Sausage Dressing

Sausage dressing (aka stuffing) is a family tradition. It all began with my Grandma Carol who passed on her recipe to her son, my dad, who has now passed it down to my sister and now to me. It is so incredible! My mom's side, the Walton's, only ever did Stove-top so my dad offered to make our recipe one year and has now got them hooked on it too. Everyone who tries it loves it and is immediately converted. So yeah, lot's of pressure on me for my first year making it. It's like my family's legacy; I felt like I needed to honor my ancestor's by making it great ;) So Greg volunteered me to make the stuffing for the Smith Thanksgiving dinner, which I was completely good with and I was pretty nervous. I called my Dad, talked to my sister and grandma just to make sure I knew what I was doing. It was so much fun doing it this year because all growing up, I would wake up to the wonderful smell of this baking every Thanksgiving morning. So the smell of the dressing baking signifies Thanksgiving to me. It was really fun making all the pies and dressing myself this year. It was really exciting and I felt so accomplished by the end. Anyways, here is my family recipe. You will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 loaves dry white bread (it can be the cheapest bread you can find because you just dry it)
• 2 big onions, chopped (I chopped this the night before to save time. Great idea!)
• 1 lb. sausage (I use Jimmy Dean regular )
• 1 stick butter
• 3 stalks celery, chopped (Chop night before and store in fridge also)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped into tiny pieces
• 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• Dash of pepper
• 7-10 c. chicken broth

Directions:

1. Several days before you will be serving the dressing, begin drying the bread. You can either lay it on the counter or what I do is put my oven on the lowest setting and set the bread on the racks inside. Leave the oven door open a few inches to keep the humidity down inside the oven. Turn the bread over after around 30 minutes or until the bread feels dry.  Take it out and cool it on baking racks; when it is cooled down, break it into bite size pieces and put it in the bread bags. Leave them open to prevent humidity.
2. Cook sausage and break into the smallest pieces possible; remove and set aside for later.
3. Saute onion and celery in the cube of butter (you will need the entire stick); set aside.
4.  Put dry bread into a very large bowl and pour the chicken broth over it. You want the bread to be soaked but not mushy.
5. Mix in the sausage, onion, and celery. Mix well.
6. Add the spices; mix well; taste and add more of any if desired.
7. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F until the top is golden brown; about 30-45 minutes. Serve.

That's it. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I felt so accomplished afterwards. It tasted exactly how my dad makes it so I know I did it right. And the whole family enjoyed it for Thanksgiving so that's another win for me!

Sweet Potato Pie

My husband served his LDS mission in Knoxville, Tennessee. While there a wonderful 95-year old lady named Blanche would make Greg and his companion a sweet potato pie several times each month. (She would also call me every couple weeks to tell me how he was doing!) It is a staple in the South and Greg loves sweet potato pie. So I decided to surprise him and try it out for Thanksgiving this year. I found the recipe online and Greg said it tasted like a true Southern sweet potato pie. Victory! It is similar to pumpkin pie but is different enough that if you are expecting pumpkin you will be disappointed. I myself only like pumpkin pie but after trying sweet potato, I now like two types instead of one. It was surprisingly easy too. And it was a big hit at the Smith Thanksgiving dinner this year so double victory! Here it is:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. sweet potato
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. milk (or evaporated milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 9" unbaked pie crust

 Directions:

1. Boil sweet potatoes whole in skin for 40-50 minutes or until done. Run cold water over and remove skin when cool enough to handle.
2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl with a potato masher and a blender (this helps break apart the strings, apparently sweet potatoes are stringy). Add the butter and mix well with the mixer. Stir is the sugar, milk, eggs, spices, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust.
3. Cover edge of crust with aluminum foil and place in oven.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The pie will puff up like a souffle and then will sink down as it cools. 
5. 15-20 minutes before the timer goes off, take off the aluminum foil to allow the crust to turn a golden brown.

(To add the leaves as I did, use a cookie cutter and cut out the desired shapes. Then place the leaves on the edge at the same time as you take the aluminum foil off. That's it!)

It was super easy and delicious and I have the best pastry crust recipe that I will be putting on here probably tomorrow. Good luck and enjoy Southern goodness!


(http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Potato-Pie-I/Detail.aspx)

Potato Gnocchi

I love gnocchi thanks to my Dad. I never wanted to eat it because I thought they looked like gross fat grubs, which they do, but they don't taste like grubs. Once I was finally brave enough to try them I was surprised to find out how much I like gnocchi. Now that I am married I have gotten my husband addicted too. There are so many uses for gnocchi but my favorite is just putting spaghetti sauce and parmesan on them. It looks complicated but is surprisingly easy to make. Also it makes a large batch that last up to 2 months in the freezer which is great for a quick meal. One batch takes me 2-3 hours to make but because of the directions you can do things in between. For example, I did laundry, made fruit snacks and granola bars today while making my gnocchi. They are delicious and easy and by making your own, you are able to save a lot of money. Try them out!

Ingredients:

• 2.2 lbs. russet potatoes (about 5 large), unpeeled
• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• About a tsp. salt 

Directions:

1.   Wash potatoes thoroughly without peeling them. Use exact cooking time and do not pierce them during cooking to prevent water from getting in. Small potatoes: 10-15 minutes to boil: medium: 20-25 minutes; large 35-45 minutes. If you are unsure of your cooking time, boil one extra potato that you can test.
2. Drain boiled potatoes and let them cool until you can handle them. Peel the potatoes and mash them into a large bowl using a potato masher and/or fork (the best tool is a potato ricer). Make sure that you eliminate as many lumps as possible. Let the mashed potatoes cool to room temperature.
3. Mix flour and salt together in a small bowl. Mix the mashed potatoes with the egg yolks and olive oil. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the potatoes and mix gently until the flour is moistened and the dough looks crumbly.
4. Lightly flour your work surface and put your dough on it. Knead it gently to incorporate the flour: press on the dough with your hands, fold it in half, turn it by a quarter turn, and press it again. Do this for 1 minute; do not over-knead.
5. After kneading, your dough should feel soft and smooth. If it sticks, sprinkle a bit more flour but not much. When the dough is ready put it is a bowl and cover with a towel.
6. Clean your work surface, dry it thoroughly and sprinkle lightly with flour. Tear off a lemon-size piece of dough and roll it into a rope (about 3/4 in. diameter). Use a knife to cut out square bites.
7. Either leave them looking like miniature pillow or indent them.
8. To indent them, you can use a special board or a fork. I use a fork. Roll the gnocchi pillow down the fork to form the indents. Watch the video on the website; it explains and shows how to do this. It's really not too difficult.
9. As you roll your gnocchi, arrange them in a single layer on baking sheets, not touching. They are best cooked withing 2-3 hours of being made (keep at room temperature).
10. To freeze them, put the baking sheets straight into the freezer. Once hard, move them to freezer safe bags (they will keep for 2 months).
11. To cook gnocchi, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Put about 12-15 gnocchi into the water at once and wait until they float to the surface; this means they are done. It takes about 2 minutes to watch them. Fish them out with a slotted spoon.

That's it! It really is very easy and so tasty. I highly recommend looking at the original website. She has pictures and videos that help answer any question. Enjoy!

( http://foodnouveau.com/2010/10/09/destinations/europe/italy/how-to-make-gnocchi-an-illustrated-step-by-step-recipe/)

(I also pinned it on my Pinterest Food Board if that's easier.)