Billie, please tell me how you do “twice-baked” potatoes; they sound so good!!
Hi, Dita! I’ll be glad to tell you how I do them. Let me finish dinner and I’ll be back - we always called them “baked potatoes on the half shell”, but they are actually twice-baked potatoes.
I’ll be back!
They're sooooo good. :) We have them for dinner every Christmas, and I usually will make them whenever we have a dinner party.
I won't go into detail about how to bake potatoes lol - except to say that I always scrub them before baking 'cause most people like to eat the whole thing. :) Also, since you'll need to cut them in half (with a very sharp knife so they don't tear) when they're done, be sure to rub the outside of the potato with Crisco before wrapping them in foil to bake. That way, the skin doesn't dry out and will cut easier so you can scoop out the potato.
Dita, we usually have 12 for dinner, and I'll bake at least 15 - 18 potatoes - for the big eaters and to also have some leftover for another night.
When done, cut each potato in half length-wise, and set aside the 'shell' to fill when the insides are all mashed.
I mash with (real)butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder (some use chives or chopped green onion tops, but I don't.), and parsley flakes. You may need to add a little milk - depends on the consistency you like, and how much butter and sour cream you have used already. Taste and adjust is the only way I can do it!
I put the empty potato shells on a cookie sheet, and then refill them with the mashed potatoes. Usually I end up with an extra potato shell or two because I'm generous in filling them. Put a half pat of butter in the middle of each filled potato half, sprinkle a little more parsley flakes, some paprika and a bit of grated cheese if you like.
I put the cookie sheet in the freezer without covering until they freeze solid, so the pretty stuff you put on top of each potato doesn't stick to the foil.
When I'm ready to bake them for our dinner, it takes well over an hour at 350 degrees to heat them through, so I usually take them out of freezer and leave on counter for an hour or so before baking.