Ahh, Mashed Potatoes! One of my most favorite side dishes. I'll admit, I'm no stranger to the "boxed stuff" - heck, I can liven those up to be pretty tasty. But,... nothing compares to home-made mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs. Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup half & half, room temperature
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add the potatoes with enough water to cover them completely.  Allow to soak for 20 minutes.  (This will remove any excess starch from the potatoes)  Drain the starch liquid and then fill the bowl up one more time with water.  With your hand, or a large spoon stir the potatoes in the water to remove anymore starch that is left.  Drain completely.
2. In a large pot, add the potatoes and fill with enough water to cover completely.  Bring to a boil on medium high heat, about 15 minutes.  The potatoes are ready when they are fork tender.
3. Drain the potatoes completely.  Place the potatoes back into the same pot and return to the stove on medium high heat.  Using a large spoon, stir the potatoes constantly for about 2 minutes.  (This removes any excess moisture on the potatoes)
4. Remove the potatoes from the pot and place them into a large mixing bowl.  With an electric hand mixer, beat the potatoes to the desired consistency.  Add in the butter, half & half, salt and pepper.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

Serves  6-8

• When using a hand mixer, try not to overly beat the potatoes or they will turn gummy.
• Cooking the cooked potatoes on the stove, removes the extra moisture - resulting in a fluffier texture.
• Make sure the consistency of your mashed potatoes is how you want it, before you add in your liquid ingredients.  Adding them in too early, will make it difficult to remove any unwanted lumps later.
• I would suggest adding in the butter and half & half, gradually.  You may find you don't need all of it, or you may prefer adding even more.  It all depends on your taste.