Pioneer Woman Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I made these mashed potatoes for our second Thanksgiving at my brother's house. I needed them to be easy to transport & reheat without getting dry. I love the Pioneer Woman & I remembered seeing her recipe for make ahead mashed potatoes. I thought they were fabulous & so did the sweet granny sitting next to me. The cream cheese gave these potatoes extra richness & creaminess and the Lawry's Season Salt gave them a little zip. I think I will bag my old mashed potatoes recipe (I never used one, just tossed in ingredients Rachael Ray style) & use this recipe from now on!

I have a theory that when the food is really good & we are really hungry that's when I forget to take a picture.The good news is the Pioneer Woman took a picture of her mashed potatoes & we happen to have cooked them in the same casserole dish, so the recipe & picture are credited to her. Thanks.

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.

Kristin

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

My mom has been making this salad for as long as I can remember. We ALWAYS have it on special occasions, definitely on Thanksgiving. When I was a kid I thought, since my family loves this salad, that all families must eat it on their special occasions, too. Now that I am aged, I've learned that just because my family did something one way not ALL families do it the same. So I am happy to post this recipe & pass it on to other families so that they might enjoy its goodness on their special days too!

We had this on both Thanksgivings but on the first my Mom mixed it up a bit (scary, right?) & made the Jell-O layer a little different. She used one Raspberry Jell-O & one Orange Jell-O, and a can of whole cranberry sauce, and the small can of pineapple. It was delicious & that is the one featured in the picture.

1 1/2 c. crushed pretzels
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 sm. pkg. Cool Whip
2 small pkg. strawberry Jello
2 c. boiling water
16 oz pkg. frozen strawberries
1 sm. can crushed pineapple

Mix pretzels, sugar and butter. Spread mixture over bottom of9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Blend cream cheese, powdered sugar and Cool Whip and spread over pretzel layer. Dissolve strawberry Jello in 2 cups boiling water. Add frozen strawberries and drained pineapple. Chill until partially jelled. Then pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.

Kristin

Corn Bread Dressing

Happy Thanksgiving. We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners this year since some of the family are traveling. Our first Thanksgiving we combined with Audrey's 1st birthday party. Mom made all our Thanksgiving favorites!

This recipe comes from my Nanny. She cooks "down home" goodness. I think this recipe is perfect, except for the boiled eggs, which we omitted this year. But hey, some people love a boiled egg (not me).

1 recipe corn bread crumbled
3 pieces dry white bread, torn in pieces
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 eggs, boiled & chopped
3 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Saute onion & celery until tender. Combine all ingredients to make a soft mixture. Bake @ 325 for 1 hour.

Kristin

Macaroni & Cheese

Perfect. Fabulous. Delicious. This is my MOST requested recipe. So easy, yet so good! It has changed the lives of many. You'll never make the one in the blue box AGAIN!

I don't know where this recipe originated from, but my everyone in my family has been making it for years. The first time I had it was as a kid at our family's Christmas Eve party (my Aunt Barbara made it!) & I remember asking my mom to get me seconds...and then thirds! The recipe is just for the cheese sauce to be poured over pasta or potatoes (I like both!).

Tips: When you add the flour & milk, first add the flour, then stir, then gradually add the milk while stirring so that the sauce is smooth (you don't want lumpy mac & cheese!). And although the recipe doesn't specify, measure out 2 cups of DRY elbow macaroni to make the right amount for a good cheese sauce/pasta ratio. I never vary from the original recipes except to sometimes top it with Italian bread crumbs over the cheese (as I did in this picture). Enjoy.

Even though I have made this MANY times, we were so excited to eat it that I started serving it up before I remembered to take a picture!

Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheese (Reserve 1/2 cup for top)

Melt butter in microwave. Stir flour and milk into butter. Microwave 3 minutes and stir well. Cook 4 minutes more. Add cheese and stir well to melt cheese. Pour over cooked macaroni or cooked potatoes. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Kristin