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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole

Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole

Mashed potatoes made decadent with cream cheese, roasted garlic, and sour cream. Make them ahead of time and reheat in the oven or the slow cooker. Great for holiday potlucks, kids having dental work, or just because this is such a great recipe. Thanks, MA!



image of a traditional Thanksgiving plate of mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, creamed spinach, stuffing, turkey and a roll


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In my humble opinion, the best American meal--bar none--is Thanksgiving.  One year I made a full-on traditional American Thanksgiving meal three times in 4 months.  The first time was, no surprise, the 3rd Thursday in November.  The second time was on Christmas day, and if I had my Danish sister-in-law as my sous chef, I would do that whole deal again in a heartbeat (she made it so easy for me!).


The third occasion was after my spouse returned from a deployment, when I was stuffing him full of all his favorite dishes night after night. I even shared some of those leftovers with folks who found themselves unexpectedly in a hospital far away from home. Thanksgiving knows no boundaries.


Making a Thanksgiving meal from locally sourced farmer's market or Community Supported Agriculture farm share ingredients?  I got this.


Mashed potatoes made decadent with cream cheese, roasted garlic, and sour cream. Make them ahead of time, and reheat in the oven or the slow cooker. Great for holiday potlucks, kids having dental work, or just because this is such a great recipe.


The first year we joined a CSA there was not much produce left by the time Thanksgiving rolled around.  This was due to the combination of my inexperience in making the most of my CSA vegetables and the fact that the CSA ended in the beginning of October.  The second year was much better (see awful photo below) partly because we joined a different CSA with a longer season, partly because my spouse was deployed (another deployment) so we had lots more produce to work with, and partly due to my discovery of food blogs on the internet.  Thanks, Alanna!  That year we planned to spend Thanksgiving at the beach in a rented condo.  I didn't know what all I'd have to work with in the kitchen, so I pre-made a lot of dishes at home.  Here's how it turned out:


photo of a typical Thanksgiving dinner plate of mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, and vegetable sides
Yes, I know the colors are crazy.  This was at a beach condo. Before I learned about adjusting the white balance.



Mashed potatoes made decadent with cream cheese, roasted garlic, and sour cream. Make them ahead of time, and reheat in the oven or the slow cooker. Great for holiday potlucks, kids having dental work, or just because this is such a great recipe.


As you can see, for me Thanksgiving is all about the sides.  The more side dishes the better as far as I am concerned.  This year I will again have A Veggie Venture's World's Best Green Bean Casserole. I think it's the only time my kids will eat a mushroom.  Since I'm now in Minnesota I'll use local wild rice as well as local corn in Pioneer Woman's Fresh Corn with Wild Rice.  I'll make stuffing--possibly my Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing with Apples and Sausage.  Using the local cranberries I picked up at the farmer's market I'll make a version Cranberry, Orange, and Beet Salad (ahead of time, in my slow cooker or maybe I give it a whirl in the Instant Pot).


collage image showing cubed yukon gold potatoes cooking in water, then drained and mixed with melted butter



Of course I will make my friend Maryanne's  (aka MA's) Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole.  These are my known sides.  But I'll visit a Wednesday farmer's market so there will be some last-minute additions to this list. The only problem with so many sides is this:  how do you cook them all at the same time?   Try to make ahead and use a slow cooker, electric roaster, Instant Pot--whatever you can beg or borrow.


collage image showing cream cheese beaten in a mixing bowl with sour cream and roasted garlic, then cooked potatoes stirred in





Notes: The recipe I'm sharing is useful because it is made the day before and can be cooked in the oven or the slow cooker, depending on which suits your needs at the time.  It travels well to holiday functions (you can even put the chilled contents into a 2 gallon size zip top bag for transport, then transfer into a crock pot for reheating once you reach work). You can also customize these potatoes any way you like--add bacon, chives, cheese, more garlic . . . whatever you like to make it your own.


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I don't want to say how many actual servings this makes. The number is shockingly low. Other people who can't eat their age in pounds of mashed potatoes may get more servings from this. My family licks the beaters on this one!


photo of an empty mixing bowl that previously held mashed potato casserole



For more Thanksgiving recipe ideas, please see my Clickable Collage of Thanksgiving Recipes. For more recipes using potatoes, please see my Potato Recipes Collection. This collection is part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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12 comments:

  1. This looks great, and I love the slow cooker option. I agree that Thanksgiving is all about sides. I'll have to check out that swiss chard and sweet potato dish - maybe my children will tolerate the chard if I sneak it in with their beloved sweet potatoes.

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    Replies
    1. Annemarie, I grew up in the 'burbs eating Swiss chard that we grew in our backyard garden. My mom sautéed it and squirted a little vinegar on top just before serving. As a kid, I must have barely tolerated it. But the first time I got chard in my farm share I (picture this with movie special effects) zoomed back to childhood and had to recreate that simple chard dish.

      Fast forward to present day (more movie special effects). My kids barely tolerate it, but I have hope for their future selves.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. Yes! Thanksgiving is all about the sides! Cream cheese, sour cream, and butter? Triple yum!

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    Replies
    1. Christin, I just bought all the ingredients for round 2 of this (round 1 prepared last month is pictured above). My spouse will take it to work later this week. Then I'll do it again next week for real! Good thing I'm still Blitzing!
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
    2. As a vegetarian, I'm all about the sides, so you are a woman after my own heart (even in Crocs!!). And anything with potatoes, sign me up please.
      So what time will Thanksgiving dinner be served next week? Should I dress up for the occasion? ;)
      I was a veggie eating maniac this summer so I didn't put up anything from the CSA. Also, I don't know how to put things up, so I'll definitely be looking to you for guidance next summer. It's amazing what we can learn from each other.

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    3. Meghan, it's funny. Thanksgiving is less than a week away and I have most of what I need for sides, but no turkey. Yet. Nor do I even know who all will be around our table, but probably 2-3 pm is a fine time to show up. ;)
      Last night my spouse and I were debating about ham vs turkey. Other than the gravy factor, I think I'd rather deal with the fallout from a ham bone than a turkey carcass. We may just change it up this year. Thanks for making me feel good that my blog can appeal to vegetarians as well as omnivores!

      Delete
  3. This is my favorite way to make mashed potatoes!! As a single woman, I have found that you can make a batch, and freeze them into smaller portions. You can also top with some shredded cheddar cheese, just before serving.

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    Replies
    1. Teresa,
      I've never tried to freeze them. Thank you for letting me know it works!
      I think shredded cheese is an awesome idea.
      I appreciate your comments!

      Delete
  4. Kirsten, potatoes are an absolute must at most dinners in my house (Irish-American husband's decree:), so this recipe is a definite keeper for me. Thanks for stopping by our Happy Holidays Link Party - be sure to join us again this week (beginning on Saturday at 7 pm ET) and every week through the holidays.

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    Replies
    1. Laura,
      Your spouse is a wise one!
      Thanks for hosting!

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete