It’s just two days before payday and your cupboard is looking pretty slim. The last time you shopped for groceries, every single item on your list had gone up substantially and you had to trim your list reasonably. So what’s for dinner? As the old chestnut goes, when times get tricky, the tough get going. Here’s an idea for dinner that satisfies all of your objectives. Tasty, filling, nutritious and fast to mend. A single huge potato, bits of this and that and your microwave will provide a satisfying meal in just minutes.

The microwave baked potato provides the base for your dinner. Rather than wait 45 mins to an hour for an oven-baked potato, try the microwave baked potato. Some purists claim a microwave baked potato does not stand up to the oven baked potato because the texture of the finished potato is a little different. Don’t believe it! A giant potato takes just eight to ten minutes in the microwave. Be sure it’s absolutely cooked – that is the trick to simulating the stove baked potato texture.

The microwave baked potato must be punctured with a fork all around, top, bottom and sides. This permits the potato to steam and cook just as its oven-baked counterpart.

While your potato is cooking, assemble your dressings. Much like a salad, you can pile left-overs and gourmet goodies to make this meal both a completely tasty and nutritious dinner.

A piece of bacon or ham contributes protein. Butter is a prerequisite. A touch of grated cheese provides calcium. Do you have some parsley, chives or onions? Throw them into the mix. How about some cut olives? Your microwave baked potato is coming into maturity now. Look thru your leftovers, too often going to waste. What about that small bit of corn, begging to be used? Pile that on your burgeoning microwave baked potato meal. One mushroom, cut and sauteed adds a gourmet touch. Hmm. What else? Aha! There’s a spoonful of sour cream. More calcium, with the added benefit of a tasty tasting topping.

Your frig likely holds lots of bits of food that will complement your microwave baked potato meal. herbs can make this meal more than gratifying. The neutral flavour of the potato makes it an ideal partner for virtually anything you would like to add.

So when you believe there’s nothing to eat, get that potato out and build yourself a juicy meal. Your microwave makes it quick and your seemingly bare cupboard will fill in the blanks. Eat hearty!.

Do you enjoy cooking and learning more about food? If yes, you may also visit cooking101.org to learn more about the many different kinds of recipes and cooking ideas that will be useful next time you are in the kitchen. Also, you might want to check out bake potatoes.