Thanksgiving Recipe Time

Does Thanksgiving stress you out?  Do you find yourself searching for ideas and new recipes to refresh your Thanksgiving menu from last year?  Relax…I know how you feel.  Thanksgiving is a wonderful time with friends and family but we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to plan the best Thanksgiving menu for that special moment each year.  We want it to be warm, filling, pleasing to the eye, and all together perfect!  After all, it only comes once a year, right?  I understand.  So, to help you out I’ve put together a few recipes from the Clark household that seem to be enjoyed each year.  Don’t let the cleaning, planning, and decorating cause you to loose focus of what you’re truly thankful for this Thanksgiving.  We all have so much to be thankful for.  So, what good things have you tasted from God this year that you should be sharing with others? 

 Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups

6 small sweet potatoes (about 2 ¾ lb.)

4 large navel oranges

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

3 Tbsp. melted butter

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. orange zest

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place sweet potatoes on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes or until tender.  Let stand 20 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
2. Meanwhile, cut oranges in half crosswise.  Scoop out pulp using a spoon, leaving peel intact.  Keep orange pulp for another use.
3. Peel sweet potatoes, and place potato pulp in a large bowl.  Add sweetened condensed milk and next 7 ingredients.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth, stopping occasionally to remove any tough fibers, if necessary.  Spoon about ½ cup mixture into each orange cup. Place orange cups in a 13×9-inch baking dish.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, and top with marshmallows, pressing lightly to adhere.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until marshmallows are melted and golden brown.

Note:  Orange cups and sweet potatoes can be made 1 day ahead.  Chill scooped orange cups and baked sweet potatoes in separate zip-top plastic bags until ready to assemble. 

 Pecan-Ginger-Sweet Potato Cups:  Prepare recipe as directed through Step 3, adding ¾ tsp. ground ginger with sweetened condensed milk.  Bake cups at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Top with ½ cup chopped pecans; top with marshmallows as directed.  Proceed with recipe as directed.

Carrot Souffle

3 ½ lbs. sliced, cooked and drained carrots (12 cups) (cook carrots about 1 hour)

2 ½ cups sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. vanilla

¼ cup flour

6 eggs

2 sticks butter

Add the sugar, baking powder, and vanilla to the cooked carrots and whip until smooth with an immersion blender.  Add flour and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time.  In a separate bowl, whip butter very well.  Add soft butter to the other ingredients.  Place in a 13×9-inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees about 45-50 minutes or until golden.

Broccoli and Rice

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp. butter

1 cup cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

½ lb. Velvetta cheese

3 cups cooked rice

2 (10 oz.) packages chopped broccoli

½ cup almonds (optional)

Saute onion in butter.  Add cream of chicken soup and milk.  Add Velvetta, rice, broccoli, and almonds.  Pour into greased 13×9-inch baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  *Can be made the day before.

Orange Cranberry Relish

2 oranges, chopped

1 ½ tsp. orange zest

2-3 tsp. chopped jalapeno slices (more or less to taste)

1 cup sugar

1 lb. fresh cranberries

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

In food processor, place ½ the orange sections, zest and jalapenos.  Pulse until finely chopped.  Add sugar and pulse 3-4 more times.  Add cranberries and continue to pulse until berries are roughly chopped.  Transfer mixture to bowl.  Roughly pulse remaining orange sections, zest, and jalapenos.  Mix altogether and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.  Serve at room temperature.  *Great on turkey sandwiches.

Million Dollar Fruit Cake

Yields 2 cakes

6 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

5 cups flour, seperated

3 tsp. baking powder

2 sticks margarine

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

Dash of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pkg. coconut (14oz.)

6 cups chopped nuts

1 ¼ lbs. candied pineapple, chopped

1 lb. candied cherries (red and green), halved

1 lb. white raisins

1 lb. orange slice candy, chopped

1 pkg. dates (3/4 lb.), chopped

1 cup fig preserves

Cut up and roll fruit and nuts in 1 cup flour.  Cream sugar and margarine together.  Add eggs.  In a separate bowl, sift flour with baking powder, salt and spices.  Add flour mixture alternately with milk to sugar mixture.  Mix well and pour over fruit.  Mix well again (I use my hands).  Spray or grease 2 tube pans and line bottom with wax paper and spray again.  Pack batter into tube pans and decorate the top with nuts and fruit before baking.  Bake at 275 degrees approx. 2 ½ to 3 hours or until toothpick comes out clean.