Thanksgiving Sides - Stephanie's House - November

Thanksgiving SidesHeavenly Mashed Potatoes by Stephanie Christensen
These mashed potatoes are really flavorful and don't even need gravy.

3 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 8-ounce package cream cheese cut up and softened
1 8-ounce sour cream
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 slices bacon
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
snipped chives (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cook potatoes in boiling water for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash. Add cream cheese, stirring until combined. Stir in sour cream, mustard, salt, and pepper.
2. Spoon potato mixture into a lightly greased casserole dish. Top with cheese.
3. Bake potatoes uncovered in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese melted. Top with bacon and chives if desired.


Cranberry Orange Relish by Carol Kane

2 cups cranberries
1 small orange
3/4 cup sugar

Wash orange, cut and remove any seeds. Blend wtih peel. Add cranberries and blend. Add sugar and let sit for 1/2 hr to dissolve. Store in fridge. Tastes great on turkey sandwiches.

Bread - Adrienne's House - October

Easy Croissants by Carol Kane
In medium bowl:
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
Let yeast set for about 5 minutes, then add:
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
Set aside. In a large bowl:
4 cups sifted flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter


Cut in butter until crumbly. Add yeast mixture, blend until moistened. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.


Knead about 6 times. Divide into 4 equal parts for small croissants, or 2 parts for large. Shape into a ball, roll out into a circle on a floured surface. Cut into 8, 10 or 12 wedges. Roll each wedge, starting with the wide end. Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise 3 hours or until raised. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes.


The key to making flaky croissants is to keep the dough cold. The heat of your hands can melt the butter. That’s why you don’t knead the dough too much, and you’ll see chunks of butter as you roll it out. The butter melts while baking and creates the flakes in the dough.

Banana Bread by Carol Kane

The recipe for the banana bread I found at this website. I have never made the pecan brown sugar mix for the middle of the loaf. Jason doesn’t like nuts, so I leave them out.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

Cinnamon Rolls by Meredith Hall

I use this recipe for normal rolls, cinnamon or orange rolls and even pizza dough:

3 eggs beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp. salt

1 cup hot water

5-6 cups flour

1 T. yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, salt, water. Add yeast mixture and half the flour. Mix well and add the rest of the flour gradually. Let it knead for a few minutes. Let it raise in the bowl for the few hours. If you have time, refridgerate for a few hours. If you don't have time, that's okay. Then, roll out the dough and cut into any shape. For cinnamon and orange rolls, I roll it out and spread a mixture of melted butter, sugar and either cinnamon or orange zest. Then, I roll the dough up into a log and cut. Bake at 400 degrees.

Banana Bread aka Ba-man-a Bread by Carter Christensen
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnish: (Optional)
1 large banana, sliced or dried banana chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.
Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.) Scrape batter into prepared pan and place the slices of banana on top of the batter for garnish. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.
Makes 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Banana Bread by Adrienne Murray

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp soda

1 pinch of salt

2 cups flour

2 eggs beaten

1 square of butter

3 mashed bananas

Mix butter and sugar. Add bananas, eggs, and dry ingredients,Bake for 55 min at 350 or in muffin tins for 20-35 mins.