Rutabagas

This thanksgiving once again, we had a HUGE assortment of veggies! One of those veggies is the understated Rutabaga which we caramelize and make very very sweet! :) Hope Everyone Had a Fantastic Thanksgiving!!

Ingredients:

3 – 4 large rutabagas

Butter

Honey

Maple Syrup

Light Brown Sugar

Be careful! Rutabagas are extremely hard to slice! Have someone who know how to do it if you do not!

Peel Rutabagas. Slice into ½ inch pieces.  Place pieces in pan with water.  Add some butter and brown sugar to the water and bring to boil.  Keep on slow boil until rutabagas are soft. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place rutabagas in a greased 9x13 inch pan without the liquid, but keep the remaining liquid in case needed. 

Sprinkle honey, maple syrup and brown sugar on top of rutabagas.  Drop dollops of butter on top and bake in oven for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  

It is done when slightly browned and caramelized.

Cranberry Sauce

 I know most people just buy the canned cranberry sauce for the holidays; however I find that homemade is incalculably better! However make sure to leave plenty of time to congeal, preferably a night or two before it will be served.

Ingredients:

3 cups Fresh Cranberries

1 cup Sugar

1 cup water

First, rinse the fresh cranberries in strainer.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Add cranberries and leave at a low boil.  Continue boiling cranberries until all cranberries have popped (about 5 minutes).  It should look very saucy and not see very many full berries.   

Take sauce off of stove and strain it.  Use a fine strainer and strain into bowl or container.   

Once finished refrigerate over night for best results or at least several hours. 

The less time you leave it in the refrigerator, the less thick it will be!!! Be warned, it took me multiple times to get it to congeal correctly!

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!! *gobble gobble* haha

Sweet Potato Medallions

 I know everyone always has sweet potato casserole or yams or some sort of sweet potato dish during the holidays, but this is one of my favorite recipes for sweet potatoes, it’s soft, sweet, and melts in your mouth!

Ingredients:

3 lbs sweet potatoes

1 stick butter or more if needed

Light brown sugar

Honey

Pecans (optional)

One a side not, be careful when slicing, the potatoes can break apart. However do not get mad! It still tastes good in irregular shapes haha!

Boil sweet potatoes until cooked but not too soft.  Cool and then peel potatoes leaving whole.  Carefully slice potatoes into ¼ to ½ inch circles.  Place on cookie sheet.   

Place pat of butter on each circle.  Lightly sprinkle sugar on each circle.  Drizzle honey on top (However since honey is a natural sweetener, I usually use less sugar and cover it with honey haha).   

Place cut pecans around the cookie sheet and drizzle them with honey (If you have a nut allergy, don’t use nuts of course, they are not critical). 

Place in oven on broil for about 10 minutes or until potatoes look caramelized.  Remove and serve. If you burn the edges a bit, they surprisingly taste better! And the charcoal is better for your digestive system, which most people do not know!)

Apple Pecan Crisp

So for holidays, apple deserts are typically a big deal.  One of my family’s favorite apple deserts is the apple pecan crisp dish.  Instead of doing cookies like the original recipe called for, we modified it into one giant dish that you just cut for each serving to keep its gooeyness. :)  

However if anyone has nut allergies, do not make!

This recipe serves about 12 people!

2/3 c maple flavored syrup

¼ c all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

8 large baking apples peeled and cut in ½ inch slices  (about 12 cups)

½ c cold butter or margarine cut into pieces 

1 pouch Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix

¾ - 1 cup chopped pecans

Before doing anything, you’ll want to preheat oven to 375 degrees. And then slice the apples.

In large bowl, stir together the syrup, flour and cinnamon until well blended.  Add in the slices of apples and toss together until evenly coated.  Spread apple-mixture into un-greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish evenly.

In same bowl, using the mixer, mix butter into cookie mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs.  Then stir in the pecans.  Crumble this mixture over apples in baking dish. And then place in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Then very loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake an additional 10 – 15 minutes longer or until the apples are tender.

Then voila! Serve it to your friends or keep it all for yourself haha! (By the way, it is really good with a little bit of cool whip!) ^_^

Pumpkin Pie

 Now I think everyone will agree with me when I say that no holiday season, whether  Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, can go without a Pumpkin Pie! I’m not that big of a pumpkin person, but I LOVE homemade pumpkin pie! It makes the season special! :)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked pumpkin  ( I try to use fresh pumpkin but you can use  canned if needed)

2 eggs slightly beaten

¾ c sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

1 can  Evaporated Milk

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell- Deep Dish

First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Mix the filling ingredients together in the order listed above (pumpkin > eggs > sugar > salt > cinnamon > ginger > ground cloves > evaporated milk). 

Pour into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes more or until pie looks done.   Test with a dry knife.  When removed it should come out dry, not covers in pie filling.

Enjoy your holidays!

Carrot Cake

As the holidays draw closer together, desserts will have to be made; one common holiday favorite is Carrot Cake.  It’s actually one of the healthier cakes. J I make it for one of my friends on his birthday every year! It’s super fast and very light!

For this recipe you’ll have to make two separate mixtures and then after they are made combine them.  

Mixture 1: Mix all ingredients together in one bowl.

1 ½ c. grated carrots (nearer to 2)

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 sm. Can drained crushed pineapple

Mixture 2: Mix all ingredients in a bigger bowl.

2 c. flour                        2 tsp. baking soda

2 c. sugar                      1 c. oil

2 tsp. cinnamon            4 eggs

                   2 tsp. vanilla

Beat mixture 2 for 2 minutes.  Add mixture 1 to mixture 2.    

And then Bake. To bake:

 either put it in a 4 inch deep round pan and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour, (then test)

 OR

 in a greased 10 inch pan at 300 º for 1 ½ hours.

Cornbread

 I know this isn’t super healthy, but it’s perfect for a quick snack, or for dinner parties!

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine (melted in 9 x 13 inch pan)

3 Jiffy Corn Bread Mix

4 Eggs

2 cans regular size creamed corn

1 cup sour cream or slightly more

First preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in bowl (order truly doesn’t matter in this dish).   

After margarine has melted take pan out of oven and while hot add mixture into pan and bake for 35 – 45 minutes.   

Remove and cut in squares and serve.

 However be careful and watch it the last 15 minutes at least because it can and will burn quick if you’re not quick :)