Time Saving Baked Potatoes

This will not be the time saver you think.... I personally HATE microwave baked potatoes, and it truly would be an emergency of epic scale for me to decide to eat them that way.

But what I will do it bake a huge amount of them... this week, 5 at a time.   Then, a quick trip to the microwave to heat them is completely acceptable for warm ups.

Baked potatoes can be the backbone of a full weeks time emergency menus.

Besides "just" a side dish, here are some other great ways to use that baked potato:

Baked potato topped with chili... homemade is the cheapest alternative (and it freezes great), but in a severe time pinch, with no chili in the fridge, canned chili is a reasonable cost effective solution.

Baked potato topped with steamed broccoli (from the freezer) and topped with cheese sauce (see the recipe for cheese sauce with my cheese steak recipe) http://25aweek.blogspot.com/2014/05/cheese-steak-sandwiches-on-cheap-this.html

Leftover diced baked potatoes sauteed with diced onions in a skillet are a nice way to mix it up as a side.

Or... add leftover diced meat to the diced baked potatoes and onion mixture to make a "hash".

Or.. make a country style breakfast by adding a few beaten eggs to the pan with your sauteed potatoes and onions.