Recipe Review: Disney's Epcot Center Whipped Potatoes

I am always looking for new side dishes to try and I usually am not thrilled with the ones I find, but this one is a winner.

First off, I LOVE mashed potatoes AND cream cheese, so what did I have to lose? I did not tell my boyfriend about the cream cheese until after he tasted this. (He hates cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt...the big baby.) He loved them. My oldest daughter, like me, could not get enough. My youngest does not like mashed potatoes. I made her at least try this, though, and although she was not raving about them she did eat all of hers without whining.

I have to say one very important thing: BEWARE!!! These are so good you will want them all the time. Unfortunately, you can see from the recipe that this is full of fat and calories. It is probably best saved for special occasions. I have already made it twice in the last month.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled
1 stick unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 C. warmed milk maximum (1/4 C. milk recommended)
1 T. salt
Black pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender. 
Add all ingredients in large bowl and blend with mixer.

Tips:

• Sit the cream cheese and butter out while you are cooking the potatoes to soften it a little. Then put them in the bowl before adding the potatoes. The heat from the potatoes on top softens it even more. 
• Start with a little milk at a time. I put a little less than 1/4 C. in to start. About half way through mixing I added a little more. This recipe makes very thick and fluffy potatoes. Try not to add too much milk and make them runny. 
• Don't skimp on the salt. I tend to not like salt much, but when I tried this with less salt than recommended it came out a tad sweet because of the amount of dairy in this recipe. 
• If you do not have a standing mixer (like me) pick a bowl that you can easily turn on your counter while you mix. Because this is so thick your hand WILL get tired trying to get it all blended. It is worth sticking it out to get them perfectly creamy, though. 

Yummy Beef Tips update

Tonight I tried the beef tip recipe in my crock pot. If you did not see the original recipe post please click HERE.
I put all of the ingredients in the crock pot EXCEPT the broccoli. I didn't want it to be too overcooked. I added a few layers of paper towels under the lid to catch the excess moisture. Then I cooked it on low for 8 hours, adding the broccoli at the 6 hour mark.

A few observations:

• Ten hours would have been better. The meat was not as tender as when I made it in the oven. It was still delicious, though.
• I was home to change the paper towels a few times. There is a LOT of moisture. Make sure to put lots of layers under the lid, especially if you will be out for the day. 
• The broccoli should probably only be in for one hour. It was fine, but a bit overdone for my taste. 
• I used Campbell's cream of mushroom this time instead of the organic brand I used originally and there is a difference. It was still very yummy, but not as irresistible as the first time. 
• This time I served it over egg noodles. It wasn't bad, but I prefer it over rice. It felt like fancy Hamburger Helper over the noodles.

Verdict:

It is still a great meal and a nice option if you want something that can be left cooking for 10 hours, but for the best effect you want to cook it in the oven as originally intended. 

Recipe Review: Yummy Beef Tips

I hit the jackpot on this one! I have to say that this is THE best recipe I have found online and I will be making this over and over and OVER!!!

My Pinterest "Noms" board is full of recipes I would like to try, but most are a bit more complicated and I have been putting them off. And if you have been reading this blog you know that they don't always turn out so great. (See Crock Pot Lasagna)

This recipe comes from Mommy's Kitchen and she has a lot of what appear to be great recipes. This one seems to be her most popular so I am not overly surprised that it is so delicious. I am a bit surprised that I managed to pull it off so well, however.

First of all, as I have mentioned,  I don't always do things by the book. This was no exception. In fact, I messed up a few things and now I have basically invented an entirely different recipe. I still want to promote the Mommy's Kitchen recipe, because it looks amazing, but I can't personally attest to it since I am so inept that I couldn't even follow the recipe.

• Stew meat (1 lb, but can double that with same ingredients)
• 1 pkg brown gravy mix
• 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used an organic soup with low sodium)
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• Broccoli
• Garlic powder and black pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp each)

• Preheat over to 300 degrees
• Place the meat, broccoli and onion evenly in casserole dish 
• Sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper
• Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl then pour on to meat and veggies

Make sure the dish is well sealed. I have a covered casserole dish, but tightly covered with foil is all you need. 

This dish will cook for 3 hours. DO NOT CHECK IT. Just leave it and in 3 hours it is tender and amazingly delicious!!

I had this over white rice, but over egg noodles or mashed potatoes would probably be just as delicious. 

Pretty much the BEST meal ever!

I plan to try this in a crock pot as well. I think on low while I am at work will do fine. And add a few paper towels under the lid to capture the extra moisture. I will let you know in comments when I give this a try. It will be cooked again soon!