Salsa Baked Potato

I regularly follow Debbie at Words to Eat By.  I love her blog.  Her recipes are wonderful, real and accessible.  I saw on her blog yesterday that a certain company was holding a blogger competition.  The company wants bloggers to dis the potato in favor of their boxed stuffing.  Debbie, along with other food bloggers, was not happy about this contest.

I tend to agree with her.  To say I'm not a fan of boxed food is a gross understatement.  So I'm joining in the defense of versatile spuds.  When I first read her potato post I began to think of wonderful, rich, creamy potato dishes.  Ultimately I settled on what some may call plain Jane--a simple baked potato. 

They're so good though.  I frequently bake 3 or 4 on a Sunday and use them for lunches throughout the week.  Don't freak out over the stigma potatoes get on being bad for your waistline - they're not!  It's the topping we generally place all over spuds that get us into trouble.  So try this idea - top a baked potato with salsa, black beans, corn and cheese.  It's a filling meal that's very satisfying and super yum without regret.

Here's how I do mine:

Wash the outsides first and pat dry

Then lay out a square of foil for each one

Rub them down with butter and sprinkle with salt

Wrap them tightly in the foil and throw them in the oven (I put them on a cookie sheet first, just 'cause it's easier to get a bunch in and out that way).

When they're done, unwrap the foil and cut the potato

Add some black beans and corn.  *Oh, you don't see corn?  It's there, I....okay, I just knew there was some in the pantry, apparently I was wrong {don't tell anyone I said that}*

Salsa, lots of salsa.

And cheese....now throw it under the broiler for a few minutes aaaaaaannnnnnnndddddddd................

Good and good for you.  And there are extras for lunch tomorrow....just saved you six bucks on some not so edible drive thru.  If you're the type that has to have meat in every meal (some days that's me) feel free to add some chicken.

You can get the printable recipe for Baked Potatoes here.  I know it's pretty straight-forward, but for some reason I still have to call my mom every time to ask the temperature.

Enjoy!!!