Sweet Potato Casserole

I love sweet potato casserole. So, I thought I would share my favorite recipe with you.


Serves 6-8

6 cups mashed sweet potatoes (5 to 6 potatoes, or see note for canned)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini marshmallows

Oatmeal Streusel:

1/4 cup quick oats
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter

Rub a little vegetable oil on the skin of each sweet potato and bake them in a preheated 400 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until they are tender. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scrape out the insides and use an electric mixer on high speed to beat the potatoes until they are mashed and smooth. Measure exactly 6 cups of the mashed sweet potato into a large bowl.
Add 3/4 cup brown sugar, heavy cream, melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt into the sweet potatoes and mix well with the beater until all the ingredients are incorporated. Pour this mixture into an 8x8-inch baking dish.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the oats with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut the cold butter into the dry mixture using a pastry knife or a fork. You should have a crumbly mixture with pea-size bits. Sprinkle this oatmeal streusel over the sweet potato mixture and pop it into the oven for 70 to 80 minutes or until the top begins to brown slightly.
When you remove the casserole from the oven immediately spread the marshmallows over the top. Let this sit for about 10 minutes. The heat from the casserole will melt the marshmallows, and then it's ready to serve.

Running out of room in your oven for the holiday? Place sweet potato mixture into a pammed sprayed crock pot. Place streusel over top & cook on high for 4 hours. Take lid off & sprinkle marshmallows on top. Let the heat melt the marshmallows!

Don't wanna mess with cooking the sweet potatoes? Used canned yams instead. It took about 2 large cans Bruces yams & 1 small can.

Party Chicken

Who comes up with some of these names? I mean party chicken, what is so partyish about it? I have to admit I was a little skeptical about this dish. Once I made it, it did not look good at all. However it was easy to make & tasted surprisingly good. The only thing I think I wold change would be to add some garlic. It needed a little extra something & I think that was it.

The one good things about this recipe was I had all the ingredients except for one. Pretty much everything was a staple in our house except for the bread crumbs.

Serves 4

Cooking spray
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
Large zip-top bag
1 1/2 lb chicken fillets
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Aluminum foil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Place flour in large zip-top bag. Season chicken with pepper; add to bag. Seal bag; shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag; shake off excess flour. Arrange chicken in baking dish.
Combine soup and mayonnaise; spread evenly over chicken. Stir panko and cheese into softened butter, mixing until crumbly. Top chicken with cheese mixture; cover dish with foil. Bake 10 minutes.
Remove foil. Bake 10–15 more minutes or until top is golden and chicken is 165°F. Serve.

Chicken/Tuna Cakes

This recipe was originally for tuna cakes, but since I am allergic to fish I made them with chicken instead. These were a great summer dinner or lunch meal. The leftovers were good too. I wouldn't change a thing, however the hubby wants me to add bacon to it the next time I make them. Went great with a cucumber salad (see separate recipe.)

Serves 6

2 cans (6 oz. each) chicken or tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup water
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish ( we don't use pickle relish ever, so I just chopped up dill pickles really finely)

Directions

MIX all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use ice cream scoop to add 1/3-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.
FLATTEN into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.

Lasagna Soup

Who doesn't like Lasagna? Ok, well I am sure there are a few of you out there. Such a simple, easy & oh yeah delicious soup. Would be great as an alternative to serve at a football party, or to bring for a pot luck or for someone who needs a meal. Like new parents or someone who just had surgery. I would suggest though if you are going to freeze it, not to put the noodles in it.

Now I have to admidt that I did not make the crostini. We had regular garlic bread. I also forgot to add the parmesan into the soup. It still tasted great & leftovers were even better!

Serves 8-10

1 lb ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 (32 ounce) box chicken broth
2 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup broken lasagna noodles
1 (5 ounce) package grated parmesan cheese
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
garlic crostini, recipe follows (optional)



Directions

In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Add a garlic crostini slice on top. Serve immediately.



Garlic Crostini:
1 thin French baguette
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves smashed garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Apple Chicken

So, yet another new recipe. I couldn't decide between this & chicken parmesan. Well this won the dinner battle & it was yummy. I think the best part is that my 23 month old couldn't tell the difference between the apples & onions, so she ate both. She kept asking for more apples. I liked it with a little extra salt & pepper. Jon put hot sauce on his. Was great over rice.

Serves 4

6 teaspoons olive oil or canola
2 tart apples, thinly sliced (or whatever you happen to have in the fridge)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon dried thyme
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, sliced
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Flour for dredging
salt & pepper to taste

In heavy skillet, heat 2-3 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat; cook apples, onion and thyme for about 4 minutes, or until just tender but still a bit crisp. Remove to bowl and set aside. Dredge chicken in flour. Add remaining 2-3 teaspoons of oil to skillet; cook chicken, turning once, for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet. Pour juice and the cider vinegar into the skillet, scrape up all the brown bit from bottom of pan. Add chicken back into skillet & cover and simmer (do not boil) for 8 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Return apple mixture to pan and heat through, season with salt and pepper. Spoon apple mixture around cooked chicken.

White Chicken Chili

I don't remember where I found this recipe, but it is super easy & delish!

2- 15 oz. Great Northern Beans, drained
8 oz cooked & shredded chicken breast (I used 12 oz canned chicken)
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cup bell pepper (any color)
2 jalapeno chili peppers, stemmed & seeded (I used a can of chopped green chili's & a few pickled jalapeno's)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
sour cream
cheddar cheese
tortilla chips (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients except for the sour cream, cheese & chips in a slow cooker.
2. Cover cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours
3. Ladle into bowls & top with sour cream, cheese & chips

Mac-n-Cheese

My friend Melanie made mac-n-cheese one time for a party. Well, lets just say it was awesome. There are no exact measurements for this recipe, so it is easy to make as little or as much as you want.

24 ounces of macaroni noodles
milk
3/4 of a block (the big block) of velveeta
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or cheese of your liking


Cook noodles, but do not cook all the way. If you do, your macaroni will be mushy. Drain noodles & place back on stove top over medium heat and cover with milk. Dice up large block of velveeta (about 3/4 of a block) and add to noodle/milk mixture
continue stirring until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste
place in 9x13 baking dish
cover with cheddar cheese
Bake on 350 for about 20 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and the mac is bubbling

Peach Dump Cake (Cobbler)

While the name is absolutely horrible. This recipe is actually wonderful. Great for a no fuss dessert to take to a party. Don't expect a cake to pop out of your crockpot, it is more of a cobbler. Great with vanilla ice cream. I have made this twice now. 1st time without brown sugar, 2nd time with. In my opinion the brown sugar makes it a little to sweet for my taste buds. So, I will continue to make it without the brown sugar. But everyone's tastes are different. Don't like peaches? You can easily substitute canned blueberries, apples, or cherries.

24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup (large can)
1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 16 pieces
1 cup brown sugar (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Layer ingredients in a 13 X 9 dish, in order starting with the peaches.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
Serve warm or cold… with or without ice cream.

Crockpot method

Dump the peaches in the crock pot or slow cooker. Pour cake mix over top of peaches & top with butter slices, brown sugar & walnuts.
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

Gyoza's

Gyoza's are also known as Japanese potstickers.

I will warn you, this recipe is very time consuming. However, it is well worth making. I am putting 2 different cooking methods on here. However we fry both sides of the gyoza. We prefer them that way.

Serves 6 for dinner or 10-12 as an appetizer

1 pound ground pork
1 1/2 cup cabbage ( I just use the slaw mix)
2 green onions, diced
2 teaspoons ginger (dry)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
vegetable oil for frying
wonton wrappers
Makoto ginger dressing- optional (found in the produce section)

In a medium bowl combine, pork, cabbage, onions, ginger, eggs, soy sauce, hot chili oil & sesame oil.
Lay wonton wrappers in front of you, place a small teaspoon worth of filling in the center of the wrapper. Wet edges of wrapper. Fold the sides of the wrapper to form a triangle, then pinch the edge to seal. Continue with the rest, until the filling is gone.

Cooking options

Heat 1-2 table spoons oil in a heavy fry pan over medium heat. Add 12-15 of the goya's and cook for 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Cover the gyoza's and cook until the water is absorbed (5-7 minutes). Repeat with the remainder gyoza's.

Heat about an 1/2 inch of oil to heavy fry pan over medium heat. Add about 10 gyoza's to the pan & cook about 2 minutes until golden brown. Turn the gyoza over & cook 2 more minutes or until golden brown. Place gyoza's on paper towel to drain & repeat cooking until all gyoza's are cooked.

To keep gyoza's warm, I place them in a 9 X 13 pan & place in a 250 degree oven just to hold until ready to serve.

Serve over rice & salad. with your favorite dipping sauce (ours is the makoto ginger dressing).

Taco Soup

Way back in high school, yes I said high school. We made this recipe. I have made it ever since. It is super easy, delicious, plus it is freezer friendly. While it is very similar to the chicken taco soup, this is made with beef. You can substitute the ground beef with chicken or turkey if you would like. Make sure you make it in a big pot, it makes a lot. Would be great to serve for a football game.

Serves 8-10

Note- this picture was taken before all the fritos & cheese were added.

1 pound ground hamburger
1 med. onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 -15 oz can kidney beans
1- 15 oz can black beans
1- 15 oz can pinto beans
1 large or 2 - 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1- 16 oz bag frozen corn
1 pkg taco seasoning
3 cups water
sour cream
cheese
Fritos

1. Brown hamburger meat with onion & bell pepper, drain
2. In a big pot add meat mixture, beans, corn, tomatoes, seasoning & water. Simmer for 30 minutes
3. Ladle into bowls & top with sour cream, cheese & fritos.