Bacon Cheeseburger Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Okay Okay, I know this post sounds pretty "heavy."  It's really not as bad as you think.

 

I asked my 4 year old son what he wanted for dinner tonight and he said "Cheeseburgers!" Seeing as my husband is working tonight, my oldest son is at a friends house, and it's just the littles and I at home, I'm not about to start up the grill, make burger patties and cut up potatoes for home fries. Just not gonna happen! 

 

I have a bunch of ground turkey in my freezer and some yams (also often referred to as sweet potatoes) taking up space in my vegetable drawer.  A little of this and that and this meal came together fairly quickly. Even my picky two year old ate hers up! I'd say that's a sign of a successful dish!

INGREDIENTS

4 medium sized sweet potatoes (could also use russet potatoes here)
1/2 lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef
1/4 c. onion diced
1 T light cream cheese
1/2 c. reduced fat sharp cheddar plus additional for topping
Bacon or Turkey Bacon (optional)
 1-2 T ketchup
1 T  yellow mustard
1/4 tsp Lawry's or other seasoning salt
1 T Worchester Sauce
A Dash of Cracked Pepper
2 T chopped green onion



Start by scrubbing your potatoes and stabbing them with a fork a few times. You could either wrap them in foil and place them in the oven for an hour or place them on a microwave safe plate and cook them according to your microwave's potato settings (Don't judge! It's the middle of summer!)

Meanwhile, brown ground turkey in a pan on the stove with the diced onion. Drain any fat, return to pan and add seasoning salt, Worchester sauce and a few cracks of pepper. Set aside.

Pull potatoes from the microwave (or oven) and let cool slightly. With a potholder in hand, handle potatoes carefully slicing horizontally across the top to keep the potatoes shape in tact.  Using a spoon, carefully scoop out the insides of potatoes and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Preheat your oven to 400*

Mash sweet potatoes and add cream cheese, cheddar, mustard, and ketchup. Add ground turkey and give it a good mash and mix. At this point, it won't look too appetizing. Just remember the best is yet to come.

Carefully add potato mixture back into the potato shells, stuffing to the brim. Top with green onions, cheese, and a good zigzag of ketchup. Place potatoes in an oven safe baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes until stuffing is warm and cheese on top is melted and bubbly.

Top with turkey bacon and serve warm.