Darren Criss of gLee sings "Part of Your World"

Thanks to my always-looking-out-for-me friend Erin for finding and sharing this with me!

Give Thanks

This year I have so many things to be thankful for. I work for a great organization, I moved out of my parents house for the second time, I started Grad School... I've had my share of ups and downs, but all-in-all, I am so blessed. 

This Thanksgiving is going to be different than all the rest-- I'm not with my family. This year I am spending Thanksgiving with Blake and surrounded by many friends, all of which I am thankful for; however, it will be different being away from my parents and siblings. I imagine that as I get older, this will happen more often. Sending many hugs and kisses to Molino, FL!

One thing I am very excited about is to be actively participating in the cooking this year. Normally, I'm in charge of the mashed potatoes, but this year I am responsible for the sweet potatoes and the Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. Check out my recipe for Marshmallows with Sweet Potatoes (aka Sweet Potato Casserole) on my cooking blog!

Marshmallows with Sweet Potatoes...aka Whipped Sweet Potato Bake

I have always said I don't like sweet potatoes unless they are mushy and covered in marshmallows. Well, I discovered that I'm a fan of Baked Sweet Potato Fries, but nothing says Thanksgiving like a whipped pan of mushy, delicious, marshmallow-y sweet potatoes.

This recipe uses canned sweet potatoes. I haven't "liked" sweet potatoes long enough to know if fresh ones make a difference...

Ingredients
3 cans (15oz.each) sweet potatoes, drained
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. group cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 cups Jet Puffed miniature marshmallows

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350*.
2. Beat potatoes, butter, and spices with mixer until well blended.
3. Spoon in to 1.5 qt. casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with marshmallows.
4. Bake 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are warmed throughout and marshmallows are browned.

What I did differently:
1. When I make this tomorrow, I will substitute 2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

2. I will use my biggest casserole dish and here's why: I want as much surface area as possible for the marshmallow topping. No bite is worthy unless it's got that white frosting of deliciousness on it...I will also probably use more than 3 cups of marshmallows.

Enjoy!

Original recipe borrowed from Kraft Foods.

Ice Cream

I must share...

Bluebell's newest creation-- Cotton Candy Ice Cream. D-E-L-I-S-H. For some reason, it only comes in pint size; however, I am sort of thankful because if it came in gallons I'd be in big trouble.

I have also tried the Spiced Pumpkin Pecan (pictured here) and the Snickerdoodle. Both get an A, but Cotton Candy gets an A+.

Bacon-wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeno Bites

Oh man, I might have to make these this weekend. I've been looking for a recipe for these and this one is simple and looks delicious!

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay
Pinch of Salt
12 Jalapenos, halved & seeded
24 – six inch pieces of bacon, uncooked

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine cream cheese and spices in small bowl.  Spoon mixture into each pepper half, until level.  Wrap each in bacon, and place on baking sheet. 

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Original recipe (and picture) borrowed from Doughmesstic

Pumpkin Pie Dip

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup frozen whipped cream, thawed
Gingersnap cookies, apples, or cinnamon graham cracker sticks

Directions
1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.

2. Add in pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ginger. Mix well.

3. Fold in the thawed whipped cream.

4. Serve with green apples, graham cracker sticks, or gingersnaps.

5. Store in refrigerator.

Here's what I did differently:

1. I wasn't sure when I'd be needing pumpkin again (other than Thanksgiving) so I used the whole can of pumpkin so it wouldn't go to waste.

2. I didn't skip any ingredients, but I failed to read the directions and just tossed everything in the mixing bowl at once. It tasted fine to me...

Enjoy!

Original recipe (and picture) borrowed form The Girl Who Ate Everything

Vegetable Blog

I get excited over the silliest things some days--I just came across a vegetable blog and I wanted to share. The website is called A Veggie Venture and today's post is about how to construct a green bean casserole from scratch.

Enjoy!