The Best Mashed Potatoes Ever

I love me some mashed potatoes! If it was up to me, I'd eat them everyday. However, my mashed potatoes are pretty killer, and I should probably limit it to once a month. Maybe twice. You see, what makes these mashed potatoes so killer is the tons of yummy goodness that I add into them. Basically, most dairy products from my fridge end up in this recipe.

With Thanksgiving coming up, I figured I'd share this recipe that makes it way to my table for most holiday celebrations. It's relatively easy to make, so it's perfect for when you have other dishes that you have to focus on.

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds Russet Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
• 8 oz (1 block) Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup Sour Cream (or Greek Yogurt)
• 1/4 cup Half & Half
• Salt
• Water

Instructions:

1. Add the potatoes to a large pot and add enough water to cover them. Salt the water liberally and bring the water to a boil.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, quarter the butter and cream cheese, then add them and the cheese, sour cream and heavy cream to a large mixing bowl.
3. When the potatoes are tender (15-20 minutes), drain well and add them while still hot to the mixing bowl. Whip until smooth. I prefer to use my KitchenAid stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
4. If the potatoes are too thick, slowly add more half and half (or milk) until they reach the desired consistency.

Serves: 6

The best part about these potatoes is that my dad said they taste better than the ones my mom makes, and mom makes some rockin' potatoes!

Are mashed potatoes your favorite Thanksgiving side dish too? 

I Just Started Typing

It wasn't that long ago that I was hating Tuesdays. I still have to wake up earlier than usual to get the girls ready for school, but since I'm no longer doing gymnastics after preschool drop off, my day goes much more smoothly. Last week was the first Tuesday since Juliana was born that it was just her and I running the errands. It wasn't perfect, but I'll take whipping a boob out in the middle of the commissary over chasing a cranky toddler between beams and bars.

I wish I could say the boob thing was an exaggeration, but sadly it's not. As we were searching for the perfect tomatoes for BLTs last week, Juli started getting irritated. I tried to calm her in her carrier, but nothing I did seemed to work. In an effort to not be that mom with the screaming kid (although the store was pleasantly empty at 8:30 am) I took her out of the wrap and carried her in my arms. Didn't help. Five aisles later, I decided I was going to have to feed her if I wanted her to be quiet. I slipped her back into the wrap and let her go to town. Surprisingly, it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I was expecting. No crazy looks from strangers, and she just nursed while I shopped.

Today, I'll probably nurse in the car before heading in. I spent the weekend planning the menu and putting together the perfect shopping list, so hopefully it's a quick trip. I can only hope.

Speaking of planning, am I totally crazy for already having my Thanksgiving menu planned out? It started with dinner last night. I was stacking dirty dishes and I really looked how one plate looked on top of a larger plate. Which led me to thinking about how the bowl would look on top of that, and how perfect it would be filled with soup for Thanksgiving dinner. From there, my mind took off and the menu was planned. I was even trying to figure out what I would cook extras of so that I could drop off dinner for the MPs working at the gates. And how each gate is going to get their own pie. Yep. I've officially lost it.

Wishin' Accomplished

Did everyone have a fabulous weekend?! Aside from still being stuck in this hotel for part of the time, ours was wonderful! I'm so excited that I got all of my Christmas shopping done for the girls without having to set foot in a store.

We spent Thanksgiving in Waikiki at the Hale Koa. During the day, the girls did some swimming, and for dinner they had a nice buffet. We also jumped at the opportunity to spend the night in a different, much nicer hotel. Boy, do I miss that fluffy mattress.

Friday morning, Hubster and I woke up and comfortably browsed the ToysRUs website for gifts for the girls. We got an idea of what we wanted, and then headed down to the pool again. After checking out, we did some shopping around Waikiki and then headed back to our temporary home.

I set a budget of $200 for both girls, and I'm happy to say that we only went over by $25. I'm going to go ahead and blame ToysRUs shipping charges for that. Unfortunately, we learned that those free shipping deals don't apply to Hawaii, plus there was an extra shipping charge. Good thing for my Target REDcard. With it, I got an additional 5% off and actual free shipping.

The weekend brought crappy weather, which led to us staying mostly indoors. Boo. Hubster returns to work today and is taking the car with him, so we'll see if I decided to venture out with the girls in the stroller. I can't wait to finally move into our house and receive our belongings. I'm kinda bummed and jealous that everyone has their decorations out, and it'll still be a little bit until ours are up.

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Thanksgiving Meals

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Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away?! It seems as though this year has blown by! We still haven't decided what we'll doing this year. Between trying to find a place to live and waiting for our household goods to arrive, we're not even sure where we'll be. A restaurant is sounding better and better each day. Although I'll be missing out on some Thanksgiving favorites, I feel like it gives me more time to plan for Christmas, which is my real favorite.

Speaking of Thanksgiving favorites though, I can think of one thing that was never my favorite. Stuffing. Up until my parents started making it with sausage, I never touched the stuff. I also never knew that people referred to it as dressing. My blog sponsors: Angel, Ashley, and Kelsey are all on the same page as me with calling it stuffing.

Continuing with the stuffing theme, there's another stuffing related topic that causes a bit of a stir. Do you actually stuff it into the turkey, or is it a made as a dish on the side. Kelsey does both. Ya know, to be sure she has some leftovers. Ashley and Angel both make it seperately, and Angel's family actually makes it from scratch with dried bread.

Since I don't exactly eat everything in the Thanksgiving spread, I was wondering if anyone else was a picky eater life myself. Nope. Occassionally Ashley's grandma will cook beets, which she won't touch, but other than that, it's fair game. Angel and Kelsey eat it all!

Once dinner is done and it's time for dessert, Kelsey and I are totally on the same page. One pumpkin pie for me, and one for everyone else. Ashley's favorite dessert is a chocolate chess pie that she picks up from the fall fest at church each year. Angel's favorite desserts are two homemade treats that are gone by the end of the meal, double double chocolate (YUM!) and a pumpkin/cream cheese pie that is heavenly.

Now that you know what some of my sponsors do for Thanksgiving, what are you most looking forward to eating or doing this Thanksgiving?

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