Kitchen

[luvsbulldogs]

On 11/19/2014 Just Plain Crazy said:

While visiting our DD last month, our son in law had smoked a pork roast and made some wonderful mashed potatoes and gravy. The potatoes were from Ore_Ida and are called Steam n' Mash from the freezer section. They are chunks of russet potatoes and you steam them in the microwave then mash them like you would your mashed potatoes. We just had to pick some up when we got home. 7 servings to the bag according to the bag. I guess that would depend on how big of serving are taken.

HTH

JPC

We love what JPC is talking about. Just pop in the microwave for 10 minutes and then smash them up add a little butter and a little milk and we cannot tell the difference between the fresh ones. They are real potatoes and are kept in the freezer and ready to eat in 10 minutes. As JPC said they are in the freezer department in a bag at your local grocery store.

Hi JPC....good to see you. I hope that you and Mr C have a great Thanksgiving!

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!

[MariotaMurielle]

On 11/19/2014 gulf coast girl said:

I have never had mashed potatoes that were first frozen, now I'm willing to look for them just to try them. They sound "okay" after reading all the good opinions.

gulf coast girl, I've never tried any other brand but the Ore Ida frozen potatoes are really good. 10 minutes on high in the microwave, let them sit for 2 minutes then add butter and milk and mash. I first had them when my sister served them for a holiday dinner. they were delicious and I had no idea they were made from frozen potatoes until I happened to see the bag sitting on her kitchen counter. we haven't peeled & boiled a potato to mash since.

[Iwantcoffee]

On 11/20/2014 NYC Susan said:

On 11/20/2014 violann said:

On 11/20/2014 ID2 said:

I can't imagine thinking making mashed potatoes is such a chore! Its so EASY! All the mess of peeling is in the sink. You rinse, turn on your garbage disposal, walla done! I can't stand all the sodium added to the store bought mashed potatoes. Yuck.

Peeling isn't easy with finger arthritis........ Ore-Ida Steam and Mash contain 260mg of sodium per small serving, so less than traditional salted mashed potatoes, and very manageable for my low sodium eating.

I was going to say the same thing. Making mashed potatoes is not as easy for some as it is for others, either because of physical issues, time constraints, or whatever else. (And not everyone has garbage disposals!)

Homemade is not difficult - I agree with that. And nothing tastes as good. But sometimes we need shortcuts, and for me TJ's is an acceptable shortcut.

With so much to do we all need a little help. I never make everything myself for Thanksgiving. I buy pie and rolls already made and bake them. I limit the number of dishes I serve for my small family. I am not cooking for days and working myself to exhaustion to throw half in the trash on Sunday.

I have not tried the Simply Potatoes frozen mashed potatoes but we love the shredded hash browns from Simply Potatoes for breakfast with scrambled eggs.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

[violann]

The Ore-Idas were EXCELLENT!!! I would happily use them again. We whipped them with 1/2&1/2 and a little butter- GREAT!!!!

[lovemybichonfrise]

On 11/19/2014 KJPA said:

Get your husband/SO to do the peeling and mashing! In our house my hubby almost always makes the mashed and does a great job. I like the red potatoes, cooked with skin on and then hand-mashed with some of the cooking water, garlic, salt, pepper, butter and lots of milk. We use the old time hand masher and love the lumps and all.

We don't make "real" for just the two of us; we like those different refrigerated versions such as the ones pictured above. Our stores typically have them in the meat case or near it. We usually get the Garlic version; Bob Evans or Simply Potatoes.

Question about peeling ahead of time: I was told that letting them sit in water for a long time will leech all the "good stuff" out of them. Is that an old wives' tale? I'm sure for a special occasion it's no big deal but if you do it all the time and lose all vitamins and minerals it would be bad. Anyone have info on that?

I have heard that for a long time. The only reason you would let potatoes sit in cold water, and not longer than one hour or they get water logged, is to prevent them from turning brown until you are ready to boil, roast or shred (for potato pancakes) them.

[CaryH]

I've never frozen my mashed potatoes but I do make them a day ahead of the meal and stick them in the fridge. Bake them the next day just to reheat them and they are just as delicious as fresh made.