Candied Yams

Ingredients:
6 large bright orange sweet potatoes
1 lb. dark brown sugar
1 stick butter
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp salt

Directions:
Wash and peel potatoes. Chunk potatoes into 2-in disks. Put potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Add salt & sugar to potatoes and water. Cover. Boil until potatoes are fork tender (approx 30 mins). Drain potatoes. Put potatoes in a baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Dot potatoes with butter. Bake for 20 mins on 350F. Sprinkle with marshmallows and return to oven. Bake until marshmallows are brown.

Prep Time: 15 mins (for peeling and chopping)

Source: www.cook.com

Variations: I used 3 sweet potatoes and light brown sugar (instead of dark). Then I didn't measure anything. I just put in however much I wanted.

Marcos' Rating: This year he made these for me while I was making something else. But he didn't eat them so he has no rating.

Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole

I only make it for Thanksgiving, hence the name, because I don't like green beans or mushrooms. Okay, so here are 2 different recipes I tried this year. Yesterday I made the first one, and today I made the second one. We'll see which one Marcos prefers.

Recipe #1: French's Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 1/3 cup french fried onions
2 (14.5 oz) cans green beans, drained OR 2 (9 oz) pkgs frozen cut green beans, thawed

Directions:
Mix soup and milk, then add pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1.5 qt. casserole dish.
Bake at 350 F for 30 mins or until hot.
Stir.
Top with remaining onions and bakd for 5 more mins.

Prep Time: 5-10 mins, if that

Source: the back of the French's French Fried Onions can

Variations: none

Marcos' Rating: 15 (on a scale of 1-10)

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Recipe #2: Campell's Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cans (10 3/4 oz)
1 cup milk
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 2/3 cups french fried onions

Directions:
Stir soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in 3-qt casserole.
Bake 350 F for 25 mins or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture and top with the remaining onions.
Bake for 5 more mins or until the onions are golden brown.

Prep Time: 5-10 mins maybe

Source: the back of the Campbell's Green Beans soup can

Variations: I made a forth of this recipe (it was only for Marcos to eat), and it still turned out good.

Marcos' Rating: (to be determined . . . he'll eat it tonight)

Onion & Thyme Stuffing

This recipe was really easy and tasted great! I don't like stuffing from a box so I think from now on I'll just make my own so we can both enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 onion
4 sticks celery
6 slices day-old bread
fresh thyme
butter
Vegetable stock
1 egg

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Cube bread & place in bowl. Chop onion and celery. Melt butter over medium heat in saucepan. Add onions & celery. Saute until onions are clear. Add onions & celery to bread. Add thyme, salt, & pepper to taste. Beat egg in separate bowl & add to bread mixture. Mix well. Moisten with vegetable stock & mix. At this point, you can add spices or cheese. Let sit to soak in the liquid for a few minutes. Transfer to a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

Source: (somewhere online--I'll look for it & then edit this later)

Serves: 2-3 people

Prep time: 15-20 minutes before it goes into the oven

Marcos' rating: 10

Variations/Tips:
Veg Stock: I dissolved a cube of stock that called for 1 cup boiling water. Then I only used about half of that mixture for the bread to soak up.
Bread: I only used 2 hoagie rolls ("petit pains" in UK), about 7 inches long each. That's probably why it didn't make very much. When the bread soaks in the veg stock, remember that it will shrink.
Thyme: This was the first time I've cooked with fresh thyme. The packaging said to wash it before use. But then it was very difficult to scrape the little leaves off when it was wet. I ended up with a ton of leaves all over my fingers and under my nails. Next time I'll wash it and let it dry at the beginning. Then when I need to use it, it should be dry enough. I didn't use any other spices or cheese. Maybe I'll try that another day.
Next time I'll use more of each ingredient to get more finished product.

P.S. I did take a picture, but not until after we had eaten most of it. The picture didn't out well. Sorry Pam. :)