Guess what I learned this weekend? Baked potato bar is awesome at the campground. It’s frugal, easy, delicious and goes great with grilled steaks. It’s a fix it and forget it side, perfect for outdoor weather or camping. I prepped the potatoes at home and all I had to do was plug in the crock pot and set the timer on low for eight hours. My crock pot switches to warm when the cycle is complete. When we’re ready to eat, so are the potatoes. Grab our toppings and head to the picnic table.
We piled ours high with cooked brocoli, cheese and sour cream. This could be a frugal side item or main dish with chili or cooked bacon or ham. The options are endless.
I start by washing and piercing the baked potatoes a few times with a paring knife. I rub them with canola oil and sprinkle a little kosher salt on the outside. Then I wrap them in foil and place them all in my crock pot. I filled mine to the brim and set it on low for eight hours.
Since they were on the “big” side, some of them were not quite as soft as I like. I had eight large baking potatoes in the crock pot. I rotate them during lunch. Perhaps next time I will start on high for a few hours and then reduce to low. Either way, my crock pot will reduce to warm when the timer goes off, which makes it convenient to fix it and forget it. I love that about crock pots.
Here are some ideas for leftover potatoes:
This recipe is not just for camping. It’s for home use too:)
Updated 2/21/12: I recently placed eight small to medium size potatoes in the crock pot without the foil in the a.m. on high for four hours and they were soft by noon. The foil method appears to take longer, but produces a drier potato if that’ what you’re aiming for. Either way you choose to slow cook, it’s an easy way to walk away and come back to a side dish or dressed up main dish.
How do you like your potato loaded?
