Mashed Potatoes From Scratch

While making the ultimate comfort food of mashed potatoes, do you often wonder 'how mom used to make them?' Even if you don't know cooking, preparing a steaming bowl of creamy mashed potatoes from scratch shouldn't be a challenging task. It's very simple and you don't need to resort to drastic measures. Just follow the steps listed, to enjoy homemade mashed potatoes. Here are some quick recipes.

Recipe for Beginners

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes(about 2 lbs)
• 1/4th cup unsalted butter
• 3/4th cup whole milk
• Garlic, 4 cloves, peeled and mashed
• 2 tsp salt for taste

Procedure

• Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. If you wish, you can use unpeeled potatoes too. Unpeeled potatoes contain more vitamins than peeled ones.
• Place the potatoes in a large pot and add enough water, so that they are completely covered.
• Once the water starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until fork tender. Time required is about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Drain water from the pot but leave some water, so that the bottom of the pot is just covered with water.
• Add butter and garlic to the potatoes. Mash all three, butter, potatoes and garlic together.
• Don't boil milk, just heat it until hot.
• Pour the milk into the potatoes and stir the mixture until creamy.
• Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
• If you want, you can sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits on top of mashed potatoes, to add flavor.
• Or, if you want, you can add old bay seasoning to the potatoes and sprinkle a little shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Delicious and Healthy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cold mashed potatoes
• 5 cheese cubes
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 packet of dry ranch dressing
• Salt and pepper

Procedure

• Take 2 cups of mashed potatoes. Cool them in refrigerator for one hour minimum, before preparation.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Add 1/2 cup dry ranch dressing packet and a pinch of salt and pepper into the cold potatoes and mix well.
• Take a small handful of the above mixture. Inserting one cheese cube into the center of the potato ball, form a round potato ball around cheese cube, about the size of a tennis ball.
• Roll the ball through breadcrumbs to evenly coat on all sides.
• Place the balls on baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.
• Allow the balls to cool for one minute and then serve. Be careful as cheese in the center might be hot.
• To add special flavor as per your liking, you can add chives, bacon bits and other common potato condiments to add flavor.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 5 large potatoes
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/3rd cup milk
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt and pepper

Procedure

• Peel and dice the potatoes.
• Break the garlic into two pieces. Fill saucepan with water and add salt and broken garlic.
• Bring the water to a boil. You can change the amount of garlic in the boiling water as per your liking.
• Gently put the potatoes into the boiling water and cook until done.
• Drain the water and also remove the garlic cloves.
• Place the potatoes into a large bowl.
• Whip with an electric beater until smooth.
• Add the butter and milk and whip until fluffy.

Everybody loves potatoes. Mashed potatoes from scratch play an important role in a baby's diet, in an old person's diet and in a sick person's diet. Potatoes are loved by all. If you follow the right method of preparation and if you consume them in right proportion, potatoes can help improve your overall health.