Holiday cooking can be so hectic; between the 700 things going on at once, trying to entertain guests, and attempting to find a schedule that gets your food done around the same time I often end up feeling like the ring leader of an insane circus. I used to think this kind of madness helped prove how much I loved my guests, and the fact that no short cuts were taken helped validate my skills. But now, I think that’s a total crock! Which brings me to this crockpot recipe..
What I love about this recipe is you can fluctuate the time the potatoes need to cook by controlling the temperature; and after they are done you can leave them in the crockpot on keep warm for several more hours without worrying about them (besides the occasional stir). This made holiday meal planning a dream! Knowing there were perfectly done, just waiting to be served took a load of stress off! I was really worried the texture would be weird since the potatoes are absorbing all the chicken stock but that just wasn’t the case. Now, the flavor is slightly stronger due to the chicken stock, but if you are worried about that I would assume this would work with water in place, or a mixture of water and stock. Not only does this help get one more pot of boiling hot water off your stove top taking up room, but it can be easily adjusted for your needs (doubled, tripled, halved). So, take some stress off this holiday entertaining season.. your guests will love having a slightly saner version of you!
Easy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes (Print Me)
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients:
5 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes (or a mixture), peeled and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup sour cream
½ cup–1 cup whole milk
Fresh chopped chives, for garnish
Directions:
Combine the potatoes, broth, butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and garlic in the basin of a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 4-6, or until the potatoes are very tender. Stir occasionally throughout the cooking time to make sure all the potatoes touch the broth at some point.
Mash the potatoes using a hand-held potato masher until no lumps remain. Then, mash in additional salt to taste, sour cream, and whole milk, starting with ½ cup, and adding more until the potatoes reach your desired consistency.
Optional: Using an electric hand mixer, fluff the potatoes just for about 20-30 seconds to get that whipped potato texture. Do NOT overmix or you risk your potatoes turning gummy.
Sprinkle on chopped chives, cover the potatoes, put the slow cooker to warm, and then serve.
Source: Wholefully
