Sweet Potato Casserole

For the Casserole:

2 lg eggs, lightly beaten
4 fist sized sweet potatoes, baked, skinned and mashed
6 Tbs. butter, melted
1 c. milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking dish or casserole dish and set aside. In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until center is almost set but still jiggles.

For the Topping:

8 Tbs. butter, warm and very soft
1/2 c. dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. corn flakes (1 c. corn flakes if omitting the pecans)
1/2 c. pecans, chopped (optional)

In a bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Gently mix in the corn flakes and optional pecans. Spread evenly over baked casserole. Return casserole to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

*** This can be made partially a couple of days ahead. Make the casserole part, spread into baking dish, cover with plastic wrap put directly onto the potato mix and refrigerate. On the day you want to serve it, remove from refrigerator and allow the casserole to sit out for an hour to warm up before baking for the recommended time, followed by adding the topping, etc.

Cranberry Cake with Butter Sauce

Cake:
3 Tbs. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c. evaporated milk
2 c. fresh cranberries

In a large bowl, cram butter and sugar together, Sift in all dry ingredients and add evaporated milk and blend well. Add cranberries and fold to mix. Pour into a greased 8x8-inch baking dish. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cake may be served warm or at room temperature.

Butter Sauce:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In medium sauce pan combine butter, sugar and whipping cream. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Serve hot over the cake.

Spiced Streusel Apple Crisp

Streusel:
2/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling:
2 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6 medium), peeled, quartered, cored, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For streusel: Combine nuts, brown sugar, cornmeal, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in processor. Using on/off turns, process until nuts are finely chopped. Add butter and process until small moist clumps form. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For filling: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Toss apples with sour cream in large bowl to coat. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in small bowl. Sprinkle mixture over apples and toss to coat.

Transfer filling to greased casserole dish. Sprinkle streusel over apples, covering completely. Bake pie until apples are tender and streusel is golden, tenting with foil if streusel browns too quickly, about 1 hour. Transfer to rack and cool slightly.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Roasted Beets

2 lbs. fresh beets, washed and trimmed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 450F. Line a large piece of aluminum foil with parchment paper. Place beets in center of parchment. Drizzle with one tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Fold aluminum foil up to enclose beets. Place on a small baking sheet and roast until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let sit until no longer hot to the touch. Rub off skins and discard. Cut beets into wedges.

Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the 1/3 c. oil. Season the vinaigrette to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the beets and toss to coat. Place the beets on a foil lined and greased baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix well and place into a large greased casserole dish. If making ahead, refrigerate. Otherwise, cover and bake at 325F for 45 minutes. If refrigerated, first let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes and then bake as directed.

Corn Soufflé

Not a fabulous picture but this this Corn Soufflé is absolutely delightful and it makes an appearance on our table each Thanksgiving, Christmas and any other time I want a special corn dish.  What I love about this dish is that the taste is light, creamy and just a bit sweet, like the best fresh picked corn of the summer.  I also love that I can mix everything up a day or two ahead and just pour it into my prepared dish and bake it when needed.  Even better, it reheats beautifully so make this dish, you and your guests will be delighted.

Corn Soufflé

• 5 lg. eggs
• 2 c. frozen white baby corn kernels, thawed & well drained
• 1 (15-oz.) can cream style corn
• 1 1/4 c. whole milk
• 1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt 

Preheat oven to 375F. Position rack in the center of the oven. Butter an 8"x8"x2" glass baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk eggs then add remaining ingredients mixing until well blended. Pour into prepared dish. Bake until top is golden brown and knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemon squares

Dough:

2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. confections sugar
1 c. butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix sugar and flour then cut in butter until particles are the size of small peas. Work dough with hands and press in the bottom and 1 1/2-inches up the sides of a lightly greased 13x9-inch glass pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Filling:

1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
4 lg. eggs
2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. grated lemon peel
5 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
confectioners sugar, for dusting.

While crust is baking, mix flour & baking powder and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Stir in sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice and flour mixture. Pour mixture onto hot crust. Bake 25 minutes or until set and top is slightly browned. Cool completely before cutting. Dust top with additional confectioners sugar.

Mrs. Ogle's tarts

1 pkg. refrigerated or frozen pie crusts
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
2 lg. eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. almond extract
6oz. shredded coconut
strawberry jam
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450F. Cut pie crusts to fit mini cupcake or tart pans. Spray pans with cooking spray and line the cups with the pie crust. Bake a few minutes until slightly browned. In a small bowl, mix butter, sugar, eggs, almond extract and coconut. Put a small amount of strawberry jam into the bottom of each shell and top with the coconut mixture. Bake until golden brown. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars

These are delicious lovely little bar cookies that are quick to put together and totally delicious!  What I especially love about these bars is that they freeze beautifully and you can eat them straight from the freezer and when you do they’re a bit chewy and oh-so yummy!

Oatmeal Coconut Raspberry Bars  

1 1/2 c. sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter, cut in pieces
1 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
3/4 c. seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 375F. Spread 3/4 cup coconut on a baking sheet and toast in middle of oven, stirring once until golden, about 8 minutes, then cool. Blend together flour, sugars, salt in a food processor then add butter and blend until dough begins to form. Transfer to a bowl and kneed in oats and toasted coconut until combined well. Reserve 3/4 cup of dough, then press remainder evenly into the bottom of a buttered 13-by-9-inch metal baking dish and spread jam over it. Crumble reserved dough evenly over jam then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup (untoasted) coconut. Bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack. Loosen from sides of pan with a sharp knife, then lift out in one piece and transfer to cutting board, Cut into 24 bars.

Enjoy

Blog Parties I may be attending:  Cast Party Wednesday, Delectable Tuesday, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, Fat Camp Friday, Food on Fridays, Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Food Friday, Friday Favorites, Friday Food, Friday Potluck, Full Plate Thursday, Homemaker Monday, Jam Hands, Let’s do Brunch, Make a Food-e-Friend Mondays, Mangia Monday’s, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Menu Mondays, Mingle Monday, Mommy’s Kitchen, Mouth Watering Monday, Savory Sunday, Seasonal Sunday, Simply Delish, Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday’s, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, This Chick Cooks, This Week’s Cravings, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Tuesday Time Out, Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits, Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on the Menu Wednesday, Your Recipe My Kitchen

Peach (or apple) cake

Cake:
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter (softened)
3 lg. eggs
1 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/3 c. milk
1 (28 oz.) can peach (or apple) pie filling/topping
4 Tbs. cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs gradually, beating continuously. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt. Finally mix in the milk until smooth. Spoon mixture into a greased 9x13-inch glass pan and spread to an even thickness. Gently press the peaches(or apples) into the mixture. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Bake 30-35 minutes.

Topping:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk

During the last two minutes of the cake cooking, combine butter, sugar and milk in a sauce pan and dissolve over low heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Pour evenly over the hot peach (or apple) cake cake as soon as it is removed from the oven. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy

Mango Thai Chicken

I adore mangoes and of course foods that have a nice little spicy kick to them so this recipe is right up my flavor-profile alley.  Eammon on the other hand will tell you that he doesn’t like when there’s fruit on his savory food but that little quirk of his doesn’t stop him from eating or begging for more of this recipe.  Maybe he just doesn’t realize that mangoes are a fruit and that they’re on his chicken or maybe it’s just that this chicken is so delicious his supposed dislikes are set aside.  Whatever it is, we both adore this recipe and whenever mangoes are in season this is a regular on our table.

Mango Thai Chicken

2 cups fresh mango, cubed
2 chili peppers, seeds removed
2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon fish sauce
3 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
juice of 1/2 lime

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
salt
pepper

2 Tbsp. oil for frying
handful of cashews, toasted (for garnish)
handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (for garnish)

Jasmine rice 

In a food processor chop the chili peppers, ginger and garlic to fine pieces. Add the Thai fish sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar, lime juice and 1 1/2 cups of the chunked mango. Puree until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of mango chunks and pulse processor a couple times leaving mango chunks in the sauce. Taste test the sauce checking for a good balance of sweet, sour and salty and adjust as needed. 

Mix the flour and cornstarch on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the sliced chicken breast in the flour mixture. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet and cook the chicken until almost cooked through, stirring occasionally to make sure the chicken cooks evenly. Remove chicken to a plate.  Add the mango sauce to the now empty wok and cook for a couple of minutes until it thickens slightly.  Add back in the chicken and adjust heat so that the mixture is just bubbling. Cook until the chicken has cooked though.  Serve with Jasmine rice and garnish with cilantro and cashews.

Enjoy!!

Here are some blog parties that I might  be attending: Cast Party Wednesday, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, Fat Camp Friday, Food on Fridays, Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Food Friday, Friday Favorites, Friday Food, Friday Potluck, Full Plate Thursday, Homemaker Monday, Let’s do Brunch, Make a Food-e-Friend Mondays, Mangia Monday’s, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Menu Mondays, Mingle Monday, Mommy’s Kitchen, Mouth Watering Monday,Savory Sunday, Seasonal Sunday, Simply Delish, Tasty Tuesday,Tasty Tuesday’s, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, This Chick Cooks, This Week’s Cravings, Totally Tasty Tuesdays,Tuesday Night Supper Club, Tuesday Time Out, Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits, Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try,What’s Cooking Wednesday,What’s on the Menu Wednesday,Your Recipe My Kitchen

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Brownies:
1 box fudge brownie mix (for a 13 x 9-inch pan)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Peppermint Butter cream layer:
2/3 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache:
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup butter
1 (12 ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Then prepare a 13 x 9-inch baking dish by spraying lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the width of the bottom of the pan and long enough to extend over the long edges. Spray parchment lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

To the brownie mix, add melted butter, water, eggs and 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Mix by hand just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour into prepared pan and bake according to package directions. Let cool completely.

To prepare the mint butter cream layer, beat together the powdered sugar and softened butter. Add the milk, peppermint and vanilla extracts and mix until smooth. Spread the butter cream evenly over the top of the cooled brownies. Place brownies in fridge to firm up the butter cream.

For the chocolate ganache, place the milk and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on 50%until the butter has melted. Add the chocolate chips and mix with an electric mixer on low until the chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix until incorporated. Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar until frosting is smooth. Spread chocolate ganache over the mint butter cream on the brownies.

Place back in fridge for about an hour to firm up frosting. Using the parchment paper, remove the brownies from the pan and while cold, cut into squares. They must be cut when cold otherwise the layers mush. Though delicious cold, these brownies are even better when served at room temperature.

Enjoy!