Countdown to Thanksgiving - Easy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

                 

Today I am going to share my favorite way to make homemade mashed potatoes.  They are easy to make, and a perfect addition to your holiday meal. 

Sorry the photos are so dark, I took these pictures years ago when I started making mashed potatoes this way.  I think I may need to take some new photos this Thanksgiving. :)) 

**this post contains affiliate links 

 When I made this batch, I used 6-7 small potatoes to make 4-6 servings.  I peeled the potatoes, cut them into smallish pieces, and then put them in my slow cooker.  Instead of cooking them in water, I cooked them in broth.  I set the slow cooker on high, and cooked them for 4 hours.  

At the end of the cooking time, the potatoes were super soft, tender and easy to mash. While mashing them I added in a little milk, butter, garlic and salt and pepper.

The kids LOVED them made this way, and requested I make them this way all the time.  It is so easy, and its the only way I make them now.  

If you in the market for a slow cooker, I found this one on Amazon that has dividers for cooking two things at once.  That would be really nice for when you cooking smaller portions.  It is highly rated, and a reasonable price.  

Here is another highly rated best seller from Amazon.  It is 7 qts, Crock Pot brand, and currently $20 off.  It looks like a great deal.  You can see the deal here.

Today's shopping tip is another amazing deal, that would also make a great Christmas gift.   For a limited time you can get a FREE 11x14  Canvas People  canvas print of your favorite photo. I have several Canvas People  canvases like this one of my kids at Christmas when they were younger.  Definitely go check out them out. 

Only one more day of our Thanksgiving countdown. See you tomorrow! 

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How to host a SUPER BOWL party

 

    Super Bowl Party Pack

* I am a long time affiliate for Oriental Trading Company some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  

Are you ready for some football?  I know I am!  I have been a life long Bengals fan, and it is so EXCITING to see them finally going back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years! 

33 years is a very long time! 

The last time the Bengals went to the Super Bowl, I was a single college student watching the big game in my dorm room with friends.  I am now a mother of three adult children, and the age of many grandmothers.  Back in the day, I had a huge crush on the quarterback of the Bengals, Boomer Easiason.  I even named my cat after him back in 1990.  l now have a crush on Joe Burrows. He is the age of my oldest child, but I love how he has lead our team for the worst in the league to the Super Bowl in only two years.  So this year, I will definitely be invested in the outcome of the Super Bowl.

Inflatable Buffet Cooler

We have had a few Super Bowl parties over the years, and one of my favorite items to put out is the Inflatable Buffet Cooler from Oriental Trading.  It is huge,and can be used in a variety of ways. We used it to hold all of the snack containers, but it can be filled with ice to keep your drinks and cold foods cold. 

It's not too late to find Super Bowl decorations like this Super Bowl LVI tablecloth, or the entire party pack link under the picture at the top of this post. 

Another option is this tableware set, that includes everything pictured. 

Or if you prefer to decorate and use your favorite teams decor, they have team tailgating packs. Who Dey!

This football stadium backdrop  would be great for a photo booth for your guests. 

We have used Oriental Trading partyware at our parties as well, like these football themed chili bowls.  They are the perfect size for not only chili but also appetizers like meatballs or dip. 

Another decoration that I have used at multiple parties are these hanging football paper lanterns.

For a limited time, Oriental Trading has FREE shipping 

use CE224573 at check out.  You will also receive a $10 Ecard if you make a purchase through  midnight Tuesday Feb 8th. 

Once you have your decorations figured out, it is time for everyone's favorite part of a Super Bowl party and that is the FOOD.   Here are the recipes to what I like to serve at our parties.    

cheesy broccoli dip

warm cheesy bacon dip

football pops

The warm ham and cheese sliders,  the cheesy bacon tator tot skewers and the party meatballs and call be found at this link here.

Quick and easy air fryer cheesy stuffed mushrooms

quick and easy nachos

slow cooker lasagna

Now it is time to enjoy the party, spend time with friends, and HAVE FUN! 

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Crockpot Potato Soup - Feature of the Day

I had a little help picking today's Feature of the Day today.  I asked Kara which post did she think I should feature, and she chose Crockpot Potato Soup by 3GLOL (Three Generations Living Out Loud). I was happy to see her choice was for a meal that we can make on busy winter nights.  With our activities, there are nights when we need to pull out the crock pot. because there is not a lot of time to cook dinner.  Be sure to stop over to 3GLOL to get this yummy recipe that is good for dinner, game day or family get togethers.  Thank you so much Bobbi for linking up to this week's Dare to Share!  

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Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

Mondays are our busy day around here.  Because we are pressed for time, I have started using my slow cooker more. I think I am going to start a series where I share a slow cooker recipe that we have tried each week.  Yesterday I found some chicken legs in the freezer, and decided to try a sweet and sour chicken.   I looked for recipes online, but I did not have the ingredients for most of them.    I found one on bhg.com that I had most of the ingredients, so I used that recipe as a guideline.

I am a Rachel Ray type of cook, so I don't really measure.  This might drive you a bit crazy if you need exact measurements, because I just eyeballed the amounts until they looked good.  I will do my best to guesstimate.

This is what I used to make my sauce

About a cup of pineapple juice

Brown sugar (my brown sugar was hard so I just broke off as much as I could) I guess I used a few Tablespoons to a 1/4 cup

Ketchup.  I added about 5 to 6 big squirts.

Just a teeny bit of vinegar

2 Tablespoons of corn starch

Mix sauce well

Sprinkle some salt on the chicken in the slow cooker,  and then pour on the sauce. Cook on high for a few hours and then turn down as the chicken starts to brown. I turned my legs once, and occasionally spooned sauce from the pot over them.

When it came out of the pot the chicken was extremely tender and falling off the bone. That is part of the reason why it was so hard to photograph.  I served it over rice with some pineapple on the side.  The family loved it!  We plan on trying this recipe again with other types of chicken.  

I will be sharing my recipe on these wonderful linky parties HERE.

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