Easy RECIPES all in one post…

I’m sure most everyone has their Thanksgiving Menu all planned out and have been to the store so many times they hope they haven’t overlooked anything and have to run back for butter, or sugar or rolls!

BUT… just in case someone needs a quick side dish or dessert… I thought I’d share some of my favorites all in one post…

In the past, I’ve linked to my different recipes, but I think I’ll cut and paste just the part of the posts where the recipe is, so you can scroll down and see if there’s something you might like to make… “in your spare time!” HA! :o)

Corn Casserole

It’s SUPER SUPER simple to make… and many of you may already have this recipe. It is so good and always disappears when you take it somewhere. These 6 ingredients are all it takes…

Here’s the recipe…

Mix together with a spoon:
1 egg
1 8 oz container of sour cream
1 stick of butter (melted)

Then add:
1 package Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 can whole corn (drained)
1 can cream corn

Mix everything together until it’s blended fairly well. It will still look a bit lumpy because of the corn…
Pour into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes… until it’s lightly golden brown…It should feel almost like a cake…sort of soft but not squishy… you don’t want to overcook it…

Sweet Potato Souffle
Actually you need to TRY it, not just have it in your files… if I ever had a recipe that I put a “fantastic” guarantee on, it would probably be this one. It’s got to be one of my all time top 10 recipes… maybe even my top 5! Don’t let the name fool you…it’s not anything super fancy and hard to make… it really should just be called a Sweet Potato Casserole, but I guess that sounded too plain to the person who submitted it to the cookbook.

Anyway, IF you need another side dish, this one will score you big points from your guests. I like it warm or cold..it doesn’t matter to me! When Thanksgiving is over, if you find me looking for leftovers…there is sure to be a heap of this on my plate… and then again for breakfast… until it’s all gone… :o(

It’s very simple to make and I’ve got pictures of all the steps… so I hope you’ll give it a try, if not now, just sometime… :o)

3 cups cooked, mashed, sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 TBSP vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix these 5 ingredients with a spoon until fairly smooth. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish.

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, softened

Mix all ingredients together ( I generally use my fingers) and sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

You’ll need 3 cups of cooked sweet potatoes… my neighbor always gives me these great big things and I peel them with a vegetable peeler and then slice them in big chunks… put them in a pan and cover them with water… and cook till tender…OR you can put the whole sweet potatoes in water and bring to a boil till tender, then peel.

When you stick a knife in them and it easily goes in, they are done…

Mash them with a potato masher or whisk…

Measure out 3 cups and plop them in a mixing bowl…

Add 1 cup of sugar and mix well…

Add 2 beaten eggs… (oops, I forgot to beat mine… but it’s okay) Mix well…

Add 1 TBSP of Vanilla…and mix well…

Then add 1/2 cup (or 1 stick) of melted butter… and mix well…

Use a casserole dish or a foil pan, (like mine since I’m taking it to a dinner at church) and butter the bottom and sides…

Pour your sweet potato mixture into your dish… and smooth out…

Now for the TOPPING! It’s so good!

Mix together in a bowl: I generally use a fork but you can use your fingers if you like…
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup of flour
1/3 cup softened butter (You can use melted butter, but it’s a little harder to sprinkle on top.)

It should look like this…

Sprinkle the topping over the sweet potato mixture using your fingers…

It should look like this…

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

The ONLY thing better than a big pan of Sweet Potato Souffle….

…is TWO pans of Sweet Potato Souffle… (I made a double batch!)

Special Company Potatoes

I have been making these Special Company Potatoes for as long as my hubby and I have been married! They are that good! A friend from Texas gave me the recipe 35 years ago and I guess we think they are pretty special because they are my go-to potato for something just a little bit different than regular mashed potatoes. The nice thing is they are SUPER, DUPER easy to make… I made them for both of my Thanksgiving dinners and both times they were a hit. I was asked about the recipe and decided I might as well share it since I’m busy with my family for a few days…

Once I tell you how to do it, you won’t even need the recipe, but I’ll walk you through this first time with some pictures.

* Make 8 servings of any brand instant potatoes, following the directions on the box… (you can use real mashed potatoes, (probably 4 cups) but I usually use instant.) Sprucing them up with sour cream and cream cheese makes them taste out of this world. Usually the directions are something like this…

Bring the water, butter and salt to a boil…

Remove from the heat and add in your milk and then the potato flakes… I used this box of potatoes…

Get it all smooth and creamy…

* While still in the pan, add one 8 oz. carton of sour cream and one 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Stir thoroughly until everything is all blended.

* Salt and pepper the potatoes…

* Place the potatoes into a buttered 2 or 2-1/2 quart dish. (or in the crock pot on “low” as I did for Thanksgiving.)

* Dot with 4 or 5 pats of butter and sprinkle lightly with paprika.

* Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until bubbly! YUMMY!

So just for a recap, it’s super simple… make 8 servings of Instant Mashed potatoes, add 8 oz. of cream cheese and 8 oz. of sour cream. Mix well and place in a buttered dish and dot with butter and paprika… Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees… See, I told you it was simple. It’s very easy to double the recipe too…which I usually do!

Mint Chocolate Cookie Bark
I hope you’ll try it. It’s SO good and it only calls for 4 ingredients…

CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIE BARK

8 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips
6 oz of white chocolate chips (Nestle’s Premier White is what I used)
2 TBSP peanut butter
10 Oreo cookies (I used the mint ones)

Now, don’t laugh at my pictures. My lighting was from my stove light and it’s a bit yellowish. I was working quickly so my pictures aren’t like ones I’d submit to “Taste of Home”… they are just “regular” pictures, done quickly as I worked.

You have to work fast when you make this so it’s best to have it all measured out ahead of time.

Place 5 Oreo cookies in 2 separate baggies and crush up into small pieces… I just used a heavy spoon to smash them up. They do get sort of gooey inside the baggie.

I take them out of the baggies and put them in 2 separate bowls so it’s quicker to add them to the melted chocolate chips…

Have your 2 TBSP of peanut butter ready… (It’s NOT 1/3 cup PB…I just have it sitting in a measuring spoon…)

Have a piece of wax paper about 18″ long spread on your counter.

Place the two different flavored chocolate chips in 2 separate glass bowls. Starting with the semi-sweet chocolate chips, microwave them in 30-40 second increments, stirring with a spoon, until the chips are melted. I usually have to do it 3 or 4 times to get them all melted.

Here are the semi-sweet chocolate chips as they are almost melted…

Quickly add the crushed Oreo’s to the semi sweet chocolate chips and stir… then spoon the chocolate mixture onto the wax paper
skipping spaces like you would if you were making a checkerboard.

(I’ve made this enough times that I go ahead and put the white chips in the microwave as I’m putting the blobs of semi-sweet chips on the wax paper.) Then take the white chocolate chips bowl and place it in the microwave in 30 second increments until they are melted. Next add the Peanut butter to it, stirring quickly. It sort of turns a bit yellowish.

Then add the crushed Oreo’s to it and quickly spoon it out onto the wax paper in between the chocolate blobs…

Next take a butter knife and drag it from top to bottom then back up and then back down down and then up and then back down…pulling in different directions…
That’s what gives it that marbled look….

Slide a flat cookie sheet or a stiff cutting board under the wax paper and place it in the frig until it hardens. Then just break it apart. I managed to make 3 batches of this bark in about 45 minutes.

YUMMY!! Now if I can just keep my hubby out of it! (I just caught him coming out of the kitchen with a smile on his face, so anybody want to guess what that means???)

So those are 4 of my never fail go-to recipes I can always count on. All in ONE place now… If you need to refer back to one, just type in “recipes” in my search engine and this post will pop up. Or you can type in the name of the recipe and it will come up as well.

Happy Cooking and Happy Thanksgiving!

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne