What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe? I can answer my own question without missing a beat. My favorite Thanksgiving recipe is my grandmother’s mashed potatoes. Not only is this recipe super easy to make, but these mashed potatoes are super yummy. The only ingredients you need are white potatoes, cream cheese, half and half, butter, seasoned salt, salt, onion salt, and black pepper. My favorite flavor is the seasoned salt! If you want a lower calorie recipe, you can use low fat cream cheese and skim milk in place of the cream cheese and half and half. Making this potato recipe not only makes me think about the holiday season, but I am also reminded of my wonderful grandmother as well.
My favorite part about my grandmother’s mashed potatoes is that the recipe can be made a day or two ahead of time. Because I usually have so many other foods to prepare on Thanksgiving day, I whip up a batch of these potatoes either on the Tuesday or Wednesday before the holiday. Then, on Thanksgiving, I simply take the mashed potatoes out of the refrigerator for a half an hour or so and then bake until hot and bubbly. The leftover mashed potatoes are also my favorite part of eating during the days after Thanksgiving. This recipe reheats well, so well, in fact, that the reheated leftovers taste fresh. My mouth is already watering just thinking about all the yummy mashed potatoes that I will be consuming on Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds of white potatoes
- 8 ounces of cream cheese
- 1 cup of half and half
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 1 tablespoon of seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of onion salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
Directions
- Wash and peel the potatoes.
- Dice the potatoes into small pieces.
- Boil the potatoes until soft.
- Drain the cooked potatoes.
- Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cream cheese, half and half, butter, seasoned salt, salt, onion salt, and pepper to the potatoes. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Blend all ingredients until creamy.
- Grease a 9×13 glass baking pan with cooking spray.
- Pour the mashed potatoes into the baking pan.
- Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil until ready to bake. The mashed potatoes may be refrigerated for a couple of days before cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 350º.
- Bake uncovered for thirty minutes or until hot.
- Serve immediately.
- Refrigerate any uneaten mashed potatoes.
My grandma’s mashed potatoes are so easy to make, which is one of the reasons that I usually include the recipe while working on holiday meal planning for the side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. Most importantly, however, is that my grandma’s mashed potatoes are absolutely to die for. So rich and so creamy, these mashed potatoes are a staple at my house. Plus, eating her mashed potatoes always reminds me of my grandmother. (Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday!) So, to all the cooks looking for recipes for side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner, try my grandma’s mashed potatoes. Delicious!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0q_yWQr8LI
Image Credits
Grandma Nordine’s Mashed Potatoes Recipe © 2011 Heather Johnson
Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Washing the Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Peeling and Cutting the Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Putting the Potatoes in Water © 2011 Heather Johnson
Boiling the Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Draining the Boiled Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Other Ingredients for the Mashed Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Mashing the Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Mashed Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson
Grandma Nordine’s Mashed Potatoes © 2011 Heather Johnson