Written by Amelia Huggins<\/p>\n
Ah, the holidays. A great time to catch up with friends, reunite with family, and catch a breather from life. Many people host parties, some might host game nights, and others may simply cuddle up with someone special under a blanket to watch a movie (I recommend either \u201cDoctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness\u201d, \u201cThe Secret Life Of Walter Mitty\u201d<\/span>,<\/span><\/i> or \u201cA Charlie Brown Thanksgiving\u201d if you\u2019re in the mood for a Thanksgiving-themed film).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And of course, when it\u2019s holiday time, it\u2019s also feast time. Turkey, pies, cakes, cookies, sides, drinks, fancy silverware, the whole shabang! We want it all, and after a semester of work, one may even say we need it all. We need a break from life. We need to be able to sit around the table and stuff our faces with friends and family. We need a reason to set the table, and dress up, and celebrate!<\/span><\/p>\n There are many delicious Thanksgiving foods, from the entrees to the deserts to the sides. Mashed potatoes are one of the easiest holiday sides to make. Here\u2019s a recipe for them I found by Stephanie at The Cozy Cook that definitely gives store bought mashed potatoes a run for their money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is recommended to use a starchy potato (such as Yukon Gold or Russet) for ease of mashing.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Step 1: Cut potatoes into \u00be inch slices to ensure even cooking (whether you want to peel the skin is personal preference)<\/span><\/p>\n Step 2: Place potatoes in a pot and submerge with cold water. Slowly bring it to a boil to ensure the ingredients cook evenly<\/span><\/p>\n Step 3: Salt the water<\/span><\/p>\n Step 4: Cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender, drain the water, and then let the potatoes sit for an additional five minutes<\/span><\/p>\n Step 5: Add butter to the potatoes and allow it to melt. Add sour cream and half and half to achieve desired creaminess.<\/span><\/p>\n Step 6: Mash your frustrations away. Imagine the potatoes as the face of your enemy, but make sure not to overmash.<\/span><\/p>\n Step 7: Eat and enjoy!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And as you sit down to enjoy your meal, always remember that no matter what life throws your way, you still have people who love you far and near.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Stephanie. \u201cHomemade Mashed Potatoes.\u201d <\/span>The Cozy Cook<\/span><\/i>, 11 Nov. 2023, thecozycook.com\/homemade-mashed-potatoes\/. )<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by Amelia Huggins Ah, the holidays. A great time to catch up with friends, reunite with family, and catch a breather from life. Many people host parties, some might host game nights, and others may simply cuddle up with someone special under a blanket to watch a movie (I recommend either \u201cDoctor Strange and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}