Recently I was looking for some different thrifty ideas for dinner meals, this one my family loves including my husband who is a big eater, "Baked Potato Night". I purchase some baking potatoes on sale, if they are big I plan on one per person the average amount spent is $1.50 to $2.00.
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Preparing baked potatoes in a microwave takes far less time than baking them in an oven, but sometimes the wonderful texture of an oven baked potato is missing. Take the following steps to give microwave potatoes an oven baked texture.
When we have baked potatoes we often have some left over. I scoop out the insides and use it to thicken home-made soup. It adds a delicious flavour.
To bake potatoes faster, start them warming in microwave a minute or so to get them heated through and through. Pop in oven and they will bake faster for your meal.
Potatoes, if boiled about 5 minutes before putting in a hot oven, will be thoroughly baked in about half the usual time.
Forget "good" potatoes; make EXCELLENT baked potatoes. Using larger bakers, scrub clean and pierce several times with tines of fork or sharp paring knife.
I bake them in aluminum foil in our toaster oven. Most of the time I will need the toaster oven for something else so I have to remove the potatoes.
I like the taste of potatoes better when they are baked in the oven, as opposed to the microwave; however, it takes ever so much more time to do it this way. If you are in a time-crunch, and want to hasten baking time, then place a well-scrubbed nail into the middle of each potato before you put them into the oven.
Want a quick baked potato? I use this when I am in a hurry. Take potato and wash. Dry, then put in microwave for 4 minutes. Press to see if cooked soft, (if not, then MW for about 2-3 mins more.
White potatoes are very starchy and cause our blood sugars to rise sky high, but sweet potatoes are very good for you. Just bake them, cut a slit on the top of the potatoes and add brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and any other specialty.
Although I have seen "cloth bags" to bake potatoes in the microwave, there is nothing like a real baked potato from either the oven or toaster oven.
At the beginning of the week, I wash a 5 pound bag of potatoes and bake them for 1 hour. Having these partially cooked potatoes allows me to make quick, nutritious sides that can go along with entrees such as french fries with hamburgers, home fries with omelettes, or mashed potatoes with a roast.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Tips for making good, baked potatoes. Post your ideas.
When baking potatoes in the oven, instead of just wrapping them in foil and placing in the oven. Have your sheets of tin foil ready. Wash your potatoes as normally. Dry them. Then rub a small amount of cooking oil over them, wrap in tin foil and place in the oven for 1 hr. The potatoes will have a much better taste, this way.
By T. H.
Here are two different ideas for baked potatoes. The first, try your slow cooker. Clean as normal, prick, and place in a greased slow cooker on low in the morning (for supper) or high at noon. They taste just like in the oven. The second idea is to wash your potatoes as normal, then roll them in coarse salt, such as sea salt. Bake on a cookie sheet at 450 for an hour. This will result in a crunchy, salted skin that some people prefer.
The way you describe making them will actually give you a steamed potato instead of a baked potato. Restaurants prefer to do them this way because they hold well and can be served a long time after they are cooked.
A true baked potato is baked in just the skin. If you like to add oil to the outside, you can do that too. Prick them a couple of times and just set them on the oven rack and bake away! If you use Russets, they'll be fluffy and delicious this way!
I love a crisp baked potato skin! Mmmmm! I wash and dry the potato run a metal shish ka bob skewer thru it and lay it on the oven rack. The potato or potatoes bake a lot faster and Oh So Good! Enjoy
Try baked potatoes this way...slice the potatoe into three sections (so two cuts) between slices of potatoe instert a slice of onion, mushrooms, and pat with butter. Then fold in foil wrap and bake as usual....mmmm good
To save time in making baked potatoes or any other type of potatoes I microwave them. It takes so much less time.
By RoseMary B.
I like the taste of them when they're baked in the oven so I microwave them for about 2-3 minutes, depending on the size, & them bake them.
I use a zip lock plastic bag to cook potatoes in the microwave. After piercing them, rub them with a little oil, put them in a plastic bag and do not close all the way.
Before baking potatoes soak them in water overnight to make them moist I learned this from a friend.
Thanks, Elizabeth, for the salt idea. Sounds delicious--we'll try it!
rub in olive oil, seasalt, cracked black pepper, and garlic salt, wrap in foil, bake on oven rack for 1 hour. great, crispy crust... and the crust is where the nutrients are!
for the best taste cook ur potato before u eat it
To the lady who wrote to put potatoes in a plastic bag and microwave, you should never do this, never cook anything in the microwave with any sort of plastic (except those microwave safe plastic take-alongs) chemicals from the plastic goes into your food, very harmful esepcially for children. This includes seran wrap! Thanks for the olive oil salt idea!
Never bake a potato in tin foil or in the microwave. When you do either of those things it changes the cooking method from "baking" to steaming and prevents a crisp skin from forming. Bake a clean potato in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. Poke it with a fork to allow steam to escape, rub with oil, and sprinkle with salt before placing on the oven rack.
In the past, I seldom baked potatoes because it takes so long to bake them in the oven, however, I do love them. Today, I tried baking some in the crockpot and they were scrumptious.
Whether you purchase potatoes in bulk and they're coming close to their expiration date, and/or you simply like short cuts for daily meal preparation, try this: Bake up a few taters ahead.
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Try boiling them for 5-7 minutes first and then wrapping them in aluminum foil and baking at 400 degrees.
Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes before baking will bake more rapidly. By Peggy
