Sweet Potato Cassarole

Let me tell you my dear friends, this sweet potato dish is absolutely to D.I.E for.  If you've eaten at Ruth's Chris then you probably have an idea of just how fabulous it is!  This is my version of the copy cat recipe.  I think I use a little less sugar - not for the sake of being healthy... I mean any time you're working with 1 1/2 CUPS (that's nearly a whole box, folks) of butter, you can pretty much throw any claim to nutritional benefit right out the window.  I think it's better to just face the facts and admit that sometimes the calories are simply just worth it.

Sweet Potato Cassarole

makes 9x13 pan

Combine:

• 4-5 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 cup (one cube) melted butter or margarine

Mix well in large bowl (preferably in order listed above) and pour in 9x13 baking dish.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes

While that's baking, 

Combine:

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 cup (2 cubes) melted butter or margarine

After potato mixture has baked 30 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle pecan topping over top, spreading evenly.  Return to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

It's best when you can allow 30-60 minutes for the dish to set before serving.

This is now a regular at our Thanksgiving table.  It makes a great and filling side to go with simple grilled chicken breasts.  It also reheats like a charm so you can make it on Monday and eat it all week!

Bowtie Pasta Salad

I hope you had a lovely 4th of July weekend!  Isn't it a great holiday?!  It's especially nice when it falls on a Friday too.  We do our parading on the evening of the 3rd so we don't have to wake up early and rush our kids out the door on the morning of the 4th.  Grr... they are cranky monkeys when they don't get their beauty rest.  I mean really though.... parades on the morning of the 4th sound fun right?  But when you really think about it..... let's get up early, rush out the door to fight a crowd of people for a spot to sit in the blazing sun for hours so we can watch businesses and politicians try to buy our love with coupons, stickers and candy.  Don't all jump at once!

No really - it's mostly about the tradition - which I'm a HUGE fan of.  So we do it... just the night before instead of the morning of the big day.  Then I get to stay home ALL day on the 4th.  We rent a bounce house, fill up a little pool in the backyard and invite family and friends over for a bbq and lame front yard fireworks.  It's the bomb.

This year I made one of my all-time favorite salads... the recipe came from my awesome sister-in-law and I thought I'd pass it along!!

Bowtie Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 16 oz bowtie pasta, cooked
• 1 cup mayo
• 12-16 oz cole slaw dressing
• 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped fine
• 1 cup red grapes, sliced in half
• 1 can mandarin oranges
• 1 can pineapple tidbits
• 1 cup cashews or slivered almonds

Cook pasta then rinse well with cold water.  Whisk together mayo and dressing until the consistency is smooth.  Pour over pasta and stir.  Fold in remaining ingredients and mix well.  Simple as that.  You can also add chicken to this salad.  I usually leave it out because it makes such a great side to grilled chicken breasts!  

Spicy (or not) Spanish Rice

This easy rice is my go-to side dish when we are having a Mexican main dish.  I usually have all the ingredients in my pantry so I throw them all in my rice cooker and have a savory side 30 minutes later.  If you want it to have a kick to it - just use Ro-tel instead of regular diced tomatoes.  I usually make the non-spicy version but every once in a while it's fun to make it with a little spice!  

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups white rice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup dried minced onions (or 1/2 onion chopped fine)

4 cups chicken broth (or 4 cups water & 4 tsp chicken bouillon)

1 cup diced tomatoes (OR 1 cup Ro-tel)

1 tsp salt

pinch Oregano

To cook on the stove-top, lightly brown rice in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Add onion and garlic (if you're using a "real" onion - not dried ones) and cook until onions are soft.  Then add this and all other ingredients into a saucepan, cover and cook according to package directions.  It will be around 20-25 minutes once it's boiling.  

See, I'm lazy, and I just use my rice cooker.  The button pops up and the light turns off when it's done so I don't have to time it.  If you're going to cook rice very often, a rice cooker is a well-worth-it investment!  I just add all the ingredients to my rice cooker, give it a little stir, and let it do its magic.  I really prefer using minced onions for this - and actually most - recipe.  You get the great onion taste without the obvious crunch.  If you're going to use a "real" onion, you'll want to cook and soften it in olive oil before adding it.