Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this dish for Christmas last year, and now I think it's my "signature" dish that I'm required to bring to all holiday functions.  Even the kiddos loved it (who previously wouldn't eat sweet potatoes)-- "it tastes like pie!" they told me.  Honestly, I didn't eat sweet potatoes at the holidays until I was in college--even that weird coating of marshmallows couldn't entice this kid to try them.  However, if the sweet potato casserole at my family functions would have looked like this, I probably would have tried them a lot sooner!

Looks more like my mom's apple crisp, and less like somebody baked a box of Lucky Charms.

This is also great if you have to travel for the holidays--you can make the two parts separately ahead of time, refrigerate, and then put the topping on the casserole when you get where you're going and just bake for 30 minutes.

What I also love?  This is SUPER easy to make.  Even with a fussy 2 month old in the next room.  AND you can take super-cute Christmas photos of him after you put the casserole in the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

filling:

3 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 cup half & half

topping:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Start with the topping, as you'll want to chill it after all the ingredients have been combined--this results in a beautifully crisp crumble topping.

Combine the topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl, using a pastry cutter or a fork until crumbly.  Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F, and lightly spray a 9"x 13" pan with oil or cooking spray.

For the filling, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer and blend until thoroughly mixed.  Then place in the baking dish, and add the crumble topping.  Bake for 30 minutes, and then allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

Yes, yes, I’m alive.  I know, you were worried.  It’s been a hectic summer around these parts.  The Scoop is crazy-busy:

  

… and we’ve been getting to hang out outside a bit…

Oh, and I discovered geocaching. 

  

I may be a little obsessed (username “feauxcajun”).

But, I HAVE also been cooking. I just haven’t taken the time to blog about it.  As the Scoop season winds down, I have a little more free time again.  So, I’d like to share a recipe I swiped from my cousin Manda Starr.  Well…technically from her hubs, who made it for us for Turkey Day breakfast last year.

SUPER yummy stuff. 

The nice thing about this is that you can compose 90% of this dish the night before, and then just add the tater tots in the morning before you bake it. 
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef or pork sausage
4 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup chives
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tsp turmeric (we’re on a turmeric kick lately…it’s great for you and very mild so you can add it to anything…but it IS responsible for the super-yellow color of the dish.)
2-3 cups shredded cheese (I prefer sharp cheddar, but as you can tell from the pics, we had mozzarella on-hand.)
4 eggs
2 lbs frozen tater tots

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the meat & onions in a large skillet, then drain off the excess fat.  Transfer into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Then add the cheese & bacon.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, chives, turmeric, salt & pepper, then pour over the meat & cheese.  (If you prep it the night before, here’s where you refrigerate it.)
When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 350F, and add the tater tots.  If you’re a free spirit, you can just toss them on top and spread ‘em around so you have good coverage.  But…if you’re a little more “A type” personality…

(I know it seems a little anal, but it actually makes portioning really easy later on.)

Press the tots down into the mixture a little bit to get a good “crust”. Then bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the eggs are completely done.

Makes about 8 servings.
NutriFacts:
Calories 371
  Total Fat 17.4 g
  Saturated Fat 4.2 g
  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
  Monounsaturated Fat 2.2 g
  Cholesterol 187.0 mg
  Sodium 642.5 mg
  Potassium 433.6 mg
  Total Carbohydrate 24.2 g
  Dietary Fiber 2.0 g
  Sugars 3.5 g
  Protein 26.6 g

Freezer Meals: aka, staying sane thru life with two jobs.

You may be asking, “BK, how in the world do you find time to have a 45-hour a week job, own The Scoop, manage a household, (periodically) update this blog, and still find time to cook?”
The answer?  I don’t.  I’m human…as human as anyone, and I CANNOT do it all.  Thankfully, the Hubs manages most of our household finances and the more “businessy” side of The Scoop so I can focus on marketing & creating specials, and oh, yeah, also periodically feeding our own faces.  It also helps that his “office” is in our home, so if he’s slow at work, he can do laundry, load the dishwasher, etc.  But, during Scoop-season, our schedules stay pretty packed, with very little down time for blogging and getting creative with our own meal options.  I typically use the weekends to make a big batch of something in the Crockpot & then we eat leftovers most of the week.  Not exactly glamorous, but it’s nourishment and it keeps us from having to eat at The Scoop as often, since sadly, Nathan Dogs, while famous, are not all that good for you.
And I also have my friend Meghan to thank for convincing me to start using my weekends to make freezer meals. 
For my first round, I decided to go with three “casserole” type dishes and some breakfast burritos, since I am notorious for not eating breakfast in the mornings if I’m in a rush & then stopping to get fast food.  At least if I make the breakfast burrito myself, I can control what’s in it.
Rather than recreating all these recipes here, I’ll just give you the links to the helpful blogs I used:

Breakfast Burritos:

We filled ours with scrambled eggs, cheddar, crumbled sausage, hash browns, bacon, and jalapenos (well, some with jalapeno—some mornings I’m too wimpy for that).  The tip the blogger posts about nuking it for 1 minute, letting it rest, then 1 more minute?  Perfect. Makes these soooo easy to re-heat.  Sans aluminum foil, of course.

Ravioli “Lasagna”:

A girl from work brought in a birthday cake in an aluminum pan, so when it had all disappeared I pilfered the pan, washed & reused it for this dish. (Yay, recycling!)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole:

I made two of these, since one of our church friends just had a baby, so that we could take one over to them. (Even though I know they were REALLY hoping I’d send over a pot of jambalaya.)

Cheesy Ham Casserole:

(Apparently I forgot to take a photo while prepping this one.)  We decided to make include this one because we had a HUGE ham steak in the freezer—so part of it went into the chicken cordon bleu casserole, part into this, and the rest into sandwiches.

So that’s our lil’ stockpile.  Most of those are gone now (the burritos disappeared fast), but it’s really helped during this season of The Scoop when we just get a little too busy but don’t want to have to eat take out.