So easy and so good. Bake your potatoes. Scoop outsides into a bowl. Add grated cheese and/or cream cheese (I use a combination of both) add some milk and salt and pepper and mash up. Refill the skins, sprinkle some more grated cheese on top and bake until browned on top. Yummo!
Think you just decided what I'm having with my lamb chop for dinner tonight! LOL

You can either bake your potatoes the traditional way or do them in the microwave. Don't forget to spear them a few times with a fork, exploding potatoes are not a pretty sight.

Once cooked, let them cool slightly , just so you can handle them, do not let cool completely. Scoop out the white being careful not to damage the skin. Mash the scooped out potato with hot milk, butter and salt and pepper, until nice and smooth.

Now you can add whatever you like. I like mine with a bit of sour cream and either chopped chives or chopped green onions. I don't like a lot of other stuff but grated cheddar, bacon bits, or for a really over the top dish, diced lobster, are all great.

Spoon the mixture back into the shells and bake again at 350 for about 20 minutes, just until the potato is good and hot and starting to brown a bit on top.

These freeze well also: just bake, cut in half, scoop out cooked potato with a spoon into a bowl (I leave a thin layer of potato in the shell to help hold the shape better); mix with sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar, chives, green onion, s&p, a little milk or cream - any of the add-ins listed in the previous messages; spoon the mashed potato mixture back into baked potato shell. Top with more grated cheese, paprika if desired. Either wrap individually and freeze or carefully put two or four in a freeze zip bag and freeze upright until frozen solid. Be sure to label and date; I would use within 3 months.

bobby, I cut my baked potatoes in half like Teresa does, and leave a bit of that shell for support too.

I usually make about a dozen, bake them and leave them in the fridge for Ashley and her friends to warm up. I like them better warmed in the oven but they just stick theirs in the microwave.

Mine has sour cream, cheese, crumbled bacon, salt and pepper.

Annie

I do like the others do, but don't do the "mashed potatoes" thing...I just mash them with a fork and add butter and "whatever"...cream cheese and chives is good and top with grated cheese.
They are really just mushed up potatoes with seasoning, put into the shell to re-warm.

Linda C

My twice-baked are famous in my circle of friends and family, but probably because they are so rich! After baking the russets, I cut off just the top one-third of the potato. I carefully scoop out the pulp from the top lid and the bottom, leaving a 1/4" layer of pulp for support in the bottom piece. Just prior to that, BTW, I put about 1/2C of dehydrated onions (for 4 potatoes) in a small amount of hot, hot water in a cup to rehydrate them while I'm scooping out the potato; I push them down hard to compact them so they will quickly absorb the water. I then take the scooped potatoes and add a LOT of butter (prob. 2/3 of a stick) and start mashing with my mixer; then I add sour cream (prob. 3/4 C.)and continue mashing, along with salt to taste. When all mashed, I squeeze out the excess water from the onions with my hands and stir them into the potatoes (with a spoon! lol) and then scoop everything back into the skins, piling them high since the qty. is now greater. I wrap them with a large sheet of foil crumpled up to surround the skins like a boat shape, with the edges of the foil flared out and around and crumpled right at the edge of where the potato opening is, so you don't even see the skin at that point. Reheat them in the oven on a tray about 35 min. or so just before serving (kept them cold in refrig. until that point if I made them earlier in the day). When they are very hot inside and almost ready, I then spread a nice helping of thin cheddar cheese slices (or grated) on the tops of the potato and heat just until nicely melted and gooey. Otherwise, the cheese will dry out too much if you put it on at the beginning. (Maybe the oven at that point is at 325-350.) These are simply scrumptious and everyone loves them. That onion makes a big difference. Not for a diet day, that for sure.

Bobby, if you want to cheat a bit, you can make a twice baked potato casserole by whipping up some instant potaotes made with cream or half & half, then add bacon, chives, sour cream, cheddar or parm cheese. Scoop the whole mess into a casserole dish, top with more cheese and bake. Great for buffets and large parties when you are pressed for time. You can even make smaller casserols and freeze for later use for one or two people.

Peppi

We always put scallions, bacon, small chunks of shrimp, lots of cheese, sour cream evaporated milk, salt and pepper in ours. They've become something of an institution in the family.

Bri

I used to make them as a special in the hotel I cooked in and they were very popular. I scooped out the cooked potato to leave a thin shell, then roughly mashed the insides with a fork. Add butter, milk, cooked diced onins, lots of grated cheese and cooked diced bacon. Pile back into the shell and top with more cheese. Bake again until heated through and the cheese topping is golden brown and bubbly. We would eat these on their own for a meal at home.

The skin is as important to me as the inside of the potato, so I skewer each large russet or Idaho with a metal BBQ skewer, rub lightly with olive oil and grind some sea salt on the skin - bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes or more, depending on how large the potato.

That takes care of step 1 - tasty "skin".

Then I pull out the skewers and let the potatoes cool - remove the top third and scoop out the flesh, leaving a bit of flesh in the shell for structure as others mentioned.

I like to mash the flesh with Boursin cheese, add finely chopped scallions, a can of drained flaked salmon or tuna and small frozen peas. Return to the shells, sprinkle with grated cheese. Heat in a 350 F oven for about 1/2 hour and you have dinner!

Hope you try some of these recipes. They all sound good. I can't buy baking potatoes in Holland. They don't grow here for some reason. In some of the restaurants we go to in large cities, we can get "jacket potatoes" with a steak, but they're "steamed" in aluminum foil :o(

seagrass

A friend of mine was making these and was tired of the same old stuff (sour cream, cheese, chives, etc.) so she "made it up" by adding Ranch dressing, mayo, onion, cheese. Another friend like it and made it too for supper while my daughter was there. My daughter said it was the best baked potato she ever had.

What they all said. In particular leaving enough potato on the skin to make a shell. Bake, scoop, mix, fill, rebake.

Any potato friendly things can be added for flavor. I recommend trying plain yogurt in place of sour cream or butter. They don't all need to be the same flavor. Working with just a couple at a time you can try different flavor combinations. Bacon and chedder, sour cream and onion, ham and vinegar! Slide them under the broiler for the last minute of cooking to lightly toast the top if you like.

: )
lyra