Vegan Potato Skins

When I was in university, my honny (now hubby!) and I used to love getting potato skins at restaurants. They were everywhere then, so popular (maybe they still are...?), full of cheese and sour cream and piquant fillings like olives. Well, they were quite heavy back then with all that dairy and, at times, bacon (ewww, cringe)!

But, we still love taters in all kinds of ways in our house. As I mentioned before, I like to call hubby...

(except he doesn't have a moustache...) Sorry again hon! Hee!

Anyhow, I often bake potatoes whole as the quickest kind of a potato side dish. When there are leftovers (not often!), I can scoop out some of the potato flesh and make nummy potato skins! Here are the potato skins before topping them with vegan cheese. I've added in sliced green onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and green olives. Very simple. Then, top with some grated cheese and bake at about 400 until they cheese is melted and the skins are looking a little crispy.

Now, what to do with the potato flesh you've scooped out???

Well, my girls love mashed potatoes (don't most kids?), so I simply give them a quick mash with sea salt, and little non-dairy milk, and either some olive oil or earth balance margarine - and sometimes a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. If you want, you can use this mash to put back in the potato skins and still add the savory toppings. They will be more filling that way, perhaps being more of a 'main course'!

Try it and enjoy!!