Sweet Potato Casserole

Ohhh... this is better than sweet potato pie! (Unless of course, you're talking about the sweet potato pie from Mommie Helen's. THAT is the best sweet potato pie in the world!)

What You Need:
2 cans (29 oz. ea.) sweet potatoes
3/4 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted

What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain sweet potatoes and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Mash sweet potatoes and add the melted butter, milk, vanilla, sugar, salt, and eggs. Transfer to a greased 9”x13” baking dish.
3. Prepare the topping in a small bowl by combining the pecans, flour, brown sugar, and melted butter.
4. Sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.

Smashed Red Potatoes

What You Need:
2-1/2 lbs. red potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp. butter
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 green onions, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

What You Do:
1. Boil potatoes until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to the hot pot.
2. Add milk and mash potatoes with a potato masher. Add cream cheese and mash until cheese is melted into the potatoes. Add green onion, butter, salt & pepper and mash until creamy.

Jenn's Strawberry Fruit Jello

Jenn made this at some kind of get-together and I fell in love with it. I detest bananas but don't mind them too much in this recipe.

What You Need:
6 oz. strawberry jello mix
2 cups boiling water
1 sm. can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, not drained
2 bananas, mashed
20 oz. sliced frozen strawberries, thawed

What You Do:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the jello in the boiling water. Add the pineapple, bananas, and strawberries. Mix well.
2. Transfer to an 8”x8” baking dish and chill until firm.

Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Chutney

This is AMAZING with turkey or ham. But also quite tasty with a bagel & cream cheese. Sometimes I add in dried strawberries too. Or a little OJ at the end of the cooking time. And, if you live near a WinCo Foods (my new favorite grocery store), you're in luck - they have "open stock" of tons of dried fruits so you can buy just the amount you need.

What You Need:
2-1/2 cups water
1 cup white sugar
12 oz. dried cranberries
3 oz. dried cherries
3 oz. dried apricots, diced
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained & pureed
1 apple (any non-mushy variety), peeled, cored and diced small
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced small
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

What You Do:
In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in cranberries, pureed orange, apple, pear, dried fruit, pecans, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water until you get the consistency you like. Transfer half of the sauce to a food processor or blender and pulse a few times. Put everything back in the saucepan again, remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.

Crusty Homemade Mac-N-Cheese

This is a little time-consuming to make but SOOOOO worth it! Sinfully deee-licious!

What You Need:
16 oz. Barilla elbow macaroni
10 tablespoons butter, divided
8 oz. Velveeta, cubed
1 cup medium Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded
1 cup Colby-Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs

What You Do:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to al dente according to the manufacturer's instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In the large pot, add 9 tablespoons of butter and melt over medium heat. Add in the Velveeta slowly and stir constantly until the butter and cheese are melted and come together.
4. Gradually add in the Muenster cheese, medium and extra sharp Cheddar cheeses, and Colby-Jack cheese; mix well.
5. Combine the half-and-half and the milk and stream them into the cheese mixture, stirring constantly.
6. Temper the egg by adding a small amount of the cheese mixture to the beaten egg and mixing well. Then add the egg to the large pot of cheese.
7. Pour in the cooked macaroni and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 9"x13" baking dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Dot with remaining tablespoon of butter.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbling around the edges. Then, to make the top nice and crusty, place under the broiler for 5 minutes.

Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe is a MUST at pretty much every family function. I've never known anyone to NOT like it. It's great as leftovers and for breakfast too!

What You Need:
1 bag frozen Oreida hash browns
1 stick butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
8-10 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
8-10 oz. sour cream
1/4 - 1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 roll Ritz crackers, crushed
Salt & pepper to taste

What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen potatoes in a large bowl. Pour melted butter over potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and onions. Combine.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the soup and sour cream. Pour mixture over potatoes and mix well.
3. Add cheese, mix, and transfer to a greased 9"x13" baking dish. Top with crackers and bake for 30-45 minutes.