Mashed potatoes are probably my favorite comfort food. I could eat them every night of the week and never get tired of them.

You can do a lot to’ jazz up’ plain mashed potatoes. You are really only limited by your creativity.

Hopefully, the following tips will help you in your quest to making the perfect squashed spuds. With food prices on the rise, potatoes are still a good value. When in doubt, grab your masher!

Three medium potatoes yield about 2 cups mashed. To cook potatoes quickly, dice into equal sized pieces. If you are using red skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes, leave the skins on for added flavor… YUM!

During the mashing process, don’t add any liquid to the potatoes until they have reached your preferred consistency. Adding the liquid actually ‘sets’ the potatoes. For a yummy sour cream like taste, use buttermilk in place of regular milk.

If you love potato bread, you can use leftover potatoes to make your own. (Read this post to learn more about my Zojirushi bread machine.) Mashed potatoes can be successfully frozen for up to nine months. Freeze in small portions, to make bread baking even easier.

Last but not least… if you will be cooking for a crowd, you can prepare your mashed potatoes early in the day and keep them warm in a crock pot. This works wonders at holiday meal time.

Photo by: K. Santos