Twice Baked Potatoes

These are a staple for our freezer. We don't even have to wait for potatoes to go on sale, we have a local market here that has prices so cheap they beat any grocery stores sale prices. Anytime we run out I just head over there to grab 6 or 7 tates and bake away!

I found this recipe from The Tip Garden on Pinterest:
Twice Baked Potatoes (w/4 variations!)

I just make the basic recipe. I always have turkey bacon on hand so if I'm in the mood I'll cook some of that up and crumble it into half of the potatoes for Jer.

One thing I do to the potatoes that aren't mentioned on her directions: After I wash them, I rub olive oil on them and sprinkle with salt before baking. I have found that this makes the skin a little crunchier, which we like :)

After I bake the potatoes I sliced them in half and started scooping... I don't let them cool because I can get distracted and by the time I come back to them they're too cooled and hard to scoop. I use an Ove Glove to handle the potatoes while they're hot. You can get them on Amazon.com, Target, convenience stores, etc. We actually have an "off brand" version so they don't have the grippies on them but still just as good. Jers mom got them for him years ago, we've been together 6 and he had them for a few years before that, so they're probably 8-10 years old, and we still use them almost every day. They're a great investment if you don't have them already. **End tangent

Anyway, I make the basic stuffing recipe. After filling them up I let them cool for awhile, then throw the baking sheet with the potatoes on it in the freezer to get nice and cold before wrapping them up (If you don't do this, the skin will be soggy after baking them again, yuck, but okay if you don't eat the skin I guess). After they're completely cooled/slightly frozen, I wrap each potato individually in plastic wrap, and then stick them all in a gallon sized freezer bag (or 2). Whenever we want one, I just pull them out of the bag, let them thaw in the fridge overnight and throw in the oven when we start dinner. The recipe says to bake thawed/room temp potatoes for 15 minutes - I don't bake them from room temp, mine are coming from the fridge, so I do 20 minutes and it's perfect! She also mentions heating them up for 2 minutes in the microwave but I haven't tried that yet...

Having these on hand is so convenient! Perfect for the summer time when we're grilling chicken or steaks, to have an easy side dish without having to keep the oven on for over an hour. My other favorite time to have these is when we're having chili for dinner: Let the chili cook in the crock pot all day, come home and only have to cook these for 20 minutes - you could even top with your chili if you'd like :)