Some Favorite Holiday/Fall Recipes

Here are a few of the recipes that always make it to the table on Thanksgiving Day. An all time favorite that gets rave reviews and was renamed by Bill to Sweet Potato Yummy Goodness is my mom's Sweet Potato Casserole.

Another one of our favorite fall recipies is a recipe by Rachael Ray. Don't be turned off by the combination of sausage and pumpkin, it really is very good.

And since we are talking comfort food here, I am going to include Bill's favorite meatloaf recipe. I have a feeling I am going to be making this one in a couple weeks while we are with him.

We hope you enjoy these tasty dishes as much as we do!

Sweet Potato Casserole
Shared by Wendy Vehling (my mom)

Ingredients
3 cups sweet potato, mashed (about 3 large potatoes)
1 cup coconut
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup butter, melted
Scant ½ cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

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

Directions
Mix first 9 ingredients (sweet potato through pecans) and put in a greased casserole dish. Combine butter, brown sugar, and pecans and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

Corn Bread Stuffing
Shared by Wendy Vehling (my mom)

Ingredients
½ lb bacon
1 cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped onion
½ cup water
3 cups coarse corn bread crumbs (best if baked in a cast iron skillet)
3 cups fine toast crumbs (7 grain or sourdough)
½ tsp ground sage
1 cup turkey broth
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions
In skillet, cook bacon until crisp reserving ¼ cup drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Add celery, onion, and water to skillet and cook until barely tender. Combine all ingredients, including drippings, and toss well. Bake covered in 1 ½ qt casserole dish at 350* for 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings or stuffs and 8 pound turkey.

Corn Casserole
Shared by Jean Padgett (my grandma)

Ingredients
½ cup margarine
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs, well beaten
½ cup evaporated milk
1 ½ tsp baking powder
2 cans corn, drained
Cinnamon sugar

Directions
Heat margarine and sugar in saucepan. Mix in flour. Add milk, eggs, and baking powder. Mix with corn in baking dish. Bake about 40 minutes at 350* and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.


Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage – Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
Pumpernickel or whole grain bread , as an accompaniment

Directions

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion, as an accompaniment, recipe follows.
Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.
Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion

1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and sliced
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grain mustard
1 tablespoon (a good drizzle) honey
Coarse salt and black pepper

Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Yield: 4 servings

Meatloaf - Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or 2 cups soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf sage, basil, or oregano crushed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef, lamb, or pork
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions

In a medium bowl combine eggs and milk; stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, sage, and pepper. Add ground meat; mix well. Lightly pat mixture into an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F. Spoon off fat. In a bowl combine ketchup, sugar, and mustard; spread over meat. Bake for 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into eight slices.
Makes 8 servings

Recipes

As I am preparing for my trip to visit Bill in a month (YIPPEE!!!), I started thinking about some of my favorite recipes and realized that I won't be taking any cookbooks with me, so I should write a few down. What better place than right here on our family blog where you can all enjoy them, and I can look them up from any computer, not just where I save them on my own. Some of them I am typing up and others I am copying and pasting from the internet, so I can find them easily without having to search for them online and get distracted by the black hole that is the internet, inevitably delaying dinner or my trip to the grocery store. I am also going to use this spiffy tagging system that Blogger has so the recipes can all be found in a jiffy. Here are some of my favorite soup recipes and my all time favorite and super easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. MMMMMMM. Kaity had early release today and we are going to bake some yummy bread to send to Daddy (and, of course, to enjoy for ourselves ;D). Happy fall and happy cooking/baking!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Courtesy of Ashley S.

1 onion chopped
1 large carrot shredded
1 large celery stalk chopped
¼ cup butter
½ cup flour
8 cups chicken broth
3 cups prepared wild rice (I use two pouches of
the 90 second chicken and wild rice that
you do in the microwave – fast and easy)
1 cup (+) diced cooked chicken
1 can evaporated milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, carrots, celery and butter in large stock pot until soft. Stir in flour until blended.
Add chicken broth, wild rice, & chicken. Boil and stir until thickened. Reduce heat and stir in 1 can evaporated milk. Season to taste.


Santa Fe Soup
Courtesy of Heather

2 lbs ground beef browned and drained (sometimes I use turkey, or a mixture of turkey and beef)
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
2 cans white corn
1 can diced tomatoes (I use the petite cut)
1 can Rotel (I use mild for the kids and then spice ours up after)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 packet taco seasoning
Chili powder, garlic powder, salt to taste

Mix in a pot and cook until boiling. I often throw this in the crockpot if my afternoon is busy and it turns out great. Makes a ton and is super easy and quick to cook.

Freezes well

Optional toppings: sour cream, jack cheese, crunched up tortilla chips or cornbread


Tortellini and Sausage Soup
6 generous servings – courtesy of Colleen

1 pound bulk Italian sausage, or links, but you have to take the wrapping off them
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 cups water
1/2 teas dried basil leaves
1/2 teas dried oregano leaves
1 med zucchini or yellow summer squash, halved and sliced
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed tomato soup
8 oz uncooked dried or frozen cheese (I prefer) or meat-filled tortellini (approx 2 cups)

Grated Parm cheese

Cook and stir sausage and onion in 4 quart Dutch oven until sausage is light brown, drain grease. Stir in remaining ingred except cheese.

Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer until veggies and tort are tender, about 20 minutes.

Serve w/cheese.


White Chicken Chili
Courtesy of Heather

1 pound dried Great Northern Beans rinsed
6 cups (or more) chicken broth
2 cloves garlic
2 medium onions finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoons cloves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
20-25 ounces canned white chicken drained
2 cans chopped green chilis

Combine beans, broth, garlic and 1 onion in a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer one hour.

Heat olive oil and remaining onion for 5-8 minutes in a skillet. Add remaining spices, cook one more minute. Add to beans, cover and cook for 1-1 ½ hours or until beans are tender and soft. You may need to add more broth during cooking.

Add Chicken and chilis and cook 15 more minutes.

Doubles easily and freezes well.

Additional toppings: sour cream, jack cheese, crunched up tortilla chips, salsa or cornbread.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Courtesy off allrecipes.com

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) *** I always use pecans because they are a staple in our home and it always turns out great!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 1 pound size coffee cans, or three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full.
Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from cans or pans.

Also freezes well and makes quite a bit.

P.S. If you see a recipe on my blog that you shared with me and would prefer for me not to share, please just shoot me an e-mail and I will remove it. If not, thanks so much for sharing...if it made it here, it is one of our favorites! :) Thanks!