Deluxe Sweet Potato Casserole

Everyone loves sweet potatoes, right?  Well, I didn't think they were that great when I was younger.  I ate them wanting so badly to like them.  The flavor was good but the stringy texture kept getting in the way.  My mom found this recipe at some point when I was in junior high or high school.  After that I had no problem eating my vegetables on Thanksgiving.  Of course, if you can add sugar, vanilla, and marshmallows to a vegetable and make it taste good, you're golden.  I know there are several versions of this recipe floating around but this is the one I like the best.  To get rid of the stringy-ness you can put the cooked sweet potatoes in your food processor to make it smoother.  But I think mashing them works pretty good too.  Don't forget to keep an eye on the casserole while it is in the oven toasting the marshmallows.  You let it go too long and the marshmallows evaporate.  You can make this the night before and bake right before serving.  They retain their heat really well so blow before you take your first bite.  I hope you like them.  And HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Deluxe Sweet Potato Casserole

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8-10 minutes
 

Ingredients:

3 c. sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
2/3 c. sugar
½ c. evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla
½ stick margarine
½ t. salt
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. pecans
1 T. flour
¼ stick margarine
Marshmallows
Directions: Preheat oven to 325°.  Mix the potatoes, sugar, milk, vanilla, margarine and salt; pout into a 2 quart greased baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes.  To prepare topping; Combine the brown sugar, pecans, flour and margarine; sprinkle on top of potatoes.  Top with miniature marshmallows.  Return to oven for 5 minutes or until the marshmallows are toasted.

Frozen Cranberry Salad

Thanksgiving is coming up more quickly than I am prepared for.  But I am looking forward to eating good food and spending time with great people  This is one of the dishes that I am planning on taking to Thanksgiving dinner.  This is not a new recipe, in fact it is probably one of the oldest recipes that I use.  If you were to stop by a Randall home on Thanksgiving you would probably find this lovely pink frozen treat on your plate.  I love the sweet/tart flavor.  It is fantastic with poultry and pork.  Not to mention it needs to be made ahead of time, who doesn't need that on Thanksgiving?  Kids gobble this up, no pun intended and I bet you will too.  This works best if you have a food processor.  You can use a blender but it's a bit sticky and takes longer.  My mom used to use a hand meat grinder, which I still think works the best.

Frozen Cranberry Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes + standing and freezing time
Cook Time: None – Hooray!
Yield: 2 loaf pans
 

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Cranberries
2 c. apples
1 c. sugar
½ pkg. Miniature marshmallows
1 pint heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
Directions: Grind cranberries and apples.  Add sugar and marshmallows and stir.  Let stand in refrigerator overnight or for 8 hours.  Add the cream and nuts.  Distribute evenly into 2 bread pans that have been lined with foil.  Freeze until set, about 4 hours in a deep freezer. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Confession:  I do not like tomatoes.  Clarification: I do not like fresh tomatoes.  I like pretty much anything made out of  tomatoes however.  So when Greg picked the last of our tomatoes off the vines before the hard freeze he challenged me to find a recipe and make fried green tomatoes.  I wasn't really excited to try them because I have a tiny bit of prejudice towards them.  I don't really like red tomatoes and I thought green ones would be worse.  But I tried them and guess what, I loved them.  They were a little sweet, a little spicy, a little crunchy, a little not.  I had no idea that they would be that tasty but all those Southerners can't be wrong.  The stuff you use to coat the tomatoes with makes a lot and so I dipped my chicken in it and fried that too.  Delicious.  I was also a bit worried about the remoulade sauce that was recommended as a dipping sauce, but it was also very tasty.  I didn't put in the entire ½ teaspoon hot sauce since I wanted it to still be kid friendly.  Think a slightly spicy fry sauce. I hope you like them too.

 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes for each batch
Yield: 4 servings as a side dish
Family Friendliness: Those that tried it, liked it.
 

Ingredients:

3 medium, firm green tomatoes
Salt
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. Cajun seasoning – optional
½ c. milk or buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 c. cornmeal (it was recommended to me to use white cornmeal, which I found at Wal-mart.)
½ c. fine dry bread crumbs
¼ c. peanut oil or other vegetable oil
Directions: Cut unpeeled tomatoes into ½ inch slices.  Sprinkle slices with salt.  Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix the flour and Cajun seasoning in a shallow bowl.  Mix buttermilk and egg in another shallow bowl.  Mix bread crumbs and cornmeal in another shallow bowl.  Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.  Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix.  In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown.  Set the cooked tomatoes on the paper towels to drain.  Serve with remoulade sauce.

Remoulade Sauce

Yield: ¾ cup

¾ c. mayonnaise

1/8 c. mustard (Creole mustard if possible)
½ T. sweet paprika (I used regular paprika)
½ t. to 1 t. Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 t. prepared horseradish
½ t. pickle juice (dill or sweet)
½ t. hot sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced and smashed
Directions: Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.  The remoulade is better if left for a few hours to let the flavors meld.  Keep refrigerated.

This recipe was originally found at www.simplyrecipes.com

Breadsticks

I guess technically this is not a new recipe.  I have been using it for years and it's one of my favorites.  Sometimes we just have these for dinner with pizza sauce and some green beans and a bottle of peaches, my kids' favorite meal hands down.  Obviously they are also great as a side dish.  Pair them with soups or pasta and enjoy.  Let me know if you like them.

Breadsticks

Prep Time: 10 minutes + rising time of about 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: About 20 breadsticks
Family Friendliness: Like I said, my kids love these.

Ingredients:

1 T. yeast
1½ c. warm water
2 T. sugar
½ t. salt
3 c. or more of flour
melted butter
garlic powder/onion salt (opt.)
Parmesan cheese or grated cheese
oregano
Directions: Combine yeast, water and sugar.  Add salt and flour and let rest 15 minutes.  Roll dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle.  Using a pizza cutter cut in half horizontally and then cut in strips vertically.  Take two strips and seal two ends together and twist the strips together sealing at the opposite end.  Melt about ¼ c. butter and pour on a cookie sheet.  Roll the breadsticks in the butter and place on the cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with herbs and cheese.  Let rise for 15 minutes.  Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden brown.    

Roasted Vegetables

It's starting to cool off outside, maybe a little to quickly, but I love fall and all the food that comes with it.  It's time to put the grill on a temporary vacation, although it still gets pulled out a few times during fall and winter.  It's finally cool enough to turn the oven on and these warm and tasty veggies are delicious with a roast or steaks.  Bonus: they are so pretty.  I think next time I make these I will put more herbs and balsamic vinegar.  So taste them and see how you like them.
 
Prep Time: 20 minutes, unless you're faster with a peeler and a knife than I am
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes, it seems like these took a little longer than that so plan accordingly
Family Friendliness: I was surprised at how well my kids ate this but my kids are pretty good about eating veggies.
 

Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:
1small butternut squash, cubed
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (I used red potatoes)
1 red onion, quartered
1 T. chopped fresh thyme
2 T. chopped fresh rosemary
¼ c. olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions: Preheat oven to 475°.  In a large bowl (or a large resealable bag), combine the squash, red bell peppers, sweet potato, and Yukon Gold potatoes.  Separate the red onion quarters into pieces, and add them to the mixture.  In a small bowl, stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Toss with vegetables until they are coated.  Spread evenly on a large roasting pan.  Roast 35-40 minutes in oven, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.

(This recipe is originally from an internet recipe site, but I can't remember which one.)