Cinnamon Pecan Sweet Potatoes

This year for Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law asked if I would be willing to make a sweet potato dish. I said I would be more than happy to, but was a little apprehensive because I had never in my life cooked a sweet potato. In fact, I don't even like sweet potatoes. Not one tiny bit. I think they are gross. Period.

Thankfully, she gave me a recipe to work with from allrecipes.com (one of my personal favorite sites for recipes). I jumped in to sweet potato prep with both feet, making a couple of slight modifications to the recipe as I went (doubling the recipe, adding more flour to the topping for a different consistency, using whipping cream, etc.). I have to say, I gladly ate sweet potatoes this year, because with this recipe, they turned out to be delicious, even to me! Click here for the original recipe from Heather at allrecipes.com!

• 10 sweet potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 6-7 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Fill a large pot with water and heat to boiling.

2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. Boil sweet potato cubes until just tender.

3. While sweet potatoes cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large glass casserole dish (I used a 10x14 inch dish).

4. Once potatoes are tender enough to be pierced with a fork, remove from heat and rain thoroughly.

5. In a large bowl, mash sweet potatoes. Add salt, 1/2 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, white sugar, and whipping cream to sweet potatoes and mix well to combine.

6. Transfer mixture to the greased baking dish.

7. In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans to make the topping for the sweet potato mixture. Mix with a pastry blender or fork until the consistency resembles course meal.

8. Sprinkle evenly over the sweet potato mixture.

9. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Cheesy Corn Chowder

This is a kid-friendly favorite that always gets gobbled up by even the pickiest eaters I've encountered. It is perfect for a chilly fall or winter day. Something about the combination of potatoes and a creamy cheese soup is cozy and comforting. You can make this dish vegetarian by omitting the bacon pieces and using water flavored with instant chicken bouillon granules.

• 1 lbs. potatoes (approx. 3-4), peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Tiny sprinkle cayenne pepper (optional)
• Dash of black pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen whole kernel corn
• 3 Tbsp bacon pieces, crumbled (you can use store purchased real bacon pieces if you don't want to cook and crumble some up yourself)
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup mild or medium cheddar cheese, shredded

1. In a large saucepan, combine potatoes, broth, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

2. Bring broth to boiling and then reduce heat. Cover and let potatoes simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of the milk, corn, and bacon pieces.

4. Pour remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour into a resealable air-tight plastic container. Place lid firmly on container, and shake to combine. Conversely, you could mix these two together in a bowl with a wisk... I just think shaking them together is more fun!

5. Add about 1/4 cup of hot broth to flour and milk, stirring as you add it.

6. Slowly pour flour and milk mixture into potato and broth mixture, stirring constantly so flour doesn't clump.

7. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

8. Cook one additional minute, stirring gently occasionally.

9. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Simply Perfect Fried Potatoes

Anyone who knows me knows I love potatoes. I will eat potatoes mashed, fried, baked, scalloped... I am always trying to find new ways to cook this dietary indulgence and today I found a new one. This recipe was posted on The Food Network's website by their newest host, Melissa D'Arabian. I tried these potatoes for breakfast today and fell in love!

They have a wonderfully crunchy texture on the outside and a soft, tender center. To make them requires a few extra steps, but they are still simple to make and are so delicious, the extra time is certainly worth it! I added some seasoning salt to my batch, but I am sure that it would be just as tasty without. I will be making this over and over and over and over again! Enjoy!
Click here to view Melissa's original recipe.

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 russet potatoes; peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
• Salt and pepper (can also add seasoning salt, garlic salt, etc. - find what tastes best to you!)
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large saute pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat.

3. Add the cubed potatoes very carefully (watch for splattering oil - PAINFUL!). Sprinkle with salt and pepper (and other seasonings if desired) to taste.

4. Saute potatoes, stirring often, for 5 minutes.

5. Turn the heat up to high, add the water, stir to combine and then cover.

6. Steam the potatoes on high heat for about 3-4 minutes (until water has evaporated). Stir the potatoes every minute to prevent sticking, being sure to quickly replace the lid to keep in as much steam as possible.

7. Lower heat to medium and saute potatoes for another 1 or 2 minutes until all traces of water are gone.

8. Add the butter and stir so that it coats all the potatoes as it melts.

9. Pour potatoes onto a cookie sheet (I lined mine with foil to prevent a huge mess) and spread out so they are in a single layer.

10. Bake until crisp and browned, 15-25 minutes depending on how dark you want them (I baked mine for 20 and they came out perfect for me). NOTE: The potatoes don't have to be super dark in color to be crunchy on the outside. After 20 minutes, mine were just lightly golden, but the texture was perfect!

11. Best served warm.