Every year, my Aunt Donna and my Uncle Gerry cook lunch and dinner for anywhere between 60 and 80 family members while we all vacation at the Jersey shore. It’s unbelievably amazing food. Chicken Parmesan with freshly made mozzarella, Aunt Patty’s Italian Salad, pork rolls stuffed with spinach and cheese. For $110/person for 9 days, we eat like kings.
As we sat down to our dinner last night (roast beef, juicy and sliced super thin, just the way I like it!), I was blown away by the mashed potatoes. I make my own mashed potatoes at home from scratch and with love. My mashed potatoes take forever and they’re pretty amazing if do say so myself but these were better. In fact, these were WAY better. Everyone at our table couldn’t stop talking about them.
I asked for for the recipe and couldn’t believe that they were made from instant potatoes specifically to freeze for the Jersey shore trip every year. Seriously!
These freezer mashed potatoes are AMAZING!
If you’re new to freezer cooking, you should check out Once a Month Freezer Cooking, as it’s completely rocked my world. This is perfect for your freezer cooking plan, for a big dinner (Thanksgiving. Christmas, birthdays etc), or to feed a crowd on vacation. You could also easily pack it into 6 separate containers to use for your family of 4.
When I see a good thing, I pass it along to you. Especially when it saves time and money!
Once the potatoes are made, spoon them into a foil serving pan, with a foil top that can be pinched closed (I buy them from Party City, but if you have a Prime membership, they’re a similar price here on Amazon). Then use a permanent marker or a freezer label to list the contents of the dish, reheating instructions, and the date frozen. I rotate my freezer selections to make sure that everything in the freezer is used up within 4 months.
- 3 pounds of Instant Mashed Potatoes (we buy ours from Sam's Club)
- Milk as required by instant mashed potato box
- ½ Tablespoon Butter
- 1 Onion
- 2 Bars of Cream cheese (8 oz)
- 1 Egg
- Parley Flakes as needed
- 1 Foil Serving Pan (Full Sized Casserole Pan)
- Saute Onion in ½ Tablespoon of Butter
- Take the amount of liquid required by the box of instant potatoes and add them together, then subtract a half of a cup. Add that amount of equal measurements of both milk and water to the onions. *Do not add additional butter even if it's listed in the directions for the instant potatoes*.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add in the instant potatoes and mix. The potatoes will be very stiff.
- Add the cream cheese, burying it into the potatoes to help it melt and mix.
- Add the egg and parsley flakes, mixing again.
- Let cool, then cover and label with contents, date and reheating instructions.
- To reheat:
- Let thaw completely.
- Place in a buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour covered.
- Remove the cover and bake for another ½ hour uncovered.
- For the last 15 minutes, dot the dish with butter,
I hope you love these as much as we love these! Aunt Donna and Uncle Gerry have been making us these amazing vacations dinners for over 15 years!
What’s your favorite freezer cooking side dish?
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