I’m filling my oven with potatoes today (Monday) for potato sides throughout the week. Since a 10 pound bag was only 2.50 this week it makes a bargain for every meal. Today we’re having baked potatoes with our talipia for dinner. Tomorrow I’m planning baked potato soup for myself and another family. My poor friend has had tooth surgery and she is in need of soft foods, like nourishing potato soup. I’ll post this recipe for you.
We’ll have potato skins appetizers the following day and if I were to have any leftovers, cold potatoes make excellent home fries or hash browns for breakfast. All of these items might just take a 10 pound bag! It’s a good thing I have another bag waiting for more potato dishes. We’ll probably take a week off from potatoes though 
Oven Baked Potatoes
Wash potatoes with a vegetable brush and water. Pierce potato a few times with a knife or fork (sometimes I leave this step out when I’m in a hurry and I’ve never had one burst in the oven). If I’m serving some as baked potatoes, I rub them with oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. These potatoes are best placed in a dish and the others can be baked around them. I bake extra for potato soup, potato skins and hash-browned potatoes. I call this method working smarter and not harder.
Bake in a 400 degree oven (no need to preheat) for an hour or more depending on how many you are cooking and the size of the potatoes. I take small ones out within an hour and leave extra large potatoes longer. They are done when the potato feels squishy to the touch with a pot holder.
Here’s what my potatoes are designateted for:
Day 1: Baked potatoes with desired toppings.
Day 2: Baked Potato Soup Base (from the halved baked potatoes below) or you could make mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes with the skins below. Go Day 2: Baked Potato Soup Base (from the halved baked potatoes below) or you could make mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes with the skins below. Go here for complete potato soup recipe.
Day 3: Potato Skins (I use the pioneer woman’s recipe and I use a melon scoop to empty a half of potato out. The insides are used for potato soup and the outside-reserve 1/2″ potato inside for potato skins. I have enough for two meals so 1/2 of the skins will go into the freezer to make skins later. I realized her skins were not on her blog so I will have to do a complete post on this recipe later.
Day 4: Potatoes for hashbrowns I’ll cube these and brown them in 1/2 canola oil and 1/2 butter, add onion and green pepper and serve them as a breakfast or dinner side. Go Day 4: Potatoes for hashbrowns I’ll cube these and brown them in 1/2 canola oil and 1/2 butter, add onion and green pepper and serve them as a breakfast or dinner side. Go here for complete recipe.
Baked Potatoes…The possibilities are endless.
