Twice Baked Potatoes with Cauliflower

What do you get when you cross a few potatoes with half a head of cauliflower?  Twice baked potatoes with cauliflower!  Duh!  I realize that jokes are generally funny, and this one was sorely lacking.  You know why?  This is not a joke!  Twice baked potatoes with cauliflower are no laughing matter.  They're more along the lines of warm, creamy, cheesy matter.  And because they're chock-full of cauliflower, they're a little more nutritious than your average twice baked potato.  

Twice Baked Potatoes with Cauliflower

3-4 large baking potatoes

1/2 head cauliflower

1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/3 cup milk

2 tbsp chives, chopped

Salt & Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400.  Scrub the potatoes well, and then bake them for 40 or 50 minutes, or until you an easily stick a fork in them.  Stick a fork in it!  That's a new phrase for my friend Becky.  It will fit right into her arsenal of slightly off sayings like "now we're just beating the dead dog."  

I guess this is more like 2/3 of a head of cauliflower, but it works.  You just don't want too much or you'll have way too much stuffing and not enough potatoes to stuff.  

Cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces, and remove the stems from the florets.  You can save the stems for snacking, but they won't mash up as well as the florets so you want to get rid of them for this recipe.  

Steam the cauliflower for about 10 minutes or until it softens up quite a bit.  If they're not soft enough they'll be difficult to mash, and you'll end up with crunchier potatoes. 

Put the cauliflower in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher.  

Keep mashing until all you have left are tiny little pieces.  The biggest chunks should be about the size of a pea.  You could also throw the cauliflower in a food processor and add a little water or milk to make it smooth, but I prefer the route that involves the smallest amount of dirty dishes.  

Once the potatoes are done baking let them cool for a few minutes until you can comfortably handle them.

Slice off a big oval from the top.  Set the tops aside.  

Then use a spoon to scoop out the insides, leaving about a 1/4" thick shell.  

Add the potato you scooped out into the bowl with the cauliflower, and mash them together.  

Add the sour cream, cream cheese, and a little milk.  As usual I didn't measure anything out, instead just looking to see what I had in the fridge and spooning a little of everything into the bowl.  I had light sour cream, low-fat cream cheese, and skim milk, but you could use a little plain yogurt or cream if that's what you have.  

Mix everything until it's combined, and add more milk if it's too dry.  You're going to be adding more dry ingredients, so it's fine to err or the moist side. 

Add about a cup of grated cheddar.  

And a couple tablespoons of chopped chives.  Green onions would work, too.  

Mix everything together.  Season with salt and pepper.  

Scoop the mixture back into the potatoes.  

Arrange the potato tops in the bottom of an ovenproof dish.  I lined it with foil for some reason, but as you can see I changed my mind.  

Spoon the remaining filling over the potato tops.  

Cover the potatoes with the remaining cheddar.  

Bake at 400 until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  

These were so good!  You could easily serve them to unsuspecting guests, and they would never know that there was cauliflower in them.