Green Beans with Bacon Breadcrumbs

Photo from Southern Living

This recipe for green beans was in the November issue of Southern Living, and it gave me inspiration for our Thanksgiving dinner.  The original recipe uses fresh green beans and has a cream sauce.  Be sure to click over to see this version. 

My modification used frozen green beans and didn't have a cream sauce.  My version is below.  The buttery homemade breadcrumbs were so delicious, and would make a great topping for so many dishes.  

Sweet Potato Casserole

Image from Paula Deen Magazine

For many years, I have made this sweet potato casserole from Cooking Light.  It is delicious, and doesn't taste "light" at all.  But this year I decided to get a little more indulgent with a recipe from Paula Deen.  It is very similar to my old standard, but this will be my new go-to for Thanksgiving.

Sweet Potato Wedges

I recently rediscovered Paula Deen via her magazine available through my library website.  Using the library program Overdrive, I was able to browse the magazine and print out recipes I wanted to try.

This simple recipe for roasted sweet potatoes was a real winner.  So easy and delicious!

Semi-Homemade Stuffing

I take the easy road on Thanksgiving by using store-bought stuffing to go with my favorite turkey recipe.  I usually buy the turkey variety of StoveTop, but this year I opted for the Cornbread mix.

In order to give this a homemade twist and just a little more of a fresh flavor, I add some extras.  The extra ingredients always include onion and celery sauteed in some butter.  I like to include some of the celery leaves for extra flavor.

This year I happened to have an apple, so I chopped that finely and added to the saute.  In the past, I have added pecans.  Maybe you have some fresh ingredients you can add to your stuffing mix?

After I prepare the stuffing according to the directions, I stir in the sauteed fresh ingredients.  I find that two boxes makes a 9x13 pan.  Before the meal, I cover this and heat with the other Thanksgiving casseroles.  This semi-homemade shortcut makes my Thanksgiving meal a little easier!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

photo from myrecipes.com

Good luck finding canned cranberry sauce here in England.  And fresh tastes much better anyway.  Here's the recipe I used for Thanksgiving this year, straight from my trusted Southern Living cookbook.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
12 oz fresh cranberries
1 T grated orange rind
1 T orange juice
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Add cranberries, rind, and juice.  Return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in pecans.  Cover and chill.

PW's Mashed Potatoes

Have you noticed that many of my posts begin with "PW?"  Pioneer Woman gives me lots of inspiration through both her website and cookbooks.

This year I added her mashed potatoes to my Thanksgiving menu.  Yum!  I liked her recipe because it was a make-ahead style dish that I could heat at the last minute with all the other casseroles.  It was delicious and super easy.  I lightened it up just a little from her original recipe.  I also cut the recipe in half for our group of 4 adults and 2 children at Thanksgiving.

• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 3/4 cups Butter
• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half (I used whole milk.)
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used regular salt since I didn't have Lawry's)
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.  (I just drained them and mashed in a bowl with a mixer.)

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter (I didn't add quite the full amount of butter), an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.  

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Mexican Bean Salad

A delicious Mexican side dish...fresh and light when paired with a heavy Mexican entree.  From Food.com.

Notes:  I left out the garbanzo beans and the chili powder.

• 1 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans
• 1 red onions, chopped
• 1 red peppers, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro ( 1 T if dried)
• 1 (10 ounce) packages frozen corn
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt ( less if regular table salt)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce
• 2 dashes chili powder
• 1 avocados, diced
  
• 
  
  Drain and rinse beans.
• 
  
  Combine beans, onion, red pepper, cilantro and corn in a very large bowl.
• 
  
  In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients except for the chili powder.
• 
  
  Pour dressing over beans and mix well.
• 
  
  Sprinkle a dash of chili powder over the top of the salad.
• 
  
  Cover and chill thoroughly.
• 
  
  Before serving, toss salad again, then add another dash of chili powder and spread avocado over the top of the salad.  (Don't add the avocado until right before serving.).

Sweet Potato Casserole

Photo from My Recipes.com

Dara made this sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, and it was the best I've ever made BY FAR.  Delicious!  This will be my new go-to recipe for the holidays!

• Potatoes:
• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup evaporated low-fat milk 
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs 
• Cooking spray 
• Topping:
• 1 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup) 
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 2 tablespoons melted butter 
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
• 2. To prepare potatoes, place potatoes in a Dutch oven; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender; drain. Cool 5 minutes.
• 3. Place potatoes in a large bowl; add granulated sugar, evaporated milk, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs; beat well. Pour potato mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.
• 4. To prepare topping, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, brown sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir with a whisk. Stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over potato mixture; arrange pecans evenly over top. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or just until golden.
• 5. Preheat broiler (remove casserole from oven).
• 6. Broil casserole 45 seconds or until topping is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Mandarin Orange Almond Salad

A tried-and-true recipe that I've used for years.  Originally from Southern Living I think.

Combine:

• Leaf lettuce (romaine, red leaf, green leaf, even spinach)
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

Caramelized almonds:  Combine and cook on stove til golden.  Cool on wax paper.  Break up.

• 1/4 c almonds sliced or slivers
• 2 T sugar

Dressing:  Shake and chill for several hours.

• 1/4 c oil
• 2 T sugar
• 1 T white vinegar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 5 drops hot sauce

Cherry Orange Delight Jello

What holiday meal is complete without the traditional Jello dish?  This was very tasty!  It is from the Kraft website.

2-1/2 cups boiling water

3 pkg.  (4-serving size each) JELL-O Cherry Flavor Gelatin

2-3/4 cups cold water

1 can  (15 oz.) DOLE Mandarin Orange Segments, drained

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 Tbsp.  sugar

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

TIR boiling water into dry gelatin mix in medium bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/4 hours or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Reserve a few orange segments for garnish. Gently stir remaining orange segments into gelatin; set aside.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in separate medium bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in whipped topping. Spoon into 2-1/2-qt. serving bowl; cover with gelatin mixture.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours or until firm. Top with the reserved orange segments. Store in refrigerator.