30 Minute Huevos Rancheros Potato Boats

Hello, my lazy-souled kindred spirits, and welcome to another episode of Procrastination Time with Morgan Eisenberg. I know that I told some of you that I'd get this to you by Saturday, but... uh... welcome to Procrastination Time!

Today, I'm going to teach you how to make an insanely delicious breakfast even though you overslept by like 2 hours. So I guess at this point, it's actually brunch. Or just lunch. It might even be dinner-- and aren't "second breakfast" and "elevenses" and "afternoon tea" supposed to be thrown in there somewhere?

You know what? You can just eat these 30 Minute Huevos Rancheros Potato Boats whenever you please because it's 2017 and we should be free of the stressful constraints of specified mealtimes.

Do you feel liberated yet? I do.

Anyway. What I've been trying to say (though I keep getting side-tracked, who'd have thought?) is that I want you to picture Mexican-style breakfast potato skins, loaded up with soft-yolked eggs, refried beans, melted cheddar, crispy potatoes, salsa, and avocado. And now I want you to picture yourself making all of that in only 30 minutes. I've got to keep it quick for my fellow last-minute cooks out there.

Impossible, you say? Well, I put the "pro" in "procrastination", my friend. I can do just about anything in 30 hurried minutes. And honestly, with these potato boats, I don't even have to rush.

Now I know that baked potatoes typically take about an hour to cook through in the oven, which is a large part of what makes this recipe's claim hard to believe. However, I take a major shortcut by cooking them in the microwave instead-- at least to start. Microwaving cuts a ton of time out, and luckily, in the 12 or so minutes that it takes for the potatoes to cook, I'm able to do most of my prepping to make the rest of the process quick and easy. That's efficiency.

To create room for all of the filling, I slice off the very tops of the microwaved potatoes and then use a knife and spoon to scoop out the center. You might find that you only need to use a spoon, but I think you have more control over how much potato is left around the edges if you use a paring knife, too. It's really up to you. As they say, do whatever floats your potato boat.

After I hollow out the baked potatoes, I flip them over, brush them with oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. This helps the potatoes to crisp on the outside and ensures that they're nicely seasoned. Then I turn them back over and place a layer of cheddar cheese in the bottom of each potato boat. Typically, cheddar cheese isn't used in huevos rancheros, but I love the way the cheese melts, blanketing the potatoes and mixing with the refried beans, egg yolks, and salsa. Mmmmmm.

I just realized that I keep mentioning huevos rancheros but haven't elaborated on what huevos rancheros even entail. You know, traditionally.

Huevos rancheros is a breakfast dish that was commonly eaten at Mexican ranches, hence the rancheros part. A standard meal of huevos rancheros includes a fried corn tortilla, fried eggs, and a tomato-chile salsa, usually along with refried beans or Mexican-style rice, and avocado. I've replaced the tortilla and rice with a carb I love even more for breakfast-- potatoes-- and here we are.

So after I layer on the cheddar cheese, I cover it with refried beans, leaving enough space to fit an egg on top. And then I do just that-- crack an egg right on top before sending the 30 Minute Huevos Rancheros Potato Boats off to the oven.

I personally like to cook my eggs so that the yolk is still soft and drippy when cut open. However, if you're more of a solid-yolk fan yourself, simply cook your Huevos Rancheros Potato Boats slightly longer. For my preferred eggs, I wait just until the whites have set and the potatoes are crispy, which takes about 10 minutes.

Topped off with salsa, avocado slices, and cilantro, the Huevos Rancheros Potato Boats are just as beautiful as they are delectable, don't you think. And when you slice into them...

... Well that's just downright sensual.

So what are you waiting for? Besides of course, the absolute last second to get started (like I said, kindred spirits). Go make these for your anytime meal and enjoy! But before you dig in, don't forget to take a photo and tag #hostthetoast on Instagram to show it off. Then go ahead and dig in.

30 Minute Huevos Rancheros Potato Boats

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• Author: Morgan
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 5-6 potato boats 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 5-6 large russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into thin chunks
• 15 ounce can refried beans, thinned with a bit of water
• 5-6 large eggs
• ½ cup red salsa
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 sliced serrano pepper, optional
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, to top

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork and place them on a large plate. Microwave for 12 minutes or until softened.
3. Cut off the upper ¼ of each potato. Using a paring knife, cut around the center of each potato to outline the part you will remove. Using a spoon, scoop out the center of the potato to create a potato skin, leaving some potato intact around the edges.
4. Place the potatoes cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush them all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
5. Flip the potatoes over and season the insides of the potato boats. Place the cheese in the bottom of each potato boat. Cover with refried beans, leaving enough room to fit an egg on top.
6. Crack an egg on top of each potato boat. If the whites slide over, you should be able to reposition the potato to be more level and place the egg white back in. If you can't get the whole egg white in, that's okay, as long as the yolk stays put.
7. Bake the potatoes until the whites just set and the yolk is still soft, about 10-12 minutes.
8. Remove the potatoes from the oven, top with salsa, avocado, pepper slices, and cilantro. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired, and serve warm with a lime wedge and additional salsa.

• Prep Time: 8 mins
• Cook Time: 22 mins