P.W.'s Creamy Mashed Potatoes!

Today's recipe is for mashed potatoes. I know mashed potatoes are very basic and most people know how to make them. I thought that too...until I made these! They are creamy, smooth and velvety. I could just curl up with them on sofa and be perfectly happy!

Seriously. I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's site. WHAT? You don't know who The Pioneer Woman is??? Well then. You better get on over there and see what she's all about! She my girl crush! Yes. I admit it! I have a girl crush! Ree Drummond is my girl crush! There. I've said it and I'm not embarrassed. Really...go check her out! While you are there, check out her cookbook that just came out last month. Yes. Of course I bought it! In fact, I just sent it out to her on Monday so she could sign it. What? She said she would do it for anyone and gave us all an address where to send them!

This is the recipe I used for our Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and I will never make them any other way ever again!!!! The recipe below is her recipe exactly and here is a link to her post on it so you can see all the wonderful steps in pictures. The picture above is mine but make sure you go and see hers. She has a much nicer camera and better photography skills than I do. She says you can make these ahead of time which is PERFECT for preparing the Thanksgiving meal! Mashed potatoes take so much time on the actual day so why not make it easier on yourself. I did and they were perfect! The only thing I did differently than she did was I did not bake them in the oven. I pulled them out of the refrigerator in the early morning for about 2 hours. I then put them into a buttered slow cooker (my BFF suggested that...Thanks Susan!) with a few more pats of butter on top. I turned the slow cooker on high to get it started and then turned it on low once it got going. I stirred them up every once in a while to make sure they were heating evenly. Do it quickly though because you don't want all the heat to escape. You can also flip the switch back to high if you need. I hope you try these because they are TO DIE FOR! If you are uneasy about the cream cheese, don't be...you don't taste it at all! It just adds that velvety creaminess to the potatoes!

Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
¾ cups Butter
1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
½ cups (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
½ teaspoons (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions:

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!