Twice Baked Idaho® Potato Graves
Ingredients:
- 4 Idaho® russet potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, plus extra to season the potato shells
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided, plus extra to season the potato shells
- 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup cream of mushroom soup
- ¼ cup milk
- 8 oval shaped crackers
- 3-4 string cheese, at room temperature
- ketchup
- chives
- green beans for garnish, optional
Directions:
- Pierce the potatoes with a fork or paring knife and microwave them until cooked through and soft. Set aside to cool.
- In a large skillet over medium/high heat deeply brown the ground beef. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
- Cut the cooled potatoes lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the center of each potato leaving a ½” shell. Place the scooped out potatoes in a large bowl and place the potato shells on a baking sheet. Season the potato shells with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
- Mash the potatoes in the bowl and season with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and the softened butter.
- In a medium size bowl, blend the cream of mushroom soup and the milk. Heat the soup mixture in a microwave until warm but not boiling. Add the soup mixture into the bowl with the potatoes and mash until it’s a spreadable consistency and the butter has melted.
- Divide the mashed potato mixture evenly between the prepared potato shells and spread the mashed mixture out to the edge of each shell.
- Top the prepared potatoes with the cooled ground beef. Wrap 5-6 chives around the base of an oval cracker and insert the chive end into the potato grave. Trim and arrange the chives to your liking to resemble grass.
- Use a paring knife to cut and trim the room temperature string cheese to resemble bones. Place a dollop of ketchup in a few locations on top of the ground beef and top the ketchup with the string cheese bones.
- Once fully assembled, warm the potato graves in a low 275° F oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with green beans if desired.