Sunday, December 5, 2010

E: Christmas Love & Broccoli and Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Hi all! How are you? Hope your weekend is treating you well! Ours has been pretty low key and a lot of fun! I finished decorating up the house:

 christmas 001

  christmas 003

And we even (finally!) took our Christmas card picture (gotta love Frank’s crazy eyes):

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We also attended two Christmas parties. The first was a catered event for our neighborhood and was a good time. The second was a party at one of the other group fitness instructor’s houses. We always do potlucks and this time, I brought broccoli & cheddar mashed potatoes (deliciousness). I used this Rachael Ray recipe as the base and made just a few adjustments to make a bigger batch with a LITTLE more flavor

Ingredients:

  • 1 large head of broccoli, chopped
  • 4 lbs potato, chopped into 1 inch cubes
potatoes 001
  • Vegetable broth or water
  • 1 1/2-2 cups skim or low fat milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter or butter substitute
  • 1 1/2 cups 2% milk sharp cheddar
  • Desired quantities salt and pepper.

Directions:

Place potatoes in the bottom of a large pot. Cover with vegetable broth (for more flavor) or water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for ~10 minutes. Add broccoli and cook until potatoes and broccoli are nice and tender. Drain potatoes/broccoli.

Add potatoes/broccoli to the bowl of a standing mixture(you will need to do this in batches). Add butter, cheddar and ¼ cup of milk. Blend. Continue to add milk until you reach desired consistency (I like mine just a little chunky). Add salt and pepper as needed.

To keep my potatoes warm for the party, I sprayed my slow cooker with non stick spray, add the broccoli & cheddar mashed potatoes and kept the slow cooker on the warm setting.

 

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I was super happy with how this dish turned out!

Now, I’m off to a blogger brunch. I also have a nice walk and LOTS of baking on tap today. What about you?

29 comments:

Lauren said...

The house looks spectacular! And the C-Card pic turned out adorable!!! You guys make the cutest family. ;)

Glad it has been such a wonderful weekend. And have a great brunch today. ;)
<3 you!

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

what a great looking job on the xmas decorations at your casa! and the tater dish you brought to the potluck...lucky party-go'ers :)

have a fun day baking!

Pound said...

what are you baking?

we are decorating our tree and prob watching Christmas Vacation!

Simply Life said...

Oh your decorations look adorable!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

Oo love how the decorations turned out--simple and stunning! And you guys make the cutest little fam ever--love it!
This potato recipe sounds fab, I might have to make it for a beading party I am having next week. I'd make it for Christmas, but my dad always insists on just PLAIN mashed potatoes HAHA

Anonymous said...

The Christmas card pic turned out awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those potatoes look deeeelish! =D

Jessica @ How Sweet said...

Your tree is beautiful! And I absolutely LOVE the pic of your guys. Such a gorgeous couple!

Amelia said...

Your holiday decorations are beautiful! Feel free to visit and decorate my apartment. ;) Reading this post makes me really miss our house and Charleston....as well as the brunch and wonderful friends.

I am busy studying anatomy & physiology today as well as finishing up a paper and working on a project for our baking class.

Tiffany @ The Chi-Athlete said...

Awwww, your decorations are so gorgeous! I'm helping my parents put up the tree and the rest of the outside lights today! I may even talk Momma into helping me make these smashed taters. :D Have an amazing afternoon, doll!

Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean said...

Love the xmas card photo!!!

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

ooh those mashed potatoes look so good! I have a ton of broccoli from my CSA. I should try it out. YUM! Have fun at the blogger meet-up. :)

erica said...

Your Christmas card picture looks absolutely adorable. Frank is seriously so cute. The potatoes look delish as well.

PS I received my cookbook yesterday! Thank you :]

xo

Faith said...

Your tree is gorgeous and I love your Christmas card picture! Mmm, the mashed potatoes look fantastic! Hope you have a great Sunday!

Stephanie in Suburbia said...

These look so great! I have to come up with a side for our prime rib Christmas Eve dinner and this is now on my short list!

Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather said...

That'll be a cute Christmas card!

I just finished getting my blogger baked goods all ready to go! It's been fun baking a ton. Love spending time in the kitchen.

We got out Christmas decor up this weekend. It's starting to feel like Christmas :)

Corey @ the runner's cookie said...

The pictures is adorable! And I would love to try those potatoes...mashed has been getting kind of boring for me, so that would be a great alternative!
I'm going to be doing a lot of baking today too :)

teresa said...

cute picture!! i love the broccoli mashed potatoes, broccoli has sch a great flavor, i bet it makes those potatoes even better!

Paige (Running Around Normal) said...

What a cute little fam! I was thinking about doing Christmas cards this year too :)
Those mashed potatoes look delicious!!

Julie said...

i'm pretty sure you need to drive to new york for a blogger brunch with me :) i'll take you to see the rockafeller xmas tree as a ploy haha

riiight now i'm breaking from researching. gahhh i want these two weeks to be over so i can enjoy some holiday festivities!

your holiday card is obvi adorable

Kerr said...

what a great xmas photo!

Anonymous said...

I love the Christmas photo!

Tina Marie Frawley said...

Love the decorations. I think Frank looks cute...crazy eyes and all! We should really get him and Buck together sometime with Mandi's "kids"

BroccoliHut said...

You KNOW I am all over those broccoli-infused taters!

Denise Michaels - Adventurous Foodie said...

Ahhhh... I wish my decorations were done. We got the tree up two weeks ago but were out of town last weekend. I wanted to get the decorations up this weekend but I've got quite a cold and decided my body needed rest.

What a brilliant idea for the mashed potatoes. They look delish. I think I have all the ingredients except the cheese at home. They will be on our dinner table (a smaller version) in the next couple days.

carla said...

how cute are you two by the tree!!

Krista said...

Sounds like you've had a great few days, Erica! The potatoes look pretty darn tasty, too. :)

Nutmeg Nanny said...

Awww your holiday decorations look amazing! That tree is beautiful :)

Ok so those potatoes are calling my name! Making them!

lynn said...

xmas decorations and mashed potatoes - aaaaah!

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

oh my gosh, i LOVE your fam photo by the tree! it is perfect!