Holiday Hoopla

I've been so busy I never posted how well my budgeted meal week turned out. It was successful! We ended up mixing up a few of the days, so I'm going to have to try it again, more structured and with updates for my readers!

Everything before Thanksgiving is a blur...I hosted Mike's mom and stepdad, brother James, Uncle Rick, cousin Kim and her son Ricky. Our tiny house was FULL! I cooked the ham and Cindy made the Turkey. We had rolls, cream corn, green bean casserole, hashbrown potato casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, potato salad, cranberry sauce and cranberry Jell-O salad, stuffing, ham, and turkey. It was a feast! I couldn't help but share some of my favorites:

Creamed Corn:
1 package Philadephia cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 bag frozen corn
Cook in crockpot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Hashbrown Casserole:
1 bag Ore Ida Hashbrowns
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can milk
8 oz sour cream
salt and pepper to season
10 can green chilies
2 cups Corn flakes cereal, plain and crushed
2 Tbls butter, melted
Mix all together and bake at 350 degrees for an hour and a half. Mix crushed corn flakes with melted butter and add to top of casserole. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole
2 lbs yams, cubed
8 oz evaporated milk
1 stick butter
1 cup walnuts (optional)
2 cups corn flakes cereal, plan and crushed
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbls cinnamon
2 Tbls nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 cups marshmallows
2 Tbls butter
*To cube yams, I zapped in microwave until soft and then split each one, scooped out the middle, and cubed the filling. You don't want the "skin" in this dish.
Mash the cubed yams and add the evaporated milk and beaten egg. Mix the white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together then add to sweet potato mixture. Add in marshmallows. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Mix the brown sugar, walnuts, and crushed cornflakes together. Add in the butter. Top over casserole and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Serve.
Hope you all had a great holiday! I cleaned up the dinner dishes with some help from my mother-in-law and then hit the road for a shopping trip to Branson. Too much shopping in one weekend for me, but I had a great time. Next year, will definitely save the Branson outlets for another time of the month! Great friends, good food, fun times!