Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes!

Every family has recipes that have been passed down and are favorites for the holidays. I thought I would share ours. I must admit, however, part of the reason I am doing this is so that I have all my recipes in one place and easy to access when I start cooking! These are all tried and true recipes. They make me hungry just typing them!

Corn Pudding Casserole (from Sister-in-law)
Spinach and Artichoke Casserole (from Mom)
Asparagus Casserole (from Grandmother)
Sweet Potato Casserole (recipe follows, from Mom)
Pineapple Chutney (my newest favorite Thanksgiving recipe)
Easy Cranberry Orange Salad (from Great-Grandmother)
Red Cabbage (all the way from Denmark)
Bohemian Bread (my recipe which won at the State Fair this year)
Pumpkin Bread (my recipe which is very popular)
Cherry Chocolate Cake (from my mother-in-law)
7 Up Pound Cake (recipe below, from my sister)

I usually just follow the directions on the turkey wrapper so I don't have a fantastic recipe for Turkey. If you have one, I would really like to try it. Also any great stuffing recipe that you have, I would really like to have it as well. The older generation in our family would often make a Danish prune stuffing of which I have never been fond! Please leave a link or recipe!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

7 Up Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
5 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup 7 UP

For the Glaze:

1/4 cup 7 UP
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Combine butter, shortening, sugar, vanilla and almond extract in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt, and add to butter/sugar mixture alternately with 1 cup 7 UP, beating well after each addition.

Spoon batter into prepared 10-inch tube pan, and bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert on serving plate and remove pan.

While cake is cooling, make the glaze by stirring together the 1/4 cup 7 UP and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved. Punch holes in top of warm cake with a toothpick. Spoon glaze over cake, and cool completely before serving.