Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

Saturday was a crazy-busy day here in Colorado.

I have a bad habit of over-programming myself.  Scheduling as many things as I can on the weekends, and then rushing around to accomplish it all.  This Saturday, I sort of outdid myself.

My friend Deb invited us to come over for a cookout… and I needed to bring something for the folks to enjoy.  BUT… I also had a hair appointment in the morning on Saturday followed by a two-hour yoga workshop.  There really wasn’t going to be much time inbetween to prepare anything.

So… I went through my mental archives of past dishes and came up with yet another crockpot concoction to throw together!

I knew Deb and Matt would be smoking brisket and chickens (YUM!) and thought a baked potato side dish might be the perfect pairing.  I’d made these once before… and knew that the no-fuss crockpot baked potatoes were one of the easiest (and tastiest!) ways to make a potato.  A decision was MADE!

And… the crowd loved them!  The potatoes get so tender and creamy when they cook this way.  They also have a pretty golden color much like those delicious restaurant potatoes you get when you dine out.  One of the great part about making these is that you can dress them however you’d like and having fun toppings available gives your guests the ability to build their own “perfect” potato.

Now, it really doesn’t get much easier than this… but here’s the recipe.

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

Serves 7-14

INGREDIENTS

7 baking potatoes, washed and scrubbed

aluminum foil

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Wash and scrub your potatoes clean, and then wrap them individually in aluminum foil.  Note:  Do not pierce the potatoes or season them.  Simply wrap them up!

2.  Place in the crockpot for 8 hours on low.

3.  Serve with all the fixins that your family and friends will enjoy:  For our dinner party, I took scallions, center-cut bacon bits, 2% cheddar cheese, reduced fat sour cream, Laughing Cow Cheese – Garlic and Herb Flavor, and caramelized onions (for a onion fanatic!)

These are SO good, and I really wish I would have made a few more… just so I could enjoy a few more of them!  The great news is that these are insanely easy to make and you can make as many as you’d like.  I mention above that this recipe will serve 7-14.  That’s because many of us split our potatoes in half and just ate half of one.  It depends on the appetite of your crowd (and the size of your crockpot!)

Enjoy!