Feastin'

Friends, it's been way too long since I've posted anything.  Shame!  So, I figured I should at least put something out there for Turkey Day tomorrow.  If there's anything Southerners know how to do well, it's cooking a mess of delicious food to enjoy with family and friends, in celebration of our country's beloved gluttonous holiday.

I came across a yummy sweet potato recipe recently and made it as a side dish for dinner one night.  I had a bit of leftovers, so decided to use it to make my own on-the-fly version of a sweet potato casserole.  (Back story:  Aubrey's Thanksgiving party at preschool is today, and the parents are bringing dishes to share.  I needed something gluten-free and kid-friendly, and had to whip it up in a pinch because he originally wasn't going to school today since my parents are in town.  But plans changed, and I was super thankful that he could still go and party with his buddies!)  So, I got to cooking at 7 am, but this was pretty easy.

I used my leftover Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes (recipe below), layered them with some slices of baked apple (recipe following the first) and topped it all off with a light layer of marshmallows, and baked it up in the oven until everything was gooey and melty.  YUM!  I highly recommend trying out the sweet potatoes, and perhaps you'll  find Thanksgiving inspiration in the casserole.  Gobble gobble!

Orange-Glazed Sweet Potatoes (Southern Living)

Ingredients

• 6 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. orange zest
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Peel potatoes, cut into 1 inch thick slices; arrange in a single layer in 2 lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dishes.
2. Stir together brown sugar and next 5 ingredients; pour over potatoes.  Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until fork-tender.  Uncover and bake 5 more minutes or until glaze becomes syrupy.

If making this casserole, apples can cook at the same time as the potatoes.  Peel and thinly slice 4 gala apples, and place them in a baking dish.  Drop in two pats of butter, a sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until tender.  Stir once halfway through.

Once sweet potatoes and apples are cooked, layer the apples over the sweet potatoes and top with marshmallows.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until melted. 

In The Kitchen With Aubrey: Apple Bread



Perfect gift-giving bread!

 Aubrey loves to help me bake, and I love to have his help!  It's a fun activity for both of us, and he really enjoys feeling like a "big boy" and is so proud of the things we make.  Today was super windy here, so it wasn't a good day to be outside.  We decided to bake instead, using one of Aubrey's favorite ingredients... apples!  I used this recipe to make two mini-loaves and a half dozen muffins.  I plan to freeze one of the loaves and figure we'll have it for breakfast one morning next week when my brother-in-law is here visiting.  The other is for our sweet neighbor, who shares her amazing produce and homemade salsa with us. 

I highly recommend baking with your children.  They are never too young to help.  As some of you know, I am working on a homeschool pre-school curriculum with Aubrey, and this is a great activity to reinforce the things we are learning... counting (he counts out the cups of sugar, flour, etc), teamwork, and sharing with our friends.

I have some promising recipes to try out next week, and some are not Southern Living or Cooking Light (gasp!)  I'm finally revisiting recipes in my "Dave's Dinners", "Bon Appetit", and "Real Simple" cookbooks, and will share some next week.  Until then, enjoy!

Apple Bread (Southern Living)

Ingredients

• 1 (3-pound) bag small apples (12 to 14 apples)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted  **(I substituted walnuts because I was out of pecans)

Preparation

1. Peel and finely chop enough apples to equal 3 cups. Set aside.
2. Stir together sugar and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients; add to sugar mixture, stirring just until blended. (Batter will be stiff.) Fold in finely chopped apples and 1 cup pecans.
4. Divide batter evenly between 2 greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.



The muffins came out well too