Tag: Christmas

Sweet Potato Rum Casserole

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This is a recipe that I have had for a long long time.  I don’t remember where I originally got the recipe but I always fix it for Thanksgiving.  I made the recipe below except I didn’t bake it. The casserole mixture was frozen.   The day before Thanksgiving I will thaw this in the refrigerator and then bake it on Thanksgiving.  Marshmallows are added the last 5-10 minutes of baking.

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
¼ cup and 2 tablespoons of butter, melted
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
¼ cup dark rum
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract (use the real stuff, not imitation)
Mini-marshmallows

Combine first 7 ingredients, mixing well.  Spoon into lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.   Bake uncovered at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes.  Arrange marshmallows on top and continue baking until marshmallows are lightly brown.

Pumpkin Pie

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Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without the pumpkin pie.  It is a fav with the family.  A few posts back I was saying that I wanted to cook most of the Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time and freeze it.  My first dish was the freezable mashed potatoes.  Now I have made two pumpkin pies and I am freezing those.  All I did was follow the recipe on the back of the can of pumpkin.  Pumpkin pie freezes great and all you have to do is let it thaw before serving.  Can’t get any easier than that!

Freezable Mashed Potatoes

I hope to have most of the Thanksgiving meal fixed ahead of time.  I want to spend my time visiting with company instead of cooking in the kitchen.  I am going to cook the turkey on Thanksgiving day.  There is just something to be said about the wonderful smell of turkey that goes through the house.  If you want to follow along, I will be cooking other dishes for Thanksgiving and freezing them.  After Thanksgiving I will be preparing for Christmas and cooking freezable goodies.

The first thing I am cooking and freezing ahead of time is mashed potatoes.  I have never tried this recipe but it seems like it would work.  I froze all the mashed potatoes together because I am having quite a few people for Thanksgiving but you can freeze this in smaller containers that is more meal sized for your family.

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5 pounds of potatoes
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 pinch of paprika

Peel potatoes. Boil in water until soft. Drain. In a large bowl combine potatoes, egg, garlic powder, salt, cream cheese and milk. Mash by hand or with an electric mixer. Freeze potatoes at this point. I put mine in a ziplock freezer bag. May put potatoes into smaller freezer bags.

Cooking directions: Thaw potatoes. Place in a 3 qt. buttered casserole dish. Drizzle butter over top of potatoes and sprinkle paprika on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until top is golden.