Orange Potoatoes and marshmallows

Sweet Potato Casserole

Made: November 24, 2011

Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
- 1 stick butter (cut into 1in chunks)
- 6-8 sweet potatoes (peeled & cubed)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup water

Topping
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 2 cups pecan halves (or 4 cups mini marshmallow)

Directions
Sweet Potatoes
- Melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper & water, bring to a simmer
- Reduce the head to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring often, until the sweet potatoes are tender (45-60 minutes)
- Remove the lid and bring the sauce to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat
- Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a glaze (7-10 minutes)

Topping
- Mix all the ingredients for the topping together in a medium bowl.

Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 450 F
- Pour potato mixture into a 13x9in baking dish
- Spread the topping over the potatoes
- Bake until the pecans are toasted and crisp; 10-15 minutes (or until the marshmallows are golden; 5 minutes)

I did this differently. I boiled the sweet potatoes in a pot and then mashed them after they were tender enough. I drained all the water, mashed them and then added the rest of the needed ingredients. As for the topping, it didn't spread as I wanted, so it looks a little uneven. But it was super delish!

(Recipe from: Best American Side Dishes)

Sweet Stuffing

Apple-Cranberry Stuffing

Made: November 24, 2011

Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 cups diced apple
- 2 cups dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon sage
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 3 cups turkey stock
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 2 cups cubed stuffing
- salt
- pepper
- spreadable butter

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat
- Add onions, celery, apple & dried cranberry, sage, time, salt & pepper
- Cook for 5 minutes
- Add broth and bring to a simmer
- Beat eggs with parsley in large bowl; add in stuffing.
- Pour vegetable mixture over top and toss/mix.
- Transfer to buttered baking dish & dot with butter
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake 30 more minutes until golden.

The only difference I did was to exclude the onions. :D Everyone enjoyed this one so much, I didn't have any leftovers :(

 I did have to cook this one backwards. I put the stuffing in the pan with the veggies as my bowl wasn't big enough to hold everything. But I feel like I could mix it easier that way too :)

(Recipe from: Food Network)

Lemon-y goodness

Lemon Chicken Stroganoff

Made: October 26, 2011

Ingredients
- 1 box Hamburger Helper stroganoff
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1 bag (12 oz) frozen broccoli cuts, thawed
- 2 cups cut-up cooked chicken

Directions
- In 10-inch nonstick skillet, mix uncooked noodles and sauce mix, milk, hot water, lemon juice and dill weed
- Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally
- Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender
- Stir in broccoli and chicken; cook 2 to 3 minutes longer or until broccoli and chicken are hot
- Remove from heat
- Cover; let stand 5 minutes

The main differences I did this time was the veggies. We still had some fresh asparagus, so I used that instead of frozen broccoli. :) I also added some lemon zest to add in some extra lemon flavor :D It got yums all around and I liked this better than normal stroganoff. Enjoy!

(Recipe from: Pillsbury)

Creamy Tomatoes & Crab Soup

Zesty Tomato Crab Bisque

Made: October 2, 2011

Ingredients:
- 2 cans (19 oz each) Progresso Vegetable Classics hearty tomato soup
- 1 can (7 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chilies
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning
- 3/4 cup chopped cooked crabmeat
- Fresh thyme sprigs, if desired

Directions:
- In a 3-quart saucepan, heat soup and chilies to boiling over medium heat
- Reduce head to low
- Beat in cream and seasoning with whisk until blended
- Cook just until hot; do not boil
- Stir in crabmeat
- Ladle soup into individual small mugs
- Top each serving with thyme

I used about 1/2 of the recipe. A family of 3 doesn't really need 12 servings. But having it as a smaller size made it full of crabmeat! So it was worth it. :)

I didn't use chilies, I had some salsa verde, so I added in a teaspoon of that for a kick along with the Old Bay seasoning. I also didn't serve it with thyme as Rob's serving would be the only one with it. But it came out nice and creamy. I thought it had a nice flavor. :)

(Recipe from: Pillsbury)

Chinese Crab

Tropical Crab Rangoon Appetizers

Made: October 2, 2011

Ingredients:
- 1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese hot mustard, if desired
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained, coarsely chopped
- 1 can (6 oz) lump crabmeat, drained
- 1/4 cup pineapple ice cream topping
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 medium green onions, chopped

Directions:
- Heat oven to 400°F
- Prep cooking sheet
- Unroll pizza crust dough on cookie sheet; press dough into 17x12-inch rectangle
- Bake 7 to 9 minutes or just until crust is light golden brown
- Meanwhile in large bowl, beat cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard and garlic salt with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth
- Stir in water chestnuts and crabmeat, being careful to break up crabmeat as little as possible
- Spread crabmeat mixture over partially baked crust to within 1 inch of edges
- Spoon small spoonfuls of pineapple topping evenly over crabmeat mixture; spread evenly
- Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese and onions
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown
- Cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting

I made mine a bit different. When I opened my pizza dough, it stuck to the sides and was uncooperative ... and then broke in 1,000 different pieces. So I ended up using crescent rolls instead. I still had some issues. I broke those trying to lay them out. Then I had the worse time getting them off the foil even though I lightly sprayed that (just in case).

Rob eats everything, but the ladies in the family do not. So I didn't use water chestnuts, pineapple ice cream topping or the green onions. And then I forgot to add the cheese. :x But it still came out super yummy and reminded me of the ones we get from the Chinese take out place, just deconstructed. :) I'm sure this would be a yummy crab dip as well.

(Recipe from: Pillsbury)