These were fabulous! Everyone from Thanksgiving wanted the recipe. Followed exactly but next time I think I will cut the butter in half. Heres a hint to keep the potatoes from getting soggy in the crock. Lay a clean terry kitchen towel across the top of the crock then put the lid on. The towel absorbs the steam instead of it running back into the potatoes.
Using sour cream and/or cream cheese in these mashed potatoes was nothing new to me. I've always used one or the other or both but I also always use either russet or Yukon Gold potatoes rather than red skinned. What intrigued me was the idea (duh) of making them ahead of time and then reheating them in the slow cooker. I used the terry towel suggestion, as well as the suggestion to stir them every now and then to prevent them from browning along the edges. As others did, I simply forgot to put the butter in at the last, but with the gravy, the butter wasn't even missed. This method of preparation really eased the busy-ness and hustle-bustle in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day. I'm hooked...I will always make the mashed potatoes this way on Thanksgiving from now on! Thanks for a simple solution to getting rid of at least one step of the Thanksgiving meal preparation. Thanks too, to those of you with the helpful suggestions!
This recipe makes AWESOME garlic mashed potatoes when you use the Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese plus add garlic salt, oregano, and 1 cup of an Italian Cheese Blend - we were in heaven!! Thanks so much for a great idea... I will never make any other mashed potatoes again (whether I make Garlic or plain!!) I made mine three days early and refrigerated the stoneware crock until I was ready to cook them.
Oh my gosh...these potatoes were awesome! And so incredibly easy. Really a great "make ahead" recipe. I made this in the morning and then put it in the slow cooker later in the afternoon so it was ready for dinner. I used red potatoes with the skin on and they were great! I too skipped the butter at the end (wasn't necessary). FYI..I used a 3 lb bag of small red potatoes and this would be PLENTY for 6 adults for dinner. 3 hours on low in the slow cooker was perfect! This one is a keeper!!!!!
Made potatoes the night before, warmed them up a little in microwave, then put them in crockpot for a few hours. Worked out very nice and everyone said how nice it was to have hot mashed potatoes through the whole meal. Served it with BBQ ribs. Very good,will try it next Thanksgiving for sure!
Very easy to prepare, and even easier to eat. The flavors in this dish combined very well, and tasted like no other mashed potato dish I've ever had. And it STAYED HOT throughout the whole meal, which is a rarity for any kind of mashed potato dish that I've ever fixed. One slight problem was that the potatoes didn't mash thoroughly, which left smallish chunks of whole potato in, but even that wasn't enough to detract from the overall experience. (If you're particular about it, I would suggest running a mixer through it before placing in your Crock.) I was pinched for time, and set the Crock on HIGH for 1 hour - they still tasted just fine, so I'm not sure 3 hours on LOW is necessary. (Tip: halve the time if you're cooking on HIGH - 3 hours on LOW equals 1 1/2 hours on HIGH, just a helpful thing to know when cooking with Crock-Pots.) Excellent dish. Thanks, Bwaye, this will be going into my regular rotation!
Very nice recipe! I make this recipe with light sour cream and light cream cheese. My husband tasted the potatoes before I added any butter and he said they were great as they were and since we were going to be serving them with gravy adding butter would make it too rich. I'll be making this again next week for Thanksgiving; I know it'll be a hit and best of all I won't have to be rushing around getting the potatoes ready while company is over. Thanks! UPDATE (11/09):I have made this for each Thanksgiving since I first tried them and they have always gotten many complements. For those that have wondered how much this makes volume-wise one and a half recipes (so 12 servings worth) fills up my 6 qt slow cooker. We serve it for 16 people at Thanksgiving and generally have some left over since there are so many other dishes on the table. I have used both red and russet potatoes and always leave the skin on and it is very good both ways. Thanks again for a great no-fail recipe!
YUM! Tasty but not overwhelming. It was so nice to be able to make these in the afternoon and load them into the crockpot to wait for my company to arrive later that evening. The only thing I'll change next time is to stir them periodically, since they seemed to brown around the edges by the time they were served.
Very good potatoes but rather heavy vs light and fluffy. 4 stars for ease, originality and time management. Especially loved the idea of the terry cloth submitted by a reader. Makes perfect sense!
These were not a hit at our house. Hubby said it was too rich, my 7 year old (who loves mashed potatoes) wouldn't eat them and I didn't really like the cream cheese taste. I think I'll stick to my regular recipe but use the slow cooker idea. Thanks anyways.
