I went to college at the University of Illinois (AKA the best school ever – Go Illini!) which had tens out thousands of undergraduate students. To try and please the palates of all, each dorm would host various themed meal nights.
Needless to say, I was assigned a room in the one and only all women’s dorm on the entire campus. Move-in day was depressing. Not only did I have my sobbing mother waving goodbye in the circle drive, but I was doomed to never find a man. Truth be told, I went to college with my high school sweetheart and was later passed a note in my chemistry lecture of HUNDREDS of students.
“Aren’t you Hector’s girlfriend?” it said. Why, yes. Yes, I am.
“He was in my dorm room with my roommate until…really late last night.”
Obviously, we broke up a day later. Cheater dirt bag. I guess I just knew that things wouldn’t work out between he and I, because I distinctly remember being worried about the dating scene on move-in day.
C’est la vie.
Anyways, my dorm hosted Soul Food Night.
Nothing against soul food (love it), but I would’ve preferred nearly any other option…but especially Spud Night. Or Mexican night. But mostly Spud Night.
The humble spud baked to a starchy perfection and then stuffed with any condiment or topping of your pleasure. It goes without saying that nacho cheese and jalapenos were some favorites among college freshmen. I usually opted for some combination of broccoli & cheese or salsa & sour cream (I’m pretty sure Greek yogurt didn’t even exist, in the US, in 2007…).
Our campus was HUGE and walking was how all the millions of beer calories kept from falling over the waistband of student’s pants. Or in my case (outside of the beer), I was burning of the spuds as I hustled to the furthest away dorm for Spud Night.
When I moved into the sorority house, our cook Andre even added baked potatoes to the rotation, per my request. After freshmen year and my weekly engagement with stuffed spuds, there was no denying our future together (unlike that cheater Hector!).
As I flipped through this month’s Cooking Light magazine, these spuds naturally caught my eye. And I mean, white BBQ…who wouldn’t pause to read on?
I’m not sure where the “BBQ” reference came from, but being a mayonnaise-lover, this sauce was phenomenal. I loved the punch of black pepper and sweet relish with the contrast of vinegar and sugar. I didn’t quite know how this would turn out, but I was blown away. And before you assume that mayonnaise = bad for you…be sure to check out those nutrition stats!
I…love…mayonnaise…!
To make things quick and easy, I used rotisserie chicken and you can certainly opt to bake the potatoes in the crock pot vs. baking for 50 minutes. Hands-on time, however, is about 10 minutes either way. Very simple, and I love the basic ingredient list. These were filling and a great balance of carbohydrate, protein, and fat.
Stuffed spuds just reached a whole new level with this one.
Chicken and White BBQ Potatoes slightly adapted from Cooking Light
4 (6-oz) russet potatoes
cooking spray
1/2 cup low-fat canola mayonnaise
3 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 cups (12 oz) skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, shredded
1/4 cup (about 3) green onions, sliced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Pierce potatoes with a fork, and coat lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 50 minutes or until tender. Remove potatoes from oven, and cool slightly. Cut a deep, lengthwise slit in each potato and squeeze the ends to loosen potato flesh.
Combine mayonnaise and next 6 ingredients (through relish) in a medium bowl. Stir in chicken*. Divide a heaping 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture among potatoes. Top each potato with green onions.
*I pulled the chicken off my rotisserie the day before and stored in the fridge. I covered it with plastic wrap and microwaved on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes before serving. Worked great.
Yield: 4 servings.
Nutrition Information (per loaded potato): 354 calories; 9 g. fat; 80 mg. cholesterol; 453 mg. sodium; 38 g. carbohydrate; 4.3 g. fiber; 29 g. protein
Result: These were fun…and unique! I can honestly say this was a first. With my love for potatoes, and chicken, and mayonnaise…this was pretty much a meal made for me. Even my mayonnaise-hating husband enjoyed this meal. The potato is very filling and much to my surprise, it reheated great. I will definitely make these again – dressed up spuds are my kind of meal! To save time, you can cook the potatoes in the crock pot during the day, swing by for a rotisserie, or shred ahead of time and store in the fridge like I did, and this meal really couldn’t come together any more easily. Enjoy!
[/print_this]Happy St. Patty’s Day!
Donna, Layla, Mr. P (?) and I are running a 5K this morning! Donna said she’s bringing shamrock sunglasses and Irish ale for afterwards…should be fun 🙂
Be well,
Have we had the whole college freshman all-girls dorm room conversation before? I feel like I didn’t know this about you. I too was put in the ONLY all girls dorm my freshman year. AND I had two roommates. It was……not fun. And this was AFTER I went to an all girls school!! So mean.
So, the stuffed spuds look amazing. Nick and I went through a potato faze for a while, but now that I think about it we haven’t had potatoes in forever. I think they need to come back into our lives….
GOOD LUCK at the 5k!
Author
I don’t think I knew you were in an all girls dorm, too! Poor us, lol!
I love the idea of these!
Yay! GO ILLINI!! I went to U of I too. 😀 White barbeque always looks so good. I just love mayo and put it in a sauce on chicken? Yum. I’ve been meaning to make it and I think now I will. And, I love the idea of putting it in a potato and making it a meal.
Author
Go Illini! 🙂 Love it!
Spud Night sounds like it would be fabulous! These potatoes look delicious, Nicole! White BBQ sauce is the best!
Author
I was a white BBQ virgin! I’ve been missing out!!
The idea of cooking the potatoes in the crock-pot – ingenious! I thought I knew every time saving trick in the book.
These look really great, and I love how creative you can get with a potato. Yesterday for lunch I had a stuffed sweet potato with kale and white beans. Although, maybe not as fancy as your’s, it was a quick delicious meal that I will be making again.
Author
Kierstan, yep! Wrap them in foil and put’em on low…doesn’t get any better than that!
Fantastic Idea! I love it. =)
Love the idea of baking these in the crockpot! YUM!!
These look wonderful!
I worked in a restaurant all through college that was known for their white BBQ sauce. Even though I loved it as well, sadly, I have never tried to make it at home. I will definitely be adding these to my meal plan for next week! 🙂
Author
Okay, based on yours and previous comments, I’m the idiot for never having heard of white BBQ! Glad I’ve come to the bright side! 🙂 Heather, you’ll love these!
Best school ever? Indeed! Go Illini!! I lived in the dorm with Mexican night, but our hearts belonged to Fat Don’s, which I was so sad to hear is no more. 🙁
I’m not a mayo fan but even I’d try these yummy spuds. Looks great! 🙂
Author
I-L-L!!! I-N-I!!! 🙂 I can’t believe it, but I never went to Fat Don’s. The line was soooo long!
I really need to bake potatoes more often and get creative with stuffing them 😀 I’m already a huge fan of just plain old baked potatoes, and I looooove the idea of these!
lovely pictures and potatoes look yummy!! I need to try! 😀
wow! What a neat idea, I never would have thought to combine these on my own for a potato topping but it sure does sound delicious!
Our high school had a baked potato bar on Tuesdays. It was the most popular lunch of the week. As a student it was always the goal to get your teacher to let you go to lunch a couple minutes early to beat the line.
I love mayo, definitely need to make these potatoes!!
YUM! The Olive Oil Mayo makes everything all better 🙂 These look awesome… just finally mastering not drying out my baked potatoes… will have to try stuffing them next time!
I have to say, I was very curious about the white BBQ part. I love stuffed baked potatoes and I haven’t had one in ages. Thanks for sharing. And boo for Hector, although you story made for an entertaining post!
Author
Haha…boys suck! Throw rocks at them 🙂 This was our motto in college when it came it men!
I saw this same recipe in Cooking Light yesterday! Looks delish– I was curious to try, but now after reading your adaptation, it’s a must! Thanks for sharing! Great photos too! 🙂
Congrats on making Foodbuzz Top 9 🙂 and potatoes….yum!
Author
Thanks, Kim! I’ve never made the top 9 before! 🙂
These look so delicious! I love that it puts the whole meal into one yummy package! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi NIcole – neat to find your blog through the Foodbuzz, congrats on Top 9 today! The potato sounds absolutely delicious.
Illinois is my alma mater too. I remember dorm food, and sorority food. Neither fondly.
My sorority sisters are planning a reunion in Champaign in June, can’t wait, it’s been decades. I hope to write about it on my blog when I return. We’ll be staying at the chapter house.
I’m an Alpha Phi, how about you?
LL
Author
Lori Lynn: Thank you! I can’t wait to check out your site! I was a Delta Zeta…small world! 🙂
I have never had white BBQ but these look fantastic.
Author
I hadn’t either…and boy, I was missing out! 🙂
I saw this recipe in Cooking Light too.. Can’t wait to make it, looks delicious!!
Wonder if this would work well with a sweet potato…
Great recipe, great blog. I’m from Illinois and only swung by U of I once or twice, but I loved it.
P.S. Never trust a guy named Hector, lol. Kidding. Never trust a guy, period. Haha. 🙂
Author
It would definitely work with a sweet potato! And yes…never trusting another Hector 😉 Love it!
Plus, Hector rhymes with Lecter… as in Hannibal. So, yeah… good call. Haha. Thanks for the recipe, definitely gonna try it with a sweet potato.
I just love stuffed baked potatoes. These look so good too, especially the skin which looks to have gone lovely and crispy.
My college had a late night baked potato place that was open from about 10p-2a, run by students. They delivered to your dorm and took food points. It was awesome!! Although not nearly as healthy as these…they’re in the oven now, can’t wait to try them!