Crescents

I'm getting ahead of myself, because we don't make these cookies until Christmas, but that's okay. It's another from Grandma.

img via: the bon appetit diaries

2 cups ground pecans
1 pound butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 cups flour
1 T vanilla
powdered sugar (at least 1 cup)

Mix pecans, butter, and sugar together. Add flour and vanilla. Knead dough until smooth, then shape into crescent-moons about 3" high. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 1 minute, then roll in powdered sugar. Let cool, then roll in sugar again. Makes 56 cookies.

Easy Freezy Pumpkin Pie

I think this recipe must have arrived to our house in a cookbook one of us made at school, because the girl who works at the video store knew exactly what we were talking about.

img via: food.com

2 graham cracker pie crusts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 t cinnamon
4 cups (1 quart) vanilla ice cream

Set the ice cream out to soften a bit. In a bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the ice cream and combine until thoroughly mixed. Divide evenly between the two crusts. Freeze until serving.

Pecan Pie

Another recipe from Grandma. The first set of measurements is for a 9" crust, the ones in parenthesis are for an 8" crust.

1 pie crust
3 eggs (2)
2/3 cup sugar (1/2)
1/3 t salt (1/4)
1/3 cup melted butter (1/4)
1 cup dark syrup (3/4)
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Put the crust into a pie dish. Beat together eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and syrup. Put pecans into the crust, then pour mixture over. Bake 40-50 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cherry Pie

My grandma was a big fan of baking, and she gave my mom a lot of sweets recipes. Thanksgiving, of course, is pie season.

2 cans sour pitted cherries (not cherry pie filling - look in the canned fruit aisle)
1 cup sugar
1 t salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 T butter
1 t almond extract
2 pie crusts

Put one crust into a pie dish. Use a knife or small cookie cutter to make steam vents in the other crust, then set it aside to be the lid. In a sauce pan over medium heat, combine sugar, salt, cornstarch, and the liquid from the cherries. Stir constantly until the liquid becomes thick and clearish (about 15 minutes). Add the butter, almond extract, and cherries. Mix, then pour into the pie dish. Cover with the top crust, seal the edges, and sprinkle with sugar. Cover the edges loosely with a strip of tin foil to keep the crust from burning. Bake 30 minutes at 425. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

We made this recipe off the back of the can of Dunbar Yams for years, until one day... there was a new recipe. We ended up calling the 1-800 number on the can, and waited while the lady on the other end rummaged around the office and found it for us. I have to admit that I prefer the pecan topping to the marshmallows some people put on their sweet potatoes, because marshmallows kind of freak me out.

Casserole:
40-oz. can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup butter
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg whites
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter

Combine all the casserole ingredients in a bowl and pour into a shallow baking dish. We usually use a square 9" pan about 2" deep. Combine the topping ingredients - I like to melt the butter so it mixes better - and crumble/spread over the casserole. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Broccoli-Chicken Braid

A recipe from from a Pampered Chef catalog that converted to vegetarian quite nicely. It was our main dish for Thanksgiving yesterday.

img via: taste of home

3 Morningstar Farms soy chik patties, cooked and chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 t dried dill weed
2 8-oz. packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 T slivered almonds

In a large bowl, combine: chik patties, broccoli, bell pepper, cheese, garlic, mayonnaise, and dill weed. Open the crescent rolls but do not separate. Arrange the dough on a cookie sheet and press to seal the perforations. You will end up with one large rectangle of crescent dough. Every 1.5" on the long sides, make a cut going 3" in from each edge. Spread the filling evenly over the center of the dough. To braid, bring each strip to center, giving it a half-turn. Tuck ends together and brush dough with egg whites. Sprinkle with almond slivers. Bake for 25-28 minutes at 375 degrees.