Pre-cooking Potatoes For The Week

Request: Pre-cooking Potatoes

Does anyone know if one can pre-cook or partially cook potatoes to be mashed for upcoming dinner? If so, will they taste as good as freshly cooked potatoes? Thanx for any tips on this. Luvyabye

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RE: Pre-cooking Potatoes

This is a family favorite -- a "must have", at our family dinners. You don't taste the cream cheese, it just makes the potatoes very creamy. My husband would not eat these if he could taste the cream cheese since he does not like it.

Baked Mashed Potatoes

• 5 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup half and half, or milk, warmed
• 1 cup butter, melted
• salt and pepper to taste
• paprika and/or parsley

Cook and mash potatoes. Add warmed milk and 3/4 cup of melted butter, salt and pepper and blend. Whip in softened cream cheese. Place in a greased 9x13" baking dish or pan, brush top with remaining butter and sprinkle with paprika and/or parsley. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees, for 30-40 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

These potatoes can be made two days before serving. Just reheat in the oven for about 1 hour. If using Pyrex glass dish, place in oven before preheating. If oven is already in use, bring the glass dish to room temperature. This will prevent the dish from breaking. You can bake this at various temperatures, it just needs to be heated thoroughly -- watch so it doesn't burn. Different spices can be added. I sometimes add a small container of French onion dip along with the other ingredients. This also freezes well, if there are any leftovers. Enjoy! (12/23/2004)

By mkymlp

RE: Pre-cooking Potatoes

You can also cook you potatoes in a crockpot so that you can put them on in the morning then in the afternoon they are hot and ready to be mashed. (12/23/2004)

By shannon in NC

RE: Pre-cooking Potatoes

Thanx for the recipe, mkymlp, it looks delicious. The crockpot is a great idea, Shannon in NC, unfortunately, I don't have a crockpot :( Thanx for taking the time to respond to this question. (12/24/2004)

By Luvyabye

RE: Pre-cooking Potatoes

Hi. If what you want is baked potatoes, you can bake them in 15 minutes in the microwave. If what you want is mashed, bake the potatoes in the am, then add the milk, s and p, butter etc. in the evening. I scrub the potatoes real well (don't peel), poke them all over with a fork, and then cook them 5 minutes right on the clean floor of my microwave. Roll them partly over, zap them another 5 minutes, and repeat. When done, the potatoes should be soft like baked potatoes! If you want mashed, bake them in the am and then put them in the frig. In the evening, cut them open, scoop out the flesh, put it in a pot with the other ingredients, smash with fork, and cook until hot. (12/25/2004)

By Judith