11-20-10

Finally got a Thanksgiving menu planned.
Here is what we are having:

Turkey
Creamed Cheese Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Apple Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Macaroni & Cheese
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry Jello
Rolls
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie

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.
I have never made sweet potatoes
nor do I think I like them. My taste buds
may have changed since way back when I took
my first bite of them. I was in about 2nd grade
and was eating lunch in the school lunch room.
I took a big ole bite of what I thought was carrots
and it turned out to be sweet potatoes.
I don't think to this day I ever ate another
sweet potato again.
This year I will attempt for the first
time to make sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 (15 ounce) cans sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place sweet potatoes in a 10x6 inch shallow baking dish and pour orange juice over.
3. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt; mix together and cut in margarine. Sprinkle over sweet potatoes.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with marshmallows and broil until browned.

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Brown Sugar-Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
(adapted generously from Bon Appétit, November 1994).

4 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed golden brown sugar (plus a bit more to sprinkle on top)
6 tablespoons butter
1 bag marshmallows or miniature marshmallows (feel free to strike out on your own here, just ensure that when they melt the potatoes will be nicely covered – my imported marshmallows came in small bags, but I recall watching my mother wing it and dump handfuls of mallows from a bag of Kraft jet-puffed marshmallows on top of the potatoes. How I miss the wonder of jet-puffed mallows.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water until boiling, then simmer until tender (about 15 minutes). Mash potatoes with a hand masher. Mix in 1 cup of brown sugar and butter until butter has melted and brown sugar is completely incorporated. Arrange potatoes in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Bake potatoes 20-30 minutes or until heated throughout. Top potatoes with marshmallows and return to over for 10 minutes or until marshmallows melt and begin to brown.

Yield: 8 .

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2:00pm

Today starts my Thanksgiving cleaning.
That means I thoroughly clean the house from
floor to ceiling. Maybe I can burn off this virus
or bug that I have. I have 4 days to clean
and the earlier I get it done the better
because I am doing something everyday this week.

As for our car, don't ask and I won't tell.
Let's just say by the time it's done it will
have been more than 2 weeks!

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I'm hungry. Don't this homemade
mac n cheese look good.
Might have to figure out a way to make
this also for Thanksgiving.
But, use my choice of cheese as I have
never heard of the one listed in the ingredients.
I think this would be good with some
bread crumbs mixed with a little melted butter
and sprinkled over top maybe with
some parmesan cheese mixed in it.

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. .

Every year I use an oven bag to put my turkey in.
While I still plan on using one this year I have
been reading about brining the turkey first
which is supposed to make it super moist.
Brining is letting it marinade or soak in
liquid with kosher salt. Then you remove it
and rinse and pat dry and bake as usual.
Might even add in some liquid smoke.
Anyway here is a recipe I've been studying.

The Perfect Turkey
for those that don't have dry white wine
try apple juice instead.

6:15pm

I've been working on laundry which is
about 1 1/2 times of what it usually is due
to sickies last week. I got my bathroom cleaned
topped to bottom. It was a mess as you can
imagine with sickies.

Then I'm gonna start on a shopping list
for my Thanksgiving menu. Got my sales
ads today on my step. Really thinking about
adding homemade mac and cheese to the menu.