HELOISE Hint cuts the cooking time of baked potatoes

Dear Heloise: I have found a way to cook great baked potatoes in 20 minutes or less. I first wash the potatoes, then put them in the microwave on high heat for 3 minutes (turning them over after 11/2 minutes). I then place them in the oven for the remainder of the cooking time. This produces great oven-baked potatoes in one-third the time. Ken Hanba, via e-mail
Ken, we decided to check with the experts at the U.S. Potato Board, and your hint is a good one. Here's a little addition: With a fork, pierce the skin of a potato in several places. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender when tested with a fork, or pierce a potato in several places and microwave on high 3-4 minutes or until tender when tested with a fork (adjust time according to the wattage of your microwave).
Let's test your Heloise Potato Hint IQ. Can you freeze leftover potatoes? Yes or no? According to the experts, freezing isn't recommended. Potatoes tend to become watery upon reheating. A potato is 80 percent water, and when frozen, the water separates from the starch and nutrients, causing the reheated potato dish to be watery.
The U.S. Potato Board is offering a free brochure, The Healthy Potato, to educate consumers about the healthful, versatile and delicious potato. To receive a copy, please visit the Web site at www.healthypotato.com or send a self-addressed, business-sized, stamped (37 cents) envelope to: Healthy Potato Recipes, 5105 East 41st Ave., Denver, Colo. 80216. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Frozen bread is much easier to cube for croutons than soft bread. I stack up four to six slices at a time, use a large slicing knife to cut the stack five times one way, rotate the stack 90 degrees and cut five times the other way. Lots of croutons to toast in a flash. Jan in Virginia
Dear Heloise: I was reading your column from the other day and noticed the hint on cutting homemade noodles. Well, I used to do it that way, and then I found this way of doing it.
After noodles are rolled out, floured and dried, roll up the dough as if you're making cinnamon rolls, then use a sharp knife to slice the noodles as wide as you want them. They unroll easily to be dropped in broth or whatever you're cooking them in! C. Jones, Kempner, Texas
Dear Heloise: I am sorry I didn't discover this earlier -- only lack of imagination will hold you back on this one.
I use ice cream instead of milk or cream plus beaten eggs for French toast. Delicious! Naomi Hagadone, Sandpoint, Idaho
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate