Food hacks: Make ahead mashed potatoes

For those who have to work a full time job and come home to make dinner too, any tips and tricks that make the task easier and quicker are welcome! I have several favorites, and one is so simple I just have to share it.

I love mashed potatoes, but the work involved with preparing them used to deter me from making them on a week night. If I did, I used instant potato flakes and 'doctored' them up well enough to nearly pass for fresh. Now I don't have to do that anymore...

I didn't like the idea of making them up ahead of time and freezing them because they have a high water content and I didn't like how they looked after they thawed. Mushy. Separated, Unappealing. Then one day at work, I was heating a frozen dinner and looking at 'those' potatoes. After following the directions on the package, they were no longer mushy or unappealing. They tasted fine! What was the trick?

The trick was, the more they were heated, the more moisture evaporated and the firmer the potatoes became. So I got an idea... why not take a 5 or 10 lb bag of potatoes, peel and cook them all, whip them up the way we like them, then freeze them in meal-size quantities?

So I did. I drained the cooked potatoes well, added salt, butter and sour cream (optional, of course), and put them to the mixer. When they tasted they way we like them, I separated the now (lukewarm) mashed potatoes into plastic containers I saved from sour cream, cottage cheese and whipped toppings. I packed them nearly to the top (to avoid freezer crystals), laid a bit of wax paper over the potatoes, and put the lids on. I labeled the tops with the date I made the potatoes and put them in the freezer.

Here's the trick: frozen mashed potatoes take a long time to thaw. If I know I am having them for dinner the next evening, I will set them out in the morning before I leave for work. They will not thaw in the refrigerator: they are like a block of ice. I have not tried thawing them in the microwave, but that would probably work.

Anyway, once they are thawed, I heat them in an oven safe bowl in the oven (a microwave would work, too). I pull them out to stir them every 5 minutes or so and, sure enough, the hotter they get, the thicker they get. (I have found using a single beater or meat fork to stir them works well.) Taste them, because if they need more butter or salt or a bit of milk, this is the time to add it. When they are the consistency you want, they are ready to eat!

It's wonderful to have real mashed potatoes without the hassle of peeling and boiling on a weeknight. For two of us, we find a 16 oz. tub is enough. I suppose you could use all small tubs and just get multiples out when you need a larger quantity for a meal.

When you are preparing an entire 5 or 10 pound bag of potatoes, you will need to do them in more than one batch. This is really a task better suited for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I have made the mistake of filling the bowl too full (trying to get it done faster) and ended up with a bigger mess than it was worth. Now I just process the potatoes in manageable amounts and take them time do it right.

My advantage: I have a husband who actually almost enjoys peeling potatoes! No, he isn't from Pluto. He told me he didn't mind it in KP with the Navy years ago, and finds it kind of relaxing. He's also a much faster 'peeler' than I am, and it's great to have the help. No, he cannot come peel potatoes for you and no, he does not have a brother.

Another mashed potato idea: It seems we have a tendency to boil and mash the potatoes last when we are serving a big meal. My mother always did it that way and everyone I know does it that way. BUT... we can prepare those mashed potatoes as much as an hour ahead and keep them warm in a buttered crock pot OR a warm oven! It's SO much less hassle than leaving them until last - plus, using a crock pot, you can transport them to a pot luck dinner.

Hope this helps and feel free to offer any tips you have on mashed potatoes.