Twice Baked Potatoes Make Ahead And Freeze Recipes

MAKE-AHEAD TWICE-BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Wash potatoes and pat dry.
• Place potatoes, not touching, on a large baking sheet.
• You may need two baking sheets.
• Spray potatoes generously with non-stick cooking spray.
• Sprinkle outside of potatoes with a little salt.
• Bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until potatoes "give" when gently squeezed, indicating they are done.
• In large mixing bowl, add butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper and mix well.
• With a serrated knife, cut baked potatoes in half lengthwise, being careful to leave skins unbroken.
• With large spoon, scoop out the inside of potatoes, leaving a thin layer of potato attached to the inside of the skin.
• Place potato skin shells, skin side down, on the baking sheet used to bake the potatoes.
• Put scooped out potato in mixing bowl as you remove it and mix to combine with butter mixture, adding skim milk as needed to make potatoes the consistency of slightly stiff mashed potatoes.
• You may need a little more or less milk to get the final desired consistency.
• Using the palm of your hand to support the potato shell while filling, spoon and press potato mixture into each half potato shell.
• Return filled shell to baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with shredded cheese and pat cheese to make it adhere to the potatoes.
• TO SERVE IMMEDIATELY: Return baking pan of potatoes to oven and bake about 15-25 minutes until potatoes are hot and cheese is melted.
• TO FREEZE FOR LATER USE: Cover potatoes with plastic wrap and place baking sheet in freezer, leaving several hours until potatoes are completely frozen.
• Remove potatoes from freezer and wrap each potato in a resealable plastic sandwich bag.
• Place wrapped potatoes into one or more gallon resealable freezer bags.
• Store in freezer for up to 3 months.
• TO COOK FROZEN POTATOES: Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place potatoes on baking sheet and loosely cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake about 45 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or more until potatoes are hot.
• Do not over bake.
• This method keeps the potato skins firm and crisp.
• If time is short, place potatoes in microwave and cook on high about 10 minutes.
• Remove and then place in 350°F oven to finish cooking.
• IN A BIG HURRY: These potatoes can be completely heated from frozen state in the microwave, heating them just until they are hot.
• Potato skins will be softer than if cooked in the oven.
• OR, they can be defrosted in the microwave and reheated, uncovered, in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

TWICE-BAKED POTATOES FOR THE FREEZER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Wash and scrub potatoes. Place potatoes on the center rack and bake until they are soft in the center, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool to the touch, about 15 minutes.
• Cut potatoes in half and remove potato flesh from the skin, leaving the skin intact. Place potato flesh in a large bowl and beat until fluffy using an electric mixer. Add butter, milk, salt, and pepper and beat until smooth.
• Spoon potato mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip and pipe back into the potato skins. Sprinkle with fresh chives. Transfer to freezer bags and freeze until ready to use.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES (MAKE AHEAD AND FREEZE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and poke them several times on each side with the tines of a fork. Pour a small amount of olive oil on each potato and use your hands to rub it all over, coating all sides. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until very tender through to the middle.
• Remove the potatoes from the oven (don't turn the oven off) and let them rest on the baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, line a second baking sheet with foil. Place the stips of bacon on the prepared baking sheet and transfer to the 400 degree F oven. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until crisp. Remove from the oven and transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain and cool. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
• For Small Potatoes - With a sharp knife, slice a thin layer off the top of each potato. Scrape out the insides and place in a large mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support.
• For Large Potatoes - With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise and scrape out the insides as directed above.
• Lay the hollowed out potato shells back on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
• Add the butter, sour cream, half of the milk, all purpose seasoning, and pepper to the mixing bowl with the potatoes. Beat with an electric mixer to combine. Add half of the bacon, half of the cheese, and half of the green onions and stir with a spoon to combine. If the mixture seems too thick, add as much of the remaining milk as needed to reach a creamy consistency.
• Divide the filling between the potato shells. Top each potato with remaining cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until warmed through. Remove from the oven and garnish with remaining bacon and green onions and serve.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Gently scrub potatoes, but do not peel. Pierce potatoes several times with a fork to allow steam to escape while potatoes bake.
• Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced in center with a fork.
• When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut lengthwise in half; scoop out inside, leaving a thin shell. In medium bowl, mash potatoes with potato masher or electric mixer on low speed until no lumps remain. Add milk in small amounts, beating after each addition with potato masher or electric mixer on low speed (amount of milk needed to make potatoes smooth and fluffy depends on kind of potatoes used).
• Add butter, salt and pepper; beat vigorously until potatoes are light and fluffy. Stir in cheese and chives. Fill potato shells with mashed potato mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Bake about 20 minutes or until hot.

FREEZABLE TWICE BAKED POTATOES -- OAMC

Steps:

• Wash and dry potatoes. Cook on high power in microwave in batches of 5 or 6 repeating until all potatoes are cooked. Check for doneness by gently squeezing with a clean dishtowel and removing potatoes as they become soft. Each batch will take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes; cool to touch.
• Cut potato in half and carefully scoop pulp to within 1/4 inch of the skin, placing pulp in a large bowl; set aside shell portion.
• To potato pulp, add melted butter and next 8 ingredients; stirring to combine well. Fill each potato shell, patting filling into place. Sprinkle with paprika.
• Arrange potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze. Place individual frozen potatoes in plastic freezer bag, squeezing out air or place in a resealable freezer container. Return to freezer.
• To bake: Place frozen potatoes on a greased and foil-lined baking sheet. Bake frozen potatoes approximately 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through.
• For defrosted potatoes, bake approximately 25 minutes.
• To microwave: Place desired amount of frozen potatoes on a microwavable-safe dish and cook on high power for approximately 3 minutes per potato. Take size into consideration.