Chex Mix

Every Thanksgiving and sometimes at Christmas, I make my "famous" chex mix. I used to send it to my husband while he was overseas with every care package (twice monthly) too. He loves it, as does the rest of my family. I make it a little different than the recipe on the box...spicy, and it's super delish. In fact, I'm making a batch right now to take with us to Thanksgiving. It smells so good. :)

Ingredients:
3 cups corn chex
3 cups wheat chex
3 cups rice chex
1 cup cheese squares
1 cup peanuts (if you like them)
1 cup pretzel sticks (again, if you like them)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon season salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chipotle tabasco sauce
1/4 cholula hot sauce

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 250F.
2. Combine chex, cheese squares, peanuts, and pretzels in a large bowl.
3. Melt butter.
4. Add garlic powder, season salt, onion powder to butter, and stir.
5. Add Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and cholula to butter and stir.
6. Drizzle over chex mixture, making sure it's all coated.
7. Spread evenly onto 2 cookie sheets.
8. Bake in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Souffle

I know everyone has their traditions on Thanksgiving, everyone has their own way to make sweet potatoes. This is how my family does it, and has been since I can remember. We don't use marshmallows, like so many other families. This is seriously the best thing ever. It's like a dessert, so deliciously delicious!

Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients
3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

-topping-
1/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions
1. Mix together potatoes, sugar, eggs, 4T butter, and vanilla.
2. Put in a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Combine brown sugar and flour.
4. Mix with melted butter.
5. Sprinkle on top of potatoes.
6. Bake 30 minutes at 350F.

Fudgy Pecan Pie

Not only do we make pecan pie at Thanksgiving, we also make fudgy pecan pie. This one we started only about 8 years ago. It's so delicious, we keep making it!

Fudgy Pecan Pie

Ingredients
3/4 cup sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup hot water
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups pecan pieces
1 unbaked pie shell, 9"

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In medium saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter.
3. Stir in condensed milk, hot water, and eggs. Mix well. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pastry shell.
5. Bake 40-45 minutes or until center is set.
6. Chill 3 hours.

Pumpkin Bread

I apologize, I have not been posting lately. We've had some set backs recently, but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. The holidays are coming up, in fact, we just passed one! Thanksgiving is next, so I have a few recipes I will share that my family and I like to make on or around Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, no gifts to buy. Just time to be thankful and to spend with family. Plus, awesome turkey sandwiches the next day for lunch!
Anyway, here is my first holiday post. I make this around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it's really good any time of the year.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1 15-ounce can pumpkin

Directions
1. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add eggs and beat well; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in a 350F oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.