Who doesn't love a heaping serving of home made mashed potatoes? Even though they are easy to make, sometimes there just doesn't seem to be enough time. That's why you'll love this recipe. You can make them the day before and just heat them when you're ready to serve, or you can make them weeks in advance and freeze them. That's what I did today. i made 15 pounds for Thanksgiving. We cook for lot of people and only have a single oven, so anything that can be made ahead is a life saver. Here's what you'll need to make enough for 10-12 servings:
- 8-10 potatoes, peeled
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 C sour cream
- pinch of baking soda
- salt & pepper
- 6 TBL butter
First, fill a large pot with cold water and take the butter, sour cream, and cream cheese out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. Now peel the potatoes and cut into 1"cubes and add to the pot of water. Add about a tablespoon of salt to the water and bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until tender. Test them with a fork. You want the fork to easily pierce the potato, but you don't want the potatoes to be falling apart. Drain the water off and put the potatoes into a large bowl.
While the potatoes are still hot, add the room temperature butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and baking soda and whip together with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. If you let the potatoes cool before you mix them, you will end up with something that resembles glue--not good. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Put mixture into a greased casserole and cover with foil. They can be frozen at this stage and thawed before baking. Bake covered at 350 for 15 minutes, then uncover and dot generously with butter and continue baking for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Lynn
