Sky Blue Potatoes

Since fall is here and this time of year is replete with holidays, I thought I'd share some great party foods and appetizers...and since it's football season, I think I need to start with a pigskin classic...potato skins with all the fixin's!!  I made this recipe a couple Saturdays ago for the kickoff to Irish football season! They were fabulous and flew off the platter like, well, twice baked potato skins!! I found this recipe in a magazine, I think it was Every Day with Rachael Ray, but I am not sure and I don't know what month....but here are my adaptations to make it even easier, if that is really possible, because let me tell you, these were stinkin' easy...and fabulous!!

24 new red potatoes, halved lengthwise

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup bacon bits

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

5-6 scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400. In a medium bowl, toss potato halves with olive oil. Place, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until skins are crisp, 20-30 minutes. Let cool.

Scoop out the center of each potato half and place the "meat" in a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Fill each skin with the mixture. Pop back in the oven 5-10 minutes to warm through. Serve warm.

You could probably substitute the herbs (chives perhaps) and cheese (a little parm?) and even use prosciutto instead of bacon if you'd like, according to the rest of your meal! The new potatoes make this a great appetizer since they're already bite-sized, but it does make the scooping process a little more tedious...be careful! I had some extra filling, which I'm freezing and plan to add to baked potatoes in the future...I figure it'll go great with the steaks Hubs picked up from the Commissary earlier today!!