Creamy Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

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This recipe is from Marjory over at dinner mom. See her recipe or follow the recipe here (with my additions and improvements in red):
Creamy Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
8 cps mashed potatoes (approximately 4lbs)
1/2 cp cream cheese
1 cp sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
1 Tbls fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
6 Tbls butter, sliced into tabs
1) Peel and quarter 4lbs of Yukon gold potatoes.
2) Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. (Cover the pot with a lid and the potatoes will cook faster.) 
3) Bring water to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, approximately 30 minutes. (Because I put a lid on the pot, my potatoes took 20 minutes to cook.)  
4) Drain potatoes and return to the pot or a large bowl.
5) Add remaining ingredients to pot with potatoes in small quantities and mix with beaters. Begin at low speed and switch to medium speed as mixture combines. (Original recipe writer should have had you add all the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the butter. That gets added in the end.)   
6) You're finished with the mixture when it is creamy and smooth.
7) Decision time: eat now or freeze.
8) To eat now, top with the 6 tabs of butter and enjoy.
9) To freeze: Transfer mixture to 9 x 11 baking dish. You can also divide the mixture between smaller baking tins or plastic containers that will go in the freezer.
10) Top with the 6 tabs of butter.
11) Wrap freezer containers with aluminum foil, followed by plastic wrap. (I have never heard of packaging food this way to go into the freezer. I have always wrapped with plastic wrap first and then if it is going to be in there for awhile, I add a layer of foil. I tried searching the internet on which way is truly the best and could not find anything. Any thoughts?)
11) Label and freeze.
When you are ready to use the potatoes, defrost your pan in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Stir to mix in the butter. Potatoes should be heated through to a temperature of 145F.
I did not care for these potatoes being warmed up this way. Uncovered these formed a light crust that did not mix in well while stirring in the butter. I preferred warming them in the crock pot, covered. That way the moisture stayed there and no crust developed.
Serving Suggestions: Enjoy with any delicious dinner. I agree. We had steak, these potatoes and broccoli. A delicious dinner was had by all.
Nutritional Information
12 Servings
Amount per serving: 
Calories:               233     
Fat:                         14g
Carbs:                 25.6 g
Fiber                     2.8 g
Protein:                  4.1g
Weight Watchers Points Plus Values: 7 
Tips and Suggestions
This recipe is very versatile. Here are some tips to get the most out of your make ahead mashed potatoes recipe:

• Freeze potatoes in small containers like large muffin tins or air tight ziplock containers or bags. We recommend using potatoes within 2-3 months of freezing. Longer storage may effect the quality of the dish, but does not pose a safely issue.
• Picky eaters may not like to see the green specks of parsley, take this ingredient out for a kid-friendly dish.
• A crock-pot is an excellent way to heat and keep potatoes warm for easy entertaining - and it frees up the oven for another use.
• Allow about 3/4 cup of mashed potatoes per person. This recipe yields about 9 cups and will feed 12 people. (If you are a family of healthy (meaning big portion) eaters this will feed about 6 people.)
• Yukon gold or russet potatoes will work best with this recipe because they absorb less water when cooking. (Totally agree. I used Yukon gold and they really were yummy good.)
• Try these potatoes on top of Shepherd's Pie.

Final Thoughts:
These potatoes really did live up to their name of being creamy potatoes. Proportionally balanced with the right amount of potatoes and creamy ingredients. The next time I make them I am going to add 1 tsp of garlic powder, because in my opinion you can never have too much of a good thing. The prep time for these potatoes from pantry to table was 34 minutes. 
Final grade: 4 pins
If you just hopped over here from Pinterest, Welcome! Feel free to check out any of the other recipes I have reviewed. And come back for another visit sometime soon. - Lynn