Sweet Potato casseroles and Thanks!

We love sweet potato casserole, but this year I’d like to try a new recipe.

Now  I’m trying to decide which one… They all sound SO good!

Also, since this is the time for giving thanks, I would like to say, “THANK YOU!!!” to everyone who’s taken the time to comment here at my blog.  I have met some wonderful people here.

Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Bake Recipe #78953

This is a must for Thanksgiving or your Christmas dinner table!. It has just the right balance of sweet and spicy! Cooking time will vary depending on the size you cut the sweet potatoes, you will love these!

by KITTENCAL

6-8

servings

1 hour 20 min prep

1. In a resealable plastic bag, toss cubed sweet potatoes and oil; add the rest of ingredients; toss well to coat.
2. Transfer to a greased baking dish (large enough to hold the potatoes in one layer).
3. Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender but not too soft (tossing with a wooden spoon or spatula about every 15-20 minutes).
4. *NOTE* careful not to overbake as the potatoes will become mushy.
5. Delicious!

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe #11599

This is a great holiday side dish

by Divinemom5

10

servings

50 min 10 min prep

1. In large mixing bowl,mix sweet potatoes,sugar,eggs,margarine,milk and vanilla.
2. Pour into 9 inch square greased baking dish.
3. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over potatoes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes .
5. Can be doubled and baked in 9x13 dish.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe #11924

One of many sweet potato casserole recipes. I think this is my favorite.

by Lali

20

servings

1¼ hours 20 min prep

1. Drain liquid from potatoes, place potatoes in lg bowl and mix well.
2. Mixture will be runny.
3. Add next 6 ingredients and mix until well blended.
4. Pour in baking dish.
5. Top with mixture of: brown sugar, pecans, flour, melted margarine.
6. Bake 350* uncovered 45 minutes.
7. *Note: use 5 sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed if you’re not into a desert like casserole.

 All of these came from www.recipezaar.com

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Which one... Which one.....

Pumpkin Muffins

Man these are good!  DD ate 12 yesterday….

Pumpkin Muffins (another recipezaar recipe by Nurse Di)

1 C Pumpkin

2 eggs slightly beaten

½ C Water

½ C melted butter

1 ¾ C Flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 ½ C Sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

Mix all ingredients together until well blended.

Fill muffin cups ¾ full

Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 30 min.

Chickens for the homestead

We have young chicks, pullets and layers everywhere!

This year we’ve raised more babies than we ever have, and the only thing we’ve done is collect eggs from the hen house and put under some of the setters.  Some of them just disappeared and emerged 21+ days later with a clutch of new chicks.  But while feeding them this morning, I wondered what breeds other homesteaders like.

We started out with mainly americana’s (auracana’s), then we started having fun every year and buying a few different breeds.  Along the way, we purchased two silver speckled hamburgs (also known as the Dutch everyday egg later).  Now, we have a lot of hamburg crosses and I must say that for the homesteader who wants a free range chicken to eat up the bugs and who does well scavenging for themselves, I’d highly suggest hamburgs or hamburg crosses. 

We purchased some silkies a few years ago, first starting with black ones and white ones, then cutting way back on the blacks (VERY dominant color!) and bought a blue hen and a couple browns.  Silkies are well known for their broodiness and will set on eggs 12 months out of the year (no kidding!) which is one reason we have youngsters running all over right now.  So out of the many breeds we’ve tried, for those like us, who want great egg layers and love to free range, plus setters/brooders who’ll hatch anything you put under them, hamburgs and hamburg crosses, auracana’s and auracana crosses, and silkies are what I’d recommend.

But then I love a colorful flock too, so if you like odd ball colors, get some polish (topknots), auracana’s (which are probably my favorite chicken) and come in a wide range of colors, buff orphingtons, golden comets (probably the best egg layer there is IMO), silver laced cochins, blue andalusians, and black australorps.  All of these are very easy to get along with chickens (meaning they aren’t crazy flighty, they don’t peck on one another (like barred rocks which I would NOT recommend) and they are easy keepers.

  We are busy carving pumpkins today.  We carved 3 yesterday and will carve 3 more today.  Here is my favorite roasted pumpkin seed recipe:

1 C Pumpkin seed

¼ tsp butter

Melt butter, then add seed and stir well (coating all seeds).  Then sprinkle with:

powdered garlic, powdered onion, and seasoning salt.  Can also add powdered ginger and garlic salt too. 

Bake at 350 F, turning every 15 min. or so, until golden brown.

We do not get into the whole scary part of Halloween.  We focus on the happy things that surround fall harvest.  We LOVE raising pumpkins and gourds and we LOVE carving pumpkins.  So today is a fun filled day at our house.  Plus, DD loves making costumes and showing them off.  This year she’s a cat.  We cut out and decorated her mask and I must say that it is beautiful. 

Have a SAFE Halloween everyone!

Hot Apple Juice/Tea

Hot Apple Juice

One of my favorite fall and winter drinks.

My mother gave me 6 grocery bags full of Harlson apples.  They make (IMO) excellent apple sauce, pies and juice. 

While juicing apples yesterday (I use an ACME SUPREME JUICER and highly recommend them!!!), I put on a small pot of apple tea (my DD calls it).  For apx. 2 pints of apple juice, add one cinnamon stick and 2-3 whole cloves.  Bring to boil, add desired amount of sugar, and there ya go.

DD and I juiced two bags yesterday and got 7 quarts (not counting the 2 pints for tea).

It’s chilly out there this morning.  I’m so thankful for the wood stove.

Have a great day, everyone!

Heidi

Salsa recipe

Again, this recipe came from Recipezaar (#9272).  I’ve change a couple of things to our taste, and I’ll indicate where…

WONDERFUL SALSA

Makes about 3 quarts or 6 pints

8 cups tomatoes,peeled, chopped and drained (I drain the juice into ½ pints

                                                and seal later for our own V-8 type juice)

2 ½ C Onions, chopped

1 ½ C Green peppers, chopped

1 C Jalapeno peppers, chopped (I omit entirely as we don’t like hot)

6 cloves garlic (I use more like 8 cloves), minced

2 tsp. Cumin (makes it hot so I only use about ½ tsp.)

2 tsp. Pepper

1/8 C canning Salt

1/3 C Sugar

1/3 C White Vinegar

1 (15 oz) can Tomato Sauce

1 (12 oz) can Tomato Paste

¼ - ½ C chopped Cilantro (optional but I highly recommend). Can also use atleast ½ tsp. dried Cilantro.

Mix all together and bring to a slow boil for 10 min.

Seal in jars and cook in hot water bath for 10 min.

The cumin in this makes it hot, so when I want a milder salsa I just omit the cumin.