Recipe: Ultimate Chili Spud

Being an Idahoan, I love potatoes. I remember inventing a potato recipe when I was a kid called Potato Snax, and if I could eat one food every day (in any variation), it'd probably be potatoes. When I was in middle school, my school had a Potato Bar, and I soon took to making chili baked potatoes at home and improving the recipe over time. This recipe represents the best recipe I can come up with. It's a bit on the high side when it comes to number of ingredients, but I promise the taste medley you'll experience in this hearty dish will give you a flavor buzz.

Ultimate Chili Spud

"Idahoan perfection!"

 Ingredients

• 1 russet potato
• Sea salt
• Cracked pepper
• Nalley brand Walla Walla Onion flavor chili
• ¼ cup chopped onions (or more if you want)
• Frank's Red Sauce
• Grated medium cheddar cheese
• Sour cream
• Green onions or chives
• Bacos
• Ground coriander
• BONUS: Real bacon bits

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Scrub and wash the outside of the potato. Stab the everloving heck out of it all over with a fork. The more you stab, the crispier it'll be.
3. Spray the spud with oil and roll it in sea salt, then put it in the oven on the rack. Let it bake for 1 hour.*
4. Remove the hot potato out of the oven and brush off the excess salt off the outside. Combine the onions with the uncooked chili, as well as a spank or two of Frank's sauce. Cook the chili in the microwave according to directions (it's like 3 minutes). 
5. Cut the potato in half lengthwise, then mash each side to spread it out on the plate. Add butter if you want (but I never notice the flavor, so it's probably just a waste of calories and fat), and cracked pepper.
6. Place a hearty amount of chili on the potato (I usually put half a can), and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Put several spoonsful of sour cream on top and sprinkle with chopped green onions/chives, bacos, bacon bits if you have them, and a dash of coriander.
7. Enjoy!

YIELD: 1 spud, which is usually what I eat by myself. It could be divided in half if you don't have as much of an appetite for potatoes as I do.
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Washes down well with...  Ice cold milk.

*If you don't have time to cook it in the oven, forget all of the salt and oil processes and instead microwave it on a plate in the microwave for about three minutes on one side and three minutes on the other.