Jacket spuds!

Sticking with the potato theme this week, Joe learnt how to bake a potato.  It has to be said that he really wasn't in the mood for cooking this week and so it felt a little bit like pulling teeth for the both of us but we got there in the end!  Becoming the 'potato alien' did help a little!

After turning the oven on to heat up to 200C  I tried to entice Joe into a postive frame of mind by suggesting we would go and 'kill some spuds'  - meaning we needed to gently prick each potato with a fork before poppiing into the microwave for about 10 minutes to soften.  We always tend to use the mircrowave first to speed things up as we don't allow ourselves enough time for the potatoes to bake for long enough solely in the oven.

After being transferred from the microwave to the oven we let the potatoes bake for approximately 1hr.  It depends on the size of the potatoes and how crispy you like them - we like them crispy!  As Joe prefers to not eat the skins - I'm hoping this will change in the future! - and so once cooked, we scooped the fluffy potato out and squished with a fork, adding butter and mature cheddar cheese, grated by Joe, before serving in a bowl - minor the skins!  For those of us who enjoy the skins, serve simply in the skins, squished or not!

Some of our favourite toppings include:- chilli, beans and cheese, tuna and mayonaise, cheese and crispy smoked bacon.

Enjoy.