Cheesy twice-baked potatoes with pancetta and roasted garlic

I love twice-baked potatoes. For me they are one of the ultimate comfort foods.
If I am baking potatoes for another meal, I might throw in a couple extra to have for twice-baked.
And you can pretty much add anything you want to them as far as the cheese and herbs and add-ons go.
This time around I had some pancetta in the fridge, so I decided to give that a try in there with the other goodies.

I like pancetta, which is an Italian type of bacon.

Cheesy twice-baked potatoes with pancetta and roasted garlic

8 cloves garlic, roasted in oil (click here for method)
3 oz pancetta (bacon will work if you can't get pancetta)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 large potatoes, BAKED (I work with them warm, but not hot)
1 stick butter, cut into cubes
1 1/2 cup cheese, shredded (I used a 4-cheese blend: Parmesan, asiago, fontina and provolone)
2 tbsp dried oregano

preheat oven to 35o degrees

cook pancetta in olive oil (if using bacon, omit oil)
drain on paper towels and set aside
cut potatoes in half lengthwise
scoop out potato filling into large mixing bowl
set aside empty potato skins

mix butter, cheese, oregano, crumbled pancetta and chopped roasted garlic into potato mixture
season with salt and pepper


spoon potato mixture back into skins
bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until hot and a little crispy on top



I make extras of these and don't bake them.
I freeze them in pairs to bake later.
They make great freezer food!

And they are easy enough to make more vegetarian friendly. Just skip the pancetta.