TDF times 1,000,000! I'm posting this family favorite recipe that my mom starting making decades ago for Thanksgiving. I remember therecipe being cut out of a newspaper from somewhere. I have seen other sweet potato casserole recipes on the Internet, but I have not seen any that use the exact ingredients that my mom's recipe uses. Also, in my family (besides my husband) we are "topping" kind of people. Maybe I should call this recipe praline topping with sweet potatoes because the topping is the STAR! No dessert can have too much topping, crumble or frosting. So, my mother doubled the topping, and that is how I will be typing it up. (So don't double it yourself, or you will have a 4:2 ratio of topping to sweet potatoes) This really could be a dessert, but we like to serve it with our meal, because let's face it, dessert is accepted anywhere in any meal!
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Praline Topping
Potato Mixture: 3 eggs 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled and drained 2/3 c sugar 2/3 c butter, melted 1/2 c heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice
Topping: 2 c. brown sugar 2/3 c flour 1 1/4 c pecans, chopped 2/3 c butter, cold, cut into small pieces
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. After potatoes have been cooked and cooled, beat potatoes with eggs until nice and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients, and mix well until potatoes are whipped. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Combine topping ingredients in a bowl, combining until mixture results into a crumbly mixture. Pour crumble on top of potato mixture evenly (it will seem like alot, but you will want it, trust me). Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes until brown and bubbly. Makes 12-16 servings.
WOW! I made this tonight and it was so good I had to blog about it! I have always wanted to become better at cooking Chinese food, but have never really found the right recipes, and I never get the same flavor, taste and texture of Chinese take out. This recipe could be on Pick Up Stix, or Pei Wei's menu for sure. It was so incredibly easy and I was loving every bite I took. Living in Hawaii, there is a huge Asian influence, and so tonight I felt like the "Hawaiian Culture" was rubbing off on me. You can substitute whatever vegetable you want to use, but you must get the napa cabbage, it makes it very restaurant style.
Chicken Vegetable Chow Mein
1 pkg spaghetti (or udon noodles if you want to get fancy) 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into really thin strips 2 tbs cornstarch 2 tbs oil 1 small onion, cut in half, then sliced (half moon shaped) 3 garlic cloves, sliced 3/4 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded 1 1/2 c frozen Chinese snow peas (or any vegetable you want) 1 carrot, peeled, and sliced into matchstick size 2 1/2 tbs soy sauce 2 1/2 tbs rice wine vinegar 1 tsp sesame oil salt and pepper
Cook spaghetti according to package directions, making sure to add plenty of salt to the boiling water to flavor the noodles. While noodles are cooking season chicken with salt and pepper, and toss with cornstarch. Heat 2 tbs oil in wok or large skillet on high. Cook chicken until brown and crispy, (this takes about 10 minutes). Remove chicken onto a plate with slotted spoon. Add onion, carrot and garlic and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, then add cabbage, stir fry for 3 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, frozen vegetables, cooked, drained noodles, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Toss until noodles and vegetables are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Serve!
I know for most of you, fall is in the air, and you want to make a hot soup for dinner, right? Well, I made this last week, and it was 80 degrees, humidity 90%, and I'm not going to lie, I was sweating the whole time, but it was so worth it. I have always wanted to make this soup since I have a love of caramelized onions, cheese and crusty bread. After making this soup, my husband and I both agreed that this was the best french onion soup we have ever had. I looked at a couple of recipes, and chose ingredients, and methods that I felt comfortable working with, and the soup was FAB! Leftovers were even better. We just had the soup for dinner, but a salad would be nice on the side as well. My kids gobbled this up. My 4 year old loved the cheese, and called the onions "noodles", whatever works!
French Onion Soup
5-6 yellow onions, cut in half and then sliced 2 bay leaves 1/2 c butter 2 c beef broth 2 c chicken broth 2 cloves garlic, minced salt and pepper to taste crusty artisan bread (I got some at Costco) grated mozzarella cheese, about 1 cup
In a large pot, that is oven safe, place sliced onions, and butter. Cook onion and butter in the pot with a lid on for 20 minutes on medium high heat. Heat over to 425 degrees, put pot of onions with the lid off into the oven, and let cook, stirring a couple of times until the onions are caramelized. (This could take up to an hour) The onions should look like light carmel color. Remove pot from oven, add broth, bay leaf, and garlic. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove lid and simmer another 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf, season with salt and pepper if needed. Toast slices of bread in the toaster until dry and crisp. Using oven safe bowls or crocks, place soup in each bowl, then slice of bread (make it fit), and then cover generously with cheese. Place bowls or crocks on a cookie sheet and broil the tops of the soup until cheese is melted and starting to turn brown. SERVE!
I hope to be consistently back blogging since I have finally settled our family into our new house. My kitchen got bigger in this house, so I feel like I have alot of room to spread my wings and cook! I have made many new things these last 2 weeks, and can't wait to share them with you! This recipe is incredibly light and delicious. It is a great meal if you are watching your calories or if you want to get out of the boring menu you have been making for your family. My kids loved it, I loved it, and my husband wants me to make it every week! The salsa is a must, must, must! Just put whatever fruit is on sale or in season. I think any fruit would work well besides bananas, or berries. You can also use a regular cucumber, just make sure you peel the skin off.
Peanut-Ginger Chicken with Cucumber Fruit Salsa
Marinade for chicken: 1/2 c boiling water 1/2 c creamy peanut butter 1/4 c bottled chili sauce (Think Siracha) 4 tbs soy sauce 2 tbs oil 2 tbs vinegar 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbs fresh grated ginger, or 3/4 tsp ground ginger 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 pounds)
For the salsa: 1 c chopped fresh fruit (nectarines, oranges, peaches, plums, or pears) 1 c chopped, seeded cucumber 2 tbs green onion, sliced thinly 2 tbs cilantro, chopped 1 tbs sugar 1 tbs vinegar 1 tbs oil 1/4 tsp salt
Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Place chicken in a zip-lock bag, and pour marinade over chicken. Let marinate over night from either 12 to 24 hours. Make salsa, about 1 to 2 hours before eating, combine all ingredients for the salsa, cover and let sit in the fridge until ready to serve. Grill chicken on bbq until done. Serve salsa on top or on the side of the chicken.
