Holiday Mashed Potatoes in the InstaPot

I only make one recipe when it comes to my Holiday Mashed Potatoes and that is with The Pioneer Woman's recipe.  I follow this recipe exactly as written except I make the potatoes in the InstaPot for convenience and speed.Ingredients/Directions

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes

• 3/4 cups Butter

• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened

• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half

• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt

• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size.  Add to InstaPot along with 1 - 1 1/2 cups water.  Cook Manual, High for 14 minutes.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through. * Since I make these the day ahead this step is skipped until serving day.Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.  

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Casserole (InstaPot and Oven)

To create this years Sweet Potato Casserole I decided to use the InstaPot for the hard part - cooking the sweet potatoes.  This way I didn't have to watch over a boiling pot.They turned out fantastic, but a bit too sweet for my liking (completely my fault btw) so I know what to do to adjust them. First I took this recipe from the One Happy Housewife Blog 

6 cups cut sweet potatoes

2 cups brown sugar

5 tbsp melted butter

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground allspice

½ cup milk

½ cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup crushed pineapple

1 cup water

Directions

Wash, peel and cut the sweet potatoes and then add them to the Instant Pot.

Add 1 cup of water, close the pot and set to Manual, High Pressure for 4 minutes.

Once cooking has completed, do a QPR (Quick Pressure Release) and open the pot once all the pressure has been released.

Mash the potatoes and then add the milk, whipping cream and melted butter and mix in well.

Next add the brown sugar and spices and mix in well. Once the spices have been thoroughly mixed in, add the walnuts and pineapple and mix into the casserole.

Spoon the mix into a baking dish and then place in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. This will thicken and darken the casserole. The longer you leave the casserole in the oven, the thicker and darker it will become.Remove the casserole from the oven and fluff with a fork to release the steam so that the casserole will continue to thicken and cool.

Topping

• Let the casserole cool for 10-15 minutes after taking it out of the oven.

• Once cooled, cover the top of the casserole with a layer of marshmallows and then add cherries throughout.

• Turn the oven to the Low Broil setting. Place the baking dish back into the oven on the middle rack and broil for approximately 3-5 minutes.

• Keep a constant eye on the casserole! The marshmallows will brown quickly and a little distraction could lead to burned marshmallows!

My adjustments.... To make it a bit healthier I substituted Brown Sugar for Splenda Brown Sugar but I forgot to adjust the measurements and so it was very sweet.  I think next time I would only use 1 1/2 cups of the Splenda Brown Sugar.  I also did not use cherries or the walnuts. That really made no difference in the outcome and I doubt I will ever add them back into it.   

Yvonne's Done-to-death Apple Bread

Yvonne's Done-to-death Apple Bread

From the 2Peas Board

oven 325, bakes in about 1 hour and 10 minutes

3 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups chopped, pared, cored apples (about 3-4) (this puts to good use that darned apple/peeler/corer slicer thing you got at a Pampered Chef party years ago and never used!)

1 cup chopped pecans topping:

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to slow 325. Grease and flour two 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans (or I use those mini loaf pans)

2. Stir together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla in medium sized bowl until well mixed.

3. Combine the flour, soda and cinnamon on piece of waxed paper, and then then stir into liquid ingredients until just evenly mixed. Stir in the apples and pecans. The mixture will be very thick and gloppy. Divide between the loaf pans.

4: Prepare the topping: combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small cup, and sprinkle over the loaves.

5: Bake in preheated slow oven at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes, approximately.

Check it carefully with a tester inserted in center comes out CLEAN. Make sure it's done. Sometimes in my oven they take longer than the time specified. Make sure they are done. Nothing worse than raw middle. Let the breads cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the pans. Remove the breads from the pans to wire racks to cool.The breads are better the second day. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or foil and store at room temperature.

Candied Peanuts

Candied Peanuts

 

From Southern Plate Blog

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 2 cups raw peanuts (skin on)

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Add peanuts to sugar water and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the peanuts are completely sugar coated and no sugar syrup remains, about thirty minutes.
3. Pour out onto ungreased cookie sheet and spread out a bit. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet and then store in sealed container.