My Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

If you are in need of some side dish recipes for Thanksgiving here are a few that might help you out..

My Favorite Sweet Potatoes
Crystal Miller

5 to 6 large yams or sweet potatoes
½ cup butter
½ cups orange juice
¼ cup real maple syrup
¾ cup chopped walnuts

Cook sweet potatoes until tender.  Drain and cool to touch.  Peel.  Chop into small pieces and put into a 9x13 pan.  Melt butter and add orange juice and maple syrup.  Drizzle this over the sweet potatoes and stir it up to mix it up.  Sprinkle the copped walnuts over the top and bake at 350 for about 30 to 45 minutes or until it is hot and bubbly.

 

Green Bean Side Dish

This was my own little rendition of the cream soup/green bean/dried French onion dish I have had so many places. I just had the girls throw this together one evening with what I had on hand. It was a great success!

2 qts. Green beans (4 cans would be the same), drained
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (organic type such as the brand Amy's) or 2 cups of white sauce
½ to ¾ cup onions, chopped
1 to 2 Tablespoons butter
½ to 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix green beans and mushroom soup together and put into a 9x13 pan. Sauté onions in butter until soft. Spoon the onions over the green bean mixture and top with cheese. Bake at 325 for 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

 

Deviled Eggs 
12 eggs (1 dozen), hard boiled and peeled
½ cup mayonnaise
2 t. vinegar
2 t. prepared mustard
¼ t. salt
pepper, to taste


Carefully slice eggs in half the longest direction.  Put yolks in a medium size bowl.  With a fork, mash the yolks until fine.  Add the remaining ingredients.  With a spoon, carefully pack the filling back into the egg white halves. 

My daughter Emily loves to make deviled eggs and when she made them a few days ago she put the filling ingredients in our food processor and mixed them up until they were very smooth.  Then she put the filling in a plastic bag and cut the corner out of the bag (like you might do for frosting) and she filled the eggs with this finishing them off with a nice looking curly-q on the top!  They were very nice looking!

Crockpot Stuffing
12 to 14 c bread cubes ~you can use homemade whole wheat bread
1 large onion, chopped
2 c sliced celery
2 c chopped and sliced mushrooms (opt)
1 c butter
1 t thyme
½ t sage
½ t marjoram
2 t salt
½ t pepper
2 eggs, beaten
3 to 4 c chicken broth

Put bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Cook onions, celery and optional mushrooms in butter until all veggie are soft. Add to the bread cubes and gently stir. Add spices and stir. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well. 

Put in crockpot and heat and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

 

Yummy Mashed Potatoes 
Makes 12 servings

5 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered
8 oz. cream cheese
1 C. sour cream
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 egg
1 Tbs. butter

Cook and mash potatoes. Add cream cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper and egg, blend well. Place them in a crock pot to keep warm. They can be made early in the day and kept on warm until dinner.

This recipe can also be frozen. After you make them, cool slightly and put meal size portions in zip lock bags. Put in refrigerator to cool completely and then label and freeze.

When you want to serve them take out of the freezer and defrost them (you can bring them out the night before or microwave them to defrost them) Place in crockpot and put a bit of butter on the top. Let them cook on low heat for 3 hours or so (time will depend on how full the crock pot is), stir once or twice.

 

24 Hour Fruit Salad

Crystal Miller

3 beaten egg yolks

2 T sugar

2 T lemon juice

2 T pineapple juice

1 T butter

1/8 t. salt

2 cans mandarin oranges

1 can pineapple tidbits

1 can grapes

2 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Combine egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, pineapple syrup, butter and salt in top of double boiler.  Cook and stir over hot not boiling water until thick. Cool.  Stir in fruits and marshmallows.  Fold in whipped cream.  Spoon gently into serving dish. Chill 24 hours. Before serving add bananas. 

 

 My favorite Whole Wheat Oat Dinner Roll recipe can be found HERE

 

 

Pumpkin pie
Generously makes 2 9” pies or 3 8” pies

2 single unbaked pie crusts (recipe follows)
4 cups pureed pumpkin, can use canned
2 2/3 cups milk 
8 eggs
1 cup honey
3 t. cinnamon
1 ½ t. ginger
1 ½ t. nutmeg
1 t. salt
3 t. vanilla

Using a mixer or blender mix all ingredients until combined very well.  If using a blender, mix by hand first and mix small amounts in the blender until all has been thoroughly mixed.  Pour the filling into pie crusts.  Bake in a preheated 375 oven for about 45 minutes or until set.  It will not be completely firm in the center but will firm up as it cools. 

If you have leftover pie filling it can be baked along side the pies and eaten with a little whip cream for a snack.   You can also make 3 smaller 8 inch pies with the filling or freeze any leftover filling to make another pie later on. 

Serve pie with sweetened, freshly whipped cream.

 

Spiced Cranberries

2 ½ cups cane juice crystals (or white sugar) or 1 ¼ cups honey
½ cup water
2 T lemon juice
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1t ground cinnamon
½ t ground cloves

In a sauce pan add sweetener of choice, water, lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add cranberries, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens up. Allow to cool. Can be refrigerated up to 1 week or frozen.