Onion Strings

This has become a favorite side when we have hamburgers. They are sooo good piled on the burger, if they last long enough. I can't keep my girls out of them.
1 whole Large Onion
2 cups Buttermilk
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon (scant) Salt
¼ teaspoons (to 1/2 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
1 quart Canola Oil
Black Pepper To Taste

1. Slice onion very thin. Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk and soak for at least an hour. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

2. Grab a handful of onions (I use my tongs), throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess.

3.Put into hot oil (375 degrees). Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown. Repeat until onions are gone.

4. EAT! YUM!

Yukon Mashed Potatoes

Sorry, no picture. These were good potatoes, though.

Yukon Mashed Potatoes
Taste of Home

3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 c. half-and-half (per Taste of Home, I used 1/2 tbsp melted butter and enough whole milk to make 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 to 1 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. In a large bowl, mash potatoes. Add the cream, butter, garlic salt and pepper; beat until light and fluffy.

Click here for printable version.
 

Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes

Can I just say, "Yummmmmmy"! These were so good that even my brother-in-law, Jordan (who hates sweet potatoes) went back for seconds! Everyone raved. I found the recipe at ourbestbites.blogspot.com.

4 c. mashed sweet potatoes (roast potatoes in oven at 400 degrees for 40 min - 1 hour)
6 T. butter, melted
6 T. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all together and spread in 9x13 inch pan.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top. The topping can be doubled. I did!

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. coconut flakes
1/2 stick butter

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. I didn't take pictures but you can check out our best bites for pictures of theirs.

Sweet Potato Fries

Jordan and Janell brought over a grocery bag full of sweet potatoes the other night. Emmalin and I have been in sweet potato heaven ever since! She and I both LOVE them. Emmalin devours these fries. They're pretty tasty! Stay tuned for more sweet potato recipes!

1 lb. sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix oil with seasonings. Stir in sweet potatoes and coat evenly. Spread out on baking sheet in single layer. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring around every 10 minutes.

Green Bean Casserole

Gage and Amberly had Thanksgiving Feasts at school today. My assignment for Amberly was easy -- plates and silverware. Gage's teacher asked me to bring green beans. I decided to make green bean casserole and found this recipe over at realmomkitchen. Honestly I didn't think the kids would touch it. It's green beans after all. I'm a fan, but these are 2nd graders we're talking about. Well...the kids loved it and I was named by Gage's peers, "The Best Green Bean Casserole Maker".

Picture snagged from realmomkitchen.blogspot.com 2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 c. sour cream
3 cans cut green beans, drained
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 (2.8 oz) can or 1 1/3 c. French's french fried onions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and stir til smooth. Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add salt, sugar, and sour cream. Mix well. Add green beans and stir until coated. Pour into 2 1/2 quart pan (I used a 9x13). Sprinkle with cheese and then sprinkle with onion. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.