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.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Unless you have leftover chicken you can use in this recipe, you'll need to cook some chicken ahead of time. I usually buy the chicken tenders cut of meat and season and bake them at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. You can also use leftover Thanksgiving turkey for this recipe.

What You Need:
8 oz. spaghetti noodles
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 tbsp. margarine
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup
3 cups cooked chicken (or turkey), shredded
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt, pepper, & celery salt to taste

What You Do:
1. Cook noodles to al dente. Drain and place into a large mixing bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions in margarine until they are translucent, Set aside.
3. Add the onions and half of the cheese to the noodles. Mix. Add the evaporated milk, soup, cooked meat, and seasonings. Mix.
4. Place mixture in a 9”x13” baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake in preheated oven for 45 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.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf Muffins

Another crowd-pleaser. Even meatloaf-haters will like this one. Guaranteed. I always serve this with Smashed Red Potatoes.

What You Need:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1-1/2 to 2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pkt. onion soup mix
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup saltine crackers, finely crushed
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, divided
1 tsp. crushed garlic

What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease up a muffin tin. (Go crazy with the cooking spray all over the top of tin - not just in the cups.)
2. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, ketchup, and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Pour a small amount of sauce (approx. 1 tablespoon) into the bottom of each muffin cup. Set remaining sauce aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine meat and all remaining ingredients. Using approximately 1/2 cup of meat for each, form into loose balls and place in muffin cups. Pour remaining sauce over individual meatloaf muffins.
4. Place muffin tin on a large cookie sheet to catch any overspill and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until meat is cooked though.

Best Baked Ziti

What You Need:
1 lb. dry Barilla cellentani noodles (or penne if you wanna be boring)
1-1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp. rosemary
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 lb. turkey sausage (I like the Italian-style)
1-1/2 jars (26 oz. each) Prego spaghetti sauce
6 oz. Provolone cheese, sliced
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

What You Do:
1. Boil pot of lightly-salted water. Cook noodles to al dente according to manufacturer’s instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and cook onions until tender. Add minced garlic. Cook briefly and then transfer onions and garlic to a small bowl.
3. Cut the casings of the sausage and squeeze the sausage meat out. Add ground turkey & sausage to the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt. Add rosemary and onion-garlic mixture. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x13” baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer half the pasta, Provolone, sour cream, cottage cheese, and half the sauce mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, half the mozzarella, the remaining sauce mixture, and the remaining mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.

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.

Grandma's Vegetable Beef Stew

I love how this recipe is so easy to make and gives you tons of leftovers! We like to eat it with Ritz crackers. :)

What You Need:
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef or stew beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 can tomato soup
1 can vegetable soup
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can Veg-All, drained
4 cups water
1 pkg. Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 can stewed tomatoes (I like the roasted garlic variety)
1 cup frozen corn
2 red potatoes, cut into chunks
Salt & pepper to taste

What You Do:
1. In a sautée pan, brown the beef. (If you're using chunks of stew beef, just get it brown on the outside. It'll finish cooking in the slow cooker.) Season with garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt. Drain the beef, add the onion, and cook a few minutes more.
2. Add all ingredients, including the beef, to a slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.