Jack-o'-lantern Cheese Ball

Ingredients
3 green onions, divided
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers
2 slices pepperoni
crackers

Preparation

Cut 4-inch length from green end of 1 onion; slice remaining onions. Beat cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups Cheddar with mixer until well blended. Stir in sliced onions and peppers. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Shape into pumpkin shaped ball; roll in remaining Cheddar. Cut pepperoni into shapes for the jack-o'-lantern's eyes, nose and mouth; press into cheese ball to make face. Insert green onion piece into top for stem.

Serve with crackers.

Broccoli & Cheese

Steam broccoli until fork tender. Dump your preferred amount of shredded cheese on top and allow to melt from the heat of the broccoli. You can use any kind of cheese, I prefer Colby jack. When making about 3 lbs. of broccoli, I use two large handfuls of shredded cheese.

French Fries

The only way to make French fries is in a fryer. An oven just doesn’t get them as crisp. Yes, it’s fattening. So don’t eat fries every day. I just get whatever brand is on sale of the crinkle fries in the local grocer's freezer aisle.

Keep the fries in the freezer until you are ready to put them in the fryer basket. If you are making two batches, put the fries back in the freezer in between. Set your fryer to about 350 degrees and fry the first batch for 6 - 8 minutes. Batches after will take more time, so keep checking every 3 - 5 minutes. When they look golden, they're done. Drain on paper towels, salt, and serve hot with fry sauce!

Stove Top Stuffing

Yes, we use stove top stuffing for the holidays. It’s easy, it’s fast and everyone likes it. So don’t feel bad for cracking open a box of the name brand or store brand stuff!

Cranberry Sauce

No, I didn’t make cranberry sauce from scratch this year, though I'd like to try sometime. But I did want to comment on it. We have two tastes in our families when it comes to cranberry sauce. We have those that like the jellied sauce and those that like the whole berry sauce. So we typically purchase one can of each. The jellied sauce, we slip out of the can and slice, so that you have a plate of cranberry jelled circles. The whole berry sauce, we pour into a bowl and stir. I prefer whole berry sauce, personally, just tastes better to me.

Mashed Potatoes

These are definitely a southern way of making mashed potatoes and not healthy in any way. I introduced my husband’s family to these a few years ago (versus mashed potatoes made with just milk and butter) and now they ask me to make them whenever we’re having potatoes at a family get together. The measurements here are estimates, as I always make this without a recipe. I just know how it is supposed to look and taste. So feel free to adjust as needed.

8-10 baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 -2 cups mayonnaise
1 – 2 cup butter, cubed
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Whole milk, as needed

Place potatoes in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place potatoes in bowl and beat until smooth (an electric mixer makes this step much easier). Add mayonnaise, butter and garlic. Mix well. Mix in milk until potatoes are the consistency that you prefer for your mashed potatoes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This is a family recipe that my side of the family makes every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We just love it! People are always afraid that I won’t be willing to share the recipe because it’s a family recipe, but that’s the point of good food!!! To share! My family wouldn’t have this wonderful recipe if someone hadn’t shared the base recipe with my grandmother years and year ago that she tweaked into our version of it.

Filling:
3 cans sweet potatoes (15 oz ea), drained
1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 tspn vanilla

Topping:
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup pecans, chopped

Mash filling ingredients together. Pour into 8x8 casserole dish. Mix topping ingredients together with a fork. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350°F for 30 - 45 minutes. Is done when top is nicely browned.
Let sit for 10 minutes, then enjoy!

Honey Glazed Carrots

This was the first time making these for Thanksgiving, on the request of my hubby. We normally just add butter and lemon pepper, but I wanted something a bit sweeter this year.

1 pound baby carrots
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Steam the carrots until tender. Mix in butter, honey and lemon juice in large bowl. Add carrots and stir until evenly coated with glaze.