Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great time at our Friends and Family gathering. I took some pictures and am providing recipes for some of our delicious dishes.

Chicken, Artichoke, Cheese Spread: Makes a LOT but you can freeze it in appropriate portion sizes. It was very good!

3 cups cooked chicken, diced

2 blocks of cream cheese, softened(8 oz each)

2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and diced

1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

4 green onions, minced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Stir together all ingredients until well combined. Line a bowl with plastic wrap. Spoon into the bowl and bring up sides of plastic wrap to fully cover mixture. Chill 8 hours or overnight. Freeze unused portion up to 1 month and thaw in refrigerator overnight. Serve with water crackers or french bread baguette slices.

Debbie's Mac n Cheese: This is a staple at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. Sooooo delicious!

1 (8 oz) package elbow macaroni, cooked

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 (16 oz) loaf Velveeta cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

4 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Toss together macaroni and olive oil. Stir in velveeta, cheddar, and parmesan cheeses. Spoon into a lightly greased 11 x 7 inch baking dish. Stir together evaporated milk and remaining ingredients. Pour over pasta. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes.

Streusel-Topped Sweet Potatoes: If you are from the South, you know about sweet potato casserole. Wheather it's topped with streusel topping or marshmallows, it really is all about the topping! I chose to use both on this one.

3 (29 oz) cans sweet potatoes, drained

1/3 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp grated orange rind

1 Tbsp fresh orange juice

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp salt

3 egg whites

Topping:

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mash up potatoes well. Mix together first 7 ingredients with hand mixer, until smooth. Beat egg whites in a small bowl at high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold beaten whites into potato mixture. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Stir together all topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potatoes. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. If using Marshmallows, add them at the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Pumpkin Cake: The link for this recipe was posted here earlier. I chose to top the cake with part of the cream filling and used toffee bits on top instead of nuts. The results were wonderful!