Baked Potato Bar ... Easy

I had one kid who was fairly picky about food. So to find something that HE liked that everyone else would enjoy too, and HEALTHY'ier' on top of it, well, I'm all in!

I buy the potatoes at Costco usually ... a big honkin 20lber. About $8. They are nice and big (size of your hand) and for the most part, pretty fresh and decent ...

Scrub the taters like wild. Um, I hate to say it, but they've been living in dirt for quite a while. Prick them with a fork, or cut an x shape in the skin (don't forget to do this, exploding taters in the oven really is a pain to clean!)

Place them all on a baking sheet and drizzle a little oil over them. Give them a massage with the oil, rubbing it all around.


Sprinkle all with coarse salt.

Bake at 400 for 45 to 60 minutes, til they squish a bit when you gently squeeze them.

Set up your bar. Go ahead, use some nice bowls ... don't just toss the containers on the countertop :)

Show a little love here:

Shredded cheese of choice
Bacon bits
Sour cream
Steamed broccoli (personally, I don't but if your gang likes, go for it)
green onions slice thin (or chives)
chopped tomatoes if handy
salt and pepper
and of course, soft butter
*Whatever you like or even just have on hand, add or omit to the bar. That's the beauty!

Slit taters on top, but not all the way to bottom or end to end. Now, with your hands (in towel, oven mitt, etc. as they are hot!), pinch the ends up and towards the middle to fluff up the slit part. Does this make sense? Thumbs on one end, pointer & middle finger on other end, and gently squeeze towards the middle of the tater. This is just how I was taught to do it all those years ago in a restaurant. It makes it a "fluffy" baked tater.

OR just cut the dang thing in half, fluff with fork/knife :)

Dress as desired and enjoy!

Hop on over to Life As Mom Ultimate Recipe Swap ... today's link is all about Taters!

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