How to Make Mashed Potatoes

Every homemaker should know how to make mashed potatoes.  Potatoes are a basic frugal  cooking ingredient that will allow you to stretch your grocery budget while adding nutrition to your menu plan.  Follow the directions in our step-by-step tutorial / recipe below to learn how to cook mashed potatoes.  We’ve also included a simple how-to video at the end for the readers that learn best by watching demonstrations (subscribers will have to click through to HomemakerBarbi.com to watch the video).

The amount of potatoes and milk will be determined by how many people you are feeding and how many servings you need to make.  I recommend starting with 10 medium-sized potatoes for a family of four; but you may need to adjust this number.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Milk
• Water
• Salt
• Butter or margarine

Tools needed:

• Vegetable peeler
• Hand potato masher
• Kitchen mixer
• Large pan
• Mixing bowl

Directions:

1.  Peel the potatoes, removing the skins and eyes.

2.  Wash potatoes completely. 

3.  Cut potatoes into quarters or smaller pieces if you are in a hurry (smaller pieces will be done cooking faster).

4.  Put the potatoes in a pan, then fill the pan with enough water to cover the potatoes.

5.  If you’re short on time, add a few shakes of salt to the water (this will aid the water in coming to a boil more quickly).

6.  Cook the potatoes on high until the water is boiling.

7.  Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down to medium.  Cook the potatoes on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes or until the potatoes are softened.

8.  Turn off the stove and take the pan off of the burner.

9.  Drain the water out of the pan, leaving only the potatoes behind.  (If you make homemade potato bread, it’s a good idea to save this water for bread making.)

10.  Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl.

11.  Mash the potatoes by hand with a metal potato masher (or fork)until they are broken up.

12.  Add softened margarine or butter, 1 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of salt.

13.  Using your electric mixer (or stirring with a spoon if you don’t have a mixer), beat potatoes until they have a creamy consistency.  Mix them for less time if you like them thick or more time if you like them creamy.  To adjust the consistency, add more milk to make the mashed potatoes thinner and creamier.

14.  Once the consistency is right, taste the potatoes.  Keep adding salt to the potatoes and stirring thoroughly until the desired taste is achieved. For a different taste, try adding garlic salt.

15.  If you’ll be serving the potatoes out of a different dish, transfer them into a serving bowl now. 

16.  If the meal time is soon, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel to keep heat in.  If the meal time is not for 30 minutes or longer, cover the potatoes with aluminum foil until they can be reheated later.

The video below is provided thanks to our friends at Cooking.com.  Check out Tammy’s Recipes for more Kitchen Tip Tuesday tips!