½ - 1 cup half & half or a combination of milk and cream*
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
chives, fresh or dried (optional)
Instructions
Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are about the same size (but don't stress over it!).
Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and then add your potatoes. Bring it to a boil and cook the potatoes for about 30 minutes. When they are cooked through a fork should be able to easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance but you don't want the potato to fall apart.
Drain the potatoes in a large colander then place them back into the dry pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat. I use a hand mixer but a potato masher works great here. Allow the steam to escape before adding all the ingredients.
Turn off the heat and add the stick of butter, cream cheese & about ½ a cup milk or half and half or cream. You really can use any combo you want. I've made this with ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream and it worked great. Add the milk until you get the consistency you prefer.
Add the garlic salt, seasoned salt & pepper.
Whip or mash until they are nice and creamy.
Place in a medium sized baking dish (I use a 2/12 quart dish or 9x13" casserole dish) You can add some butter pieces on top if you would like.
Bake at 350 degrees until warmed through.
When you are making this dish in advanced, take it out of the fridge 2 to 3 hours before serving. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until warmed through.
Notes
I have added 4 ounces cream cheese and ½ cup sour cream before and it was good. I prefer them with just the cream cheese and butter but if you like the tang sour cream adds, feel free to sub or add some in.
Recipe by Baked in AZ at http://bakedinaz.com/make-ahead-mashed-potatoes/