Pink Salad

This is my great-grandmother's recipe. We've had this delicious, creamy fruit salad at every Thanksgiving and Christmas since FOREVER.

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 can Eagle Brand Condensed milk
1 carton whipped topping
2 C mini marshmallows
1/2 - 1 C chopped pecans (optional)

Mix and refrigerate overnight.

You can thank me later.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ever since discovering this delectable, almost dessert-like sweet potato casserole, it is a must-have at every Thanksgiving and Christmas feast.

3 C Sweet potatoes (5-6 fresh cooked or canned)(Stay the hell away from canned, though)
1 C Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, softened (don't bother with silly margarine)
1/2 C milk
1 TB vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
1 C brown sugar
1/3 C flour
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 C pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash the potatoes. Mix in remaining ingredients and beat well with a mixer. (There may be some bits of butter that don't get mixed in completely. It's okay. Don't panic. They'll melt during the baking process.) Pour into a greased casserole dish. Mix together the topping ingredients and spread over the sweet potato mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes.

I typically make two of these casseroles to feed 8-10 adults. These are just as tasty reheated with a turkey sandwich.

Three Cheese Eggplant Bake

1 medium to large eggplant
1/4 C Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 3/4 C Ricotta Cheese
1 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese, shredded. 1/2 C reserved for topping
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Marinara Sauce (see recipe)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray. Cut skin off of eggplant and slice lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips. (Don't worry if you end up with short pieces of eggplant, you can combine these pieces together later.) Place the eggplant strips on cookie sheets and drizzle olive oil evenly over each piece. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 minutes, change positions of the cookie sheets (top to bottom/bottom to top shelf.) Bake an additional 5 minutes.

While the eggplant is baking, begin the marinara sauce and make the cheese filling. To make the filling, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses.

Spray an 11 X 7 casserole dish with cooking spray. Place 2-3 TB of filling at the end of each eggplant slice and roll up. Combine the smaller eggplant slices to make longer strips if needed. Place each roll-up in casserole dish. Spoon marinara sauce over each. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 C of mozzarella cheese over casserole. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 2-6, depending on your side dish. If you serve with pasta (which I don't because of my carb-phobic husband), this dish goes further.

Related Recipes: Marinara Sauce

Jennifer's Marinara Sauce

1 28 oz. can of name-brand* crushed tomatoes
1 garlic clove crushed
3 TB of Extra-virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 TB Sugar

In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, cook the garlic clove in the olive oil just until the clove begins to brown. Remove from heat, remove the garlic clove, and allow the oil to cool. Once cool, add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer over low heat until thoroughly heated.

*I use Hunts or Contandina. I have an aversion to generic tomato products, they seem much more acidic than the name brands.

Related Recipes: Three Cheese Eggplant Bake