Soul Sweet Potatoes

 

If you are to make one recipe for next year's Thanksgiving or Christmas or anytime it's this one!  Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman has never steered me wrong before and this is no exception.  We're going to call it a side dish, but it's so sweet it could double as a dessert.  But hey, since there are sweet potatoes in it, it must be healthy, right? 

 

Soul Sweet Taters

found in Food Network Magazine, November 2012

 

4 medium sweet potatoes

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup flour

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

 

Preheat oven to 375.  Put the sweet potatoes on the oven rack and bake until fork-tender, about 45 minutes.  When potatoes are finished cooking, let cool slightly, about five minutes.  Slice them open lengthwise and scrape out the flesh with a fork into a large bowl. 

 

*Note: I did the above the day before I planned to serve the dish.

 

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Add the granulated sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt to the bowl with the sweet potatoes.  Mash the mixture with a potato masher until combined and slightly lumpy.

 

Now, in a separate bowl, mash the brown sugar, pecans, flour, and butter with a pastry cutter or fork until thoroughly combined.  The mixture should resemble a crumble. 

 

Spread the sweet potato mixutre in a oval-shaped baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture over top.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I've grown up with the idea that the only warm green vegetable to be served at a Thanksgiving is green bean casserole (preferably made with canned green beans and french fried onions on top).  But, since I was hosting this year, I thought I would try something new.  Each week I see brussel sprouts at the grocery store, and each week I pass over them not sure what to do with them.  But then I found a good sounding recipe for Balsamic Roasted Carrots and Brussel Sprouts on Pintrest and thought that I would try them. 

They were really easy to put together, and although they were a little stinky while roasting, they were delicious!  The sprouts and carrots got caramelized during roasting - yum!

This little pilgrim asked for seconds!  So they must have been good!

Bacon-Cornbread Stuffing

I've never made homemade stuffing before (I'm a Stove Top kind of gal) but thought I would try to make some for Thankgiving.  When I saw this recipe in the November 2012 Everyday Food magazine I thought I would try it.  After all, who doesn't like bacon!

 

Bacon-Cornbread Stuffing

serves 8

1 pan cornbread (8" square) cut into 1/2 inch cubes

8 slices white sandwich bread (I used the multigrain I had on hand)

4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small yellow onion, diced small

2 stalks celery, diced medium

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped sage leaves

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 3/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread cornbread and bread onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry and golden, about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile in a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about five minutes.  Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook about four minutes.  Stir in sage and transfer to a large bowl.

 

Add cornbread, bread, eggs, broth, parsley, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Toss until combined.  Let sit five minutes, then toss again.  Put in casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

Pilgrim Hats

Caroline helped make some little dessert cookies for Thanksgiving this year.  They were similar to the ones she made for Halloween.  But these are little pilgrim hats.  She put a little bit of tinted yellow frosting on the bottom of a minature peanut butter cup and placed it on top of an Oreo creme cookie.  I put a little frosting on the front to make a little buckle.  Voila!  A great craft activity and a tasty little treat!

Thanksgiving 2012

Even though the Thanksgiving meal is finished, the dishes done, and even the fall decor put away, you are still welcome to come to our virtual Thanksgiving.

 

Would you like a glass of water or wine?  A little something sweet to nibble on?  Caroline made pilgrim hats (post to follow) and we also had impossible pumpkin pie cupcakes.

They look good, don't they?!

Have a seat then and we'll get ready to eat! 

I saw these cornacopias on Pintrest and just had to try making them.  I dipped store bought sugar cones in warm water and then microwaved them for about twenty seconds.  Then I was able to bend them up to a cornacopia shape.  I filled each one with some chocolate kisses.  Very cute and very festive!

Would you care for some Balsamic Roast Brussel Sprouts?

Sweet Potatoes?

or Bacon Cornbread Stuffing to go along with your turkey? 

I'm so thankful that you joined us!

A Thanksgiving Confession

Tomorrow will be the first time I've ever hosted a Thanksgiving.  I'm a little nervous to get the two turkey breasts fully cooked (only because I've never done anything like that before).  But I'm not at all worried about anything else.  Due to my extreme Type A-ness (be careful how you say it!!) I of course over planned! 

A couple of weeks ago I planned the menu and then last week I wrote out what needed to be done each day leading up to Turkey Day so that Thursday isn't quite to hectic. 

For instance, Monday I got out my serving dishes and labeled what was going to go in each. 

And I got my buffet ready.  I'm planning on using this to hold the beverages and desserts.

I'll be back with a full run down on the meal and if I would recommend any of the new recipes!

Slow Roasted Turkey with Gravy

Over Thanksgiving weekend watched America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Does anyone else love this show?

Anyway, they made what they said was the best roast turkey. We knew we would have to try this ourselves. And I am so glad we did. It was fantastic!

We didn't alter the recipe at all, so here's the link.

Garlicky Cranberry Chutney

I had seen my cousin Tracy's recipe for Thanksgiving Garlicky Cranberry Chutney in my family's cookbook. Now, I'm usually okay with a can of cranberries for my holiday meal. But I am so glad I made this! It's sweet, tangy, with just a little zip - perfect for any holiday meal. And it's amazing on leftover turkey sandwiches. Needless to say, I'm excited to make it again for Christmas!

Thanksgiving Garlicky Cranberry Chutney
by Tracy Jones
1 inch fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can cranberry sauce (with berries)
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper

Cut ginger into paper thin slices. Stack together and cut into thin slivers. Combine ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and cayenne in sauce pan. Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes or until there is about 4 tablespoons of liquid left. Add cranberries, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Note: This is great to make the day ahead of Thanksgiving because it does NOT smell like part of a delicious thanksgiving turkey dinner. However, it is fantastic with turkey and with leftovers and turkey sandwiches.

Dreamy Apple Pie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a great time celebrating and spending time with family. One of the recipes I made was this pie I found on Pioneer Woman. It is perhaps the best apple pie that I have ever made. You MUST try this! I didn't alter the recipe at all, so here's a link to it. Dreamy Apple Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving today! We spent part of the day in Claremont at my grandma's house for lunch. It was delicious! I love it when everyone brings a dish for a holiday meal - that way you can try all sorts of new things. Yum!!

I brought two things for the holiday meal - low fat sweet potatoes and a lettuce salad.

The sweet potatoes was a new recipe that I found in a Weight Watchers magazine. They were easy and fantastic! I'm even looking forward to the leftovers.

Sweet Potato Crunch

Serves 8
2 points per serving

4 sweet potatoes

1 1/2 cups vanilla nonfat yogurt

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup low fat granola

Place washed sweet potatoes in oven and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40-60 minutes or until they are soft to the touch. After the potatoes have cooled, remove the skin.

Place sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add yogurt, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Whip on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

Coat cooking dish with cooking spray. Scoop potato mixture into the prepared dish.

Sprinkle granola evenly across the top of the potatoes and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

The other dish I brought was a Cashew-Pear Tossed Salad. I like to make this for group meals, since it's a large salad. Plus the flavors compliment a variety of dished...not to mention it is delicious! I tweaked it a bit for our own tastes, but here's the whole recipe.

Cashew-Pear Tossed Salad

from Carla Sanderson (Claremont United Methodist Church cookbook)

1 bunch romaine lettuce, torn

1 cup salted cashews (I left out)

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I left out)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 medium pear, thinly sliced

2/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tsp finely chopped red onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1-2 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp mustard

In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cheese, pear, cashews, and cranberries. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the remaining ingredients; shake well. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.