Recipe Wednesday: Perfect Mashed Potatoes

 

Happy Wednesday! My favorite holiday of the year is just over a week away! I'm looking forward to "tying on the feedbag" as Scott's family would say! I really can't think of a better day of the year--spending time with family, eating, drinking, and reflecting on the abundance of blessings we have in our life...well, I actually think I do this pretty much EVERY DAY, but I like having a holiday totally dedicated to this :)

Big dinners like this are not complete without mashed potatoes in my opinion! I look forward to mashed potatoes and gravy the most, I think!! One problem--I CANNOT STAND peeling, cutting, boiling and mashing the potatoes on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. It's not hard or a lot of work, but when you have 50 other dishes going and people in your house, it's not the most fun thing :)

A few years back I discovered this recipe for mashed potatoes from Pioneer Woman that you can MAKE AHEAD OF TIME!! No way! I had no idea you could even do that!! I was skeptical thinking they might be gluey or dry but honestly, they are the best mashed potatoes I've ever had!

And just so there is no mistake--there is absolutely NO calorie counting on Thanksgiving Day!!

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
**Makes a big 4 quart baking dish of potatoes, you can easily half the recipe

5lbs Yukon Gold or regular old Russet potatoes
1 stick of butter, softened
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half
1 teaspoon of Lawry's seasoning salt
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Plenty of black pepper

1. Spray a 4 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks and dump them (carefully) into the boiling water. Boil until fork tender-- about 20 minutes or so.

3. Drain potatoes and return them to the pan. Mash them for a minute or so WITHOUT adding any other ingredients!! This is a key step!!! Mashing them by themselves allows the steam to escape so you are not left with gluey potatoes.

4. After a minute or so of mashing, add remaining ingredients and mash until they are creamy. Check seasonings-- add more salt or pepper if needed (try not to eat the whole pan). You can also add more cream here if you like creamier potatoes.

5. Spread potatoes in the baking dish and dot with butter. (At this point you can cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight).

6. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until heated through.

Voila! Perfectly creamy, rich, non-gluey potatoes...and you didn't even have to break a sweat on Thanksgiving Day!  You're welcome :)

Have a GREAT holiday!! I will leave you with my favorite quote of the season: "It's not happy people who are thankful, it's thankful people who are happy." :)

Happy Turkey Day ~

XO ~ Casey