Potato Bar

This is a simple meal that I seem to forget about most of the time. I guess I somehow assume that meals have to be more elaborate or something. I don't know, but we had a potato bar last night. Boy2 wouldn't eat a potato, he just ate cheese and bacon bits, but the other two children ate all of their potatoes, including the skins, and Sister asked for a second potato. Nice! Anyway, this is what we do for a potato bar.

Potato Bar

Baked potatoes - however many you need
Chili
Olives
Bacon Bits
Shredded Cheese
Chives
Sour Cream
Butter
Salt and Pepper

Bake your potatoes either in the oven or the microwave. We have a cool bag my MIL made for me a few years ago that lets you bake moist potatoes in the microwave. I love it! If you don't have one of these cool bags, here's how you can bake your potato.

Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (you can also do 400 degrees if you want them to cook a little faster). Scrub each potato thoroughly before baking. Pierce each potato with a sharp knife or fork several times so that moisture can escape while baking. Place potatoes directly on the rack in the middle of the oven. You could place a cookie sheet on the rack under the potatoes to catch any drippings if there are any, or you could just keep aluminum foil on the bottom of your oven like I do. It makes cleaning the oven so much easier. Anyway, bake the potatoes for about one hour. The cooking time really depends on the size of the potato. The way I tell if the potato is done is by taking a pot holder and squeezing the potato a little in the middle. If it gives easily to pressure than it is done. If it still feels a little hard, then cook it for a little while longer.

Microwave: This varies between people so I'll give you a couple of different options. No matter which option you choose, wash the potatoes thoroughly. One method is to pierce each potato several times with a sharp knife or a fork and then place them on top of a paper towel in the microwave about one inch apart. Then cook on high power for 15-20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. My method, when not using my cool microwave bag, is to wrap each potato in a damp paper towel, without piercing it first, and then cook them on high power for about 8-10 minutes. Again, that depends on the size of the potato and the power of your microwave. I still test my microwaved potatoes by using a pot holder to squeeze them in the middle.

Once the potatoes are baked, you can load them with whatever toppings you prefer. Sister likes it with only a little butter, salt, pepper, and a little cheese. Hubby likes to put some of everything on it. What you put on is each person's individual choice. Enjoy!