Thinking about doing a do it yourself baked potato dinner soon (something about the cold weather), with a handful of toppings my family can use to make it a more well rounded meal. The thing is, they don’t like cheese and sour cream (they won’t go for yogurt either), which are some very common toppings. I was thinking of bacon, butter, green onions, and maybe chili. What else would taste good on a b.p., and match well with other toppings they might throw on, and not feel like I was cooking 2 dinners that night?
Mushrooms! Sauteed in butter, treated like beef Stroganoff or cooked with butter /soy sauce.
A roasted corn salsa made with onion, & peppers would be nice too.
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I crack an egg in a opened baked potatoe and return to oven until cooked to my liking. Sprinkle with bacon bits.
Pulled pork topping is good repurposed.
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Some type of sausage (bratwurst, kielbasa, etc.) sliced in rounds and sauteed. Corned beef or pastrami and warm sauerkraut? If you’re not doing chili, maybe a jar of curry sauce and some shredded chicken?
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Genius!
Can you get any smoked brisket locally? Top with some BBQ sauce and butter underneath.
That is a strange one for me. They will eat butter but not sour cream or cheese. Great combo for me 
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With some crimped foil between the potatoes for structure you can get an entire brunch tray going in one shot. I have done 24 taters on one tray; oven to hot plate service.
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Lots of butter and tons of black pepper.
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Quick potato story…it won’t come out as well when I tell it, but it is a funny one!
My friend climbs oil rigs and inspects them. He was in Texas (mainly he does stints in TX and AK, prudhoe bay)
He said he was in the “middle of nowhere” TX and somehow found this roadside shack that looked like something out of a horror movie. He decides to stop in to get lunch. He orders some kind of specialty they had. It was a loaded potato. He said the potato was as big as his head and never saw one that big. Lol It had all the regular toppings like butter, sour cream, chives, cheese and bacon. Then it was piled high with brisket and BBQ sauce. He said it was outstanding and incredibly huge. He said “I think they were just happy to see a customer and made me this monster potato dish with way more food than one person should eat.”
The kicker is he got so stuffed he ended up taking a half day off of work and slept in the company pickup truck that afternoon (in the parking lot of this place.) I will see if he remembers the name of it.
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Butter chicken
Broccoli and cheese
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I could def see corned beef hash stuffed in a baked potato!
-------more,
Mini meatballs and brown gravy poured over would work. Same with chicken fingers.
I wish I could. Yeah. Frankly, with the husband, I don’t know how I even managed to marry him with these flaws.
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Sounds good, as a side. I was hoping for something that hit a few more food groups. Thanks!
Thanks all. I really like the mushrooms idea. And I’ll see what I can do about some type of chopped bbq meat. Maybe some of Trader Joes products in this category are decent? There actually is a BBQ truck in town, but I may have to chase it down. And it might be lunch only.
You could do sweet potatoes. Savory toppings like spicy black beans, sauteed spinach with red pepper flakes work well.
Sweet toppings - sugared nuts, stewed fruit compote, coconut anything, - think flavors of pumpkin pie or muffins!
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How about cottage cheese? Still no?
The “cuban beans” at Trader joe’s make a good potato topper, they’re seasoned well in a bit of tasty sauce.
Or make Orangette’s famous stupid easy fast “creamy beans” which is also great with coconut oil instead of butter. Add chopped scallions and diced avocado with the beans, fresh cilantro and or jalapenos or hot sauce would be great too
Baked beans on baked potatoes seems to be a british thing but also delicious if you get decent baked beans and doctor them up a bit.
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Those loaded giant potatoes with brisket are common down here but they’re not for me. Like I said I prefer lots of butter and pepper.
Brisket I like a la carte moist with a dab of sauce on the side or none at all. I’m a purist.
Reverse Sheperd’s pie … DH would eat it every night if I let him.
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Usually that store bought brand chopped bbq and sauce are substandard. Around here sliced brisket with a side of sauce goes for upwards of $20 per pound. Chopped brisket for slightly less because it has all kinds of fat mixed in. I can only imagine what a food truck will charge you. Real bbq brisket is not cheap. But if money is no object…
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