Baked Potatoes

4 large brown Russet potatoes

condiments:

  • soft butter or oleo (margarine)
  • sour cream
  • chopped green onions (or chives if you have them)
  • shredded cheddar cheese
  • bacon bits
  • salt
  • pepper

Scrub the outside potato skins to remove dirt. Place potatoes on oven rack with space in between for air to circulate.  Cook at 400°F for 1 hour.  Turn off oven, but allow potatoes to finish cooking and cooling in oven for 30 more minutes.  Slice open and serve warm with butter, sour cream, chopped green onion tops (faux chives), shredded cheddar cheese, and real bacon bits.

If you have an oven with a delay-start timer, you can set this up before you leave for the day and the potatoes will be ready to eat when you walk in the door.  Example: want to eat at 6 PM? Set the delay start for 1 hour at 4:30 PM.  Remember the potatoes need 30 minutes to finish up after the oven goes off.

In a hurry? You can bake potatoes in the microwave.  Wrap each cleaned potato separately in clear plastic wrap.  Bake 15 minutes on high.  Pierce each potato with a knife blade or fork to prevent them from exploding as they steam inside the plastic wrap.  Bake and check every 5-15 minutes until done.  1 potato can probably be “baked” in a standard microwave in about 20-30 minutes.  If you are baking multiple potatoes, it will take longer.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

You can bake sweet potatoes the same way, but they often seep their sugary syrup out of the skins and make a mess in your oven.  Like Russet potatoes, if you scrub the skins first, you can eat the nutritious skins along with the potato flesh.

  • 4 large sweet potatoes
  • butter
  • salt
  • pepper

Scrub the outside potato skins to remove dirt. Wrap the potatoes in foil or place potatoes on a foil lined cookie sheet, leave space between the potatoes for air to circulate.  Cook at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Turn off oven, but allow potatoes to finish cooking and cooling in oven for 15-20 more minutes.   Slice open and add butter, salt and pepper to taste while warm.  Eat immediately!

Carlyn Foshee Chatfield