

Ready?

I took a couple of potatoes, a tomato, avocado, onion, sour cream, cheese, cilantro and the star of the show....Salvadoran chorizo.

BTW....Salvadoran chorizo is very different from Spanish chorizo (which I have yet to find) and Mexican chorizo. Mexican chorizo crumbles into a fine... mush, when it's taken out of the skin. From what I understand, Spanish chorizo is hard....like salami or something (well, maybe not that hard, but I think it's like Portuguese sausage). Salvadoran chorizo crumbles more like....ground beef when it's taken out of the casing. And so far...I like it best. Someday when I find Spanish chorizo, I might change my mind...but until then, my verdict stands.

Sorry...I went a ramblin'.

This is a super easy recipe....scrub those potatoes. And don't forget to take a fork and prick them all over the place. Otherwise you will have an exploding potato in your oven....potato parts everywhere and the most horrid smell ever!! (been there, done that.). Drizzle some oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 425 oven until done. The time frame will depend on the size of the potatoes. I used small potatoes cuz I wanted them to be appetizer size. So they cooked for about 30 minutes. Just grab a hot-pad and gently squeeze a potato to see if it's tender. If it is....then it's done.

Remove from the oven and slice in half... lengthwise

Be careful cuz those babies are hot. And you want to do this while they are still warm. Makes it easier to scoop. Yep...it's time to scoop. Get out your hot-pad, and place a paper towel on it. Because if your hot pads are anything like mine...they're kinda grundgie. Sure I wash them....but still. Who knows where they've been while I'm away. And those potatoes are gonna be touching that hot pad.

Anyways...get out a spoon and carefully scoop the potato out, leaving about 1/4" around the edges. Don't go too deep or the skin will tear.

You're left with a bunch of empty shells

Now the fun begins. Remove the chorizo from the casings

Dice up that onion and throw it into the pan...

Brown it all up until everything is well cooked and divide it between all your tater skins and sprinkle some cheese on top

Put them back into the oven for about 5 - 8 minutes to warm em up and melt the cheese

And decorate.....

All I did was mash the avocado and put a dollop of the avocado and sour cream over the meat / cheese and then sprinkled some diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro on top. Serve with a bowl of salsa verde or your favorite salsa and dig in.

You know what's fun about a dish like this? It's versatility. You can do anything. You can even make a breakfast version....use sausage or bacon with scrambled eggs. Or do an Italian version with Italian sausage, olives, mozzarella cheese or a Greek version with lamb and goat cheese and tzatziki.

 Oh ya....the possibilities are endless.