Boil enough water to cover your potatoes by 1" + with salt included. Your water should taste salty. Boil potatoes for 6 - 8 minutes or until a knife can easily slide through them. Don't over boil [make watery/mushy] your spuds or you will end up with watery potatoes you will not be able to salvage. Just keep checking them.

While your spuds are boiling, warm your milk, butter, sour cream and pepper on the stove or in the microwave. Do not boil or overheat. Your milk and butter will foam over quickly if you do causing you to start over.

° Drain your potatoes in a strainer and immediately place them back into your heated pot and light your flame again on medium. ° By hand, mash your potatoes with a kitchen masher and scrape the bottom of the pot as you do. Scrape until you see less and less steam coming from the base of the pot. ° Both of these last two steps are VERY important as they will #1: Burn off any excess water from your salt water boil leaving your spuds thicker & creamier. And, #2: Leave a few scattered lumps in your mashed potatoes. Don't be misled folks, a few lumps are universal indicators of, "homemade & hand mashed!"

° With flame still lit but lowered, add 1/2 of your milk/butter/sour cream/pepper mixture and continue to mix with your potato masher. Slowly add the other half until you've reached your families own desired consistency or viscosity. ° We prefer ours a bit thicker. Especially since these seasoned mashed potatoes aren't served with any gravy, other than butter.

° If you'd like your potatoes a bit thinner = add 1 tablespoon additional milk and mix. Repeat if desired. ° If you'd like them a bit creamier = add additional sour cream tablespoon by tablespoon. ° More buttery? Add additional salted butter tablespoon by tablespoon.