Menu Monday: S is for Sweet Potato Casserole


I mentioned last week this weekend...wait.  What day is it again?

We are on DAY 5 of being snowed/iced in, and it continues tomorrow.  (They've already called off finals for Tuesday, too.  We were supposed to open at noon today, but thankfully, they went ahead and closed campus ALL day.)  I know what the day it is; I just have no frame of reference for the past as the days seem to melt into one another quite unlike the snow outside our doors.

(I really do love snow and winter and the magic it brings.  I'm just bummed we didn't get to go see Theatre Squared's production of A Christmas Carol this past weekend.  And we're out of bread and low on eggs.  No more French toast pour moi.)

Anyhooooo, I mentioned sometime recently that Zach and I do a Fall Feast every year.  Usually, we get a rotisserie chicken, I make the sides (green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and Stove Top, which my husband prefers to actual cornbread dressing...weirdo), and we do the dessert up right.  We eat and watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Garfield's Thanksgiving.  It's something we started when we were dating: We decided to do our own "Thanksgiving" since we wouldn't be together for the holiday.  (That first year, I don't really remember.  I'm actually now not even sure if we did what we would call a Fall Feast now.  But our second year, when we were married, we actually watched the Halloween specials and had Halloween Funfetti cake...but I don't remember if it was before or after Halloween.  We do things in our own time.)  And it is a glorious tradition!  "The more you eat, the more grateful you're gonna feel..."  That song kinda irks me, and I don't think it's true for commercialized America, but I also find it stuck in my head for days after, so it does what it is supposed to do, I think.

Anyhooooo, this year, we did it much later this year than usual because we've been so busy and traveling on the weekends...and then when I ordered two chickens from my co-worker's son, I knew we just HAD to wait until they came in, so I could roast one for Fall Feast.


They finally were ready the week of Thanksgiving, and so I brought them home for Fall Feast...the first week in December.

It was my first time to roast a chicken, and it was a ROARING success!  The crowds went wild for the citrusy, herby, golden-skinned chicken!  (By crowds, I mean Zach and Amy.)  But I was very proud of my bird.  :)


I realize this is a terrifying angle.  It looks like a fish face.

I made some "Texas Roadhouse" (copycat) rolls along with the usual green bean casserole, but I decided to do more of a sweet potato casserole than just candied "yams."  I combined two recipes, and it was delish!


SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
3 cans of sweet potatoes, drained
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of ginger
dash of pepper
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbsp. melted butter (1/2 stick)
1+ Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
mini marshmallows

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 pan.
-Mash sweet potatoes by hand until mostly smooth.
-Add all ingredients except marshmallows, and combine until well blended.
-Spread half of sweet potato mixture into pan and top with marshmallows as desired.  Spread remaining sweet potato mixture on top.
-Bake for 30 minutes.  Top with marshmallows as desired and bake for 10 additional minutes until marshmallows are brown and bubbly.

I know this is one of those dishes that is more like candy, but we only have it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I think we get a pass.  And I forgot to make the Stove Top, so it was one less dish.  :)



For dessert, we had a homemade chocolate cake made by a coworker's husband.  Holy YUM!


What are some traditions you have this time of year?

 photo b1ec0eef-a9ee-48d9-87d2-1285feb7aa0c_zpsd6f56ab6.jpg

Snow Days!

We are on our third day of being snowed/iced in, and if you know me, I am loving it!  I was quite surprised to get out on Thursday; I figured we would have go in for a few hours, and then they would close as the weather got bad.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up to a text from my boss that we were closed!

So I went back to sleep for an hour.  I have a hard time sleeping in when I know we are having winter weather because I want to watch it and measure it and touch it and walk it.  Oh, I so LOVE it.  Once I got up, I started editing photos, cleaning, and catching up on TV shows. The sleet started early but didn't really start accumulating until mid-morning. Once Zach got up, he played video games while I continued my cleaning. We drank lots of hot cocoa and tea, watched the snow begin to fall, and played & snuggled with the kitties. In the evening, Zach built a fire, which was lovely.  Here's how we spent our "snow days:"


 photo IMG_0029_zpsc2e10c5d.jpg    photo IMG_0030_zpsf925c420.jpg
sleet starting to collect on everything

 photo IMG_0039_zpsc5c40684.jpg
Yes, we still have pumpkins out.  We didn't carve any this year, so they are still in tact.  I don't have the heart to throw out anything that is still good.

 photo IMG_0041_zpsf053286e.jpg    photo IMG_0043_zpsbece17d2.jpg

 photo IMG_0055_zpsf3421622.jpg
The cats enjoyed having us home!

 photo IMG_0068_zps615174ce.jpg

 photo IMG_0078_zps8f24f881.jpg    photo IMG_0092_zpsbcf778b1.jpg
This is probably the coldest it's been in Arkansas since I don't know when!

 photo IMG_1239_zps52ab4c0d.jpg
It's a tradition for me to drink out of my snowflake mug on snow days.  :)

 photo IMG_0111_zps94377724.jpg       photo IMG_0115_zps2910f29a.jpg
night fall, snow fall

 photo IMG_1243_zpsd37b4b26.jpg
When I got up on Friday, we had EIGHT inches!  It's now over nine.  :)  I wasn't sure if my guess was correct (eight inches), but I was right on the money when this photos as taken!

On Friday, I watched Christmas movies and prepared for our late Fall Feast.  And, of course, watched the snow continue to fall!

 photo IMG_0122_zps8885fe10.jpg
Since we moved up here, I've used these birds to measure the snow.

 photo IMG_0130_zps978b7683.jpg

 photo IMG_0156_zps154e3aa2.jpg    photo IMG_0168_zpsf3be94a6.jpg    photo IMG_0210_zps8161a425.jpg
They have been quite snuggly with the cold weather.
Yes, I know, we make beautiful children raise beautiful cats.

 photo IMG_0225_zpsdbeb7182.jpg     photo IMG_0228_zpsdeaff50c.jpg
dangers of winter weather in AR

 photo IMG_0230_zps8b097da9.jpg  photo IMG_0231_zpsa8a18201.jpg  photo IMG_0233_zpsb5049404.jpg
I love our home in this kind of weather.  it reminds me a cabin!  Also, those bows used to hang in our stairwell during Christmas, but Dinah tore them up pretty good last year, so I shortened the tails and decided to use them one last year--outside.

 photo IMG_0235_zps241f7cb9.jpg
my (rain)boot prints

 photo IMG_0237_zpse2fb8f7f.jpg    photo IMG_0239_zps744a51ea.jpg

 photo IMG_1248_zps54126a78.jpg
Selfies in the snow are hard, especially when it is well below freezing.

 photo IMG_0241_zps696fc344.jpg    photo IMG_0248_zps41cd80fa.jpg    photo IMG_0250_zps7baa1d97.jpg

 photo IMG_0254_zps209da88c.jpg
why we named our home The Owlery

 photo IMG_0257_zps111d4b09.jpg    photo IMG_0263_zpse76406e2.jpg
Our landlord's little lady statue looks like a gnome in the snow!

 photo IMG_0269_zpsb387bb41.jpg    photo IMG_0270_zpscd428fa4.jpg

 photo IMG_0271_zps95baac46.jpg

 photo IMG_0273_zps103a894c.jpg  photo IMG_0276_zpsc93734d6.jpg  photo IMG_0278_zps2f79e77a.jpg  photo IMG_0281_zps70e5a7e8.jpg

 photo IMG_0283_zpsfaef8659.jpg
It's hard to see here, but there are some animal tracks in the snow.  Deer, maybe?

Last night, we had our Fall Feast, and I invited Amy over since she made it safely back home from her friends' house.  But I'll tell you more about this on Monday!

 photo IMG_0298_zpsf1abe780.jpg  photo IMG_0306_zps736bd642.jpg

Today, I'm going to knit and address Christmas cards.  :)))

Oh, and next weekend, I'll be sharing our Christmas decor courtesy of Kelly's Korner SUYL!

Did you get any winter weather courtesy of Winter Storm Cleon?  How do you spend your snow days?

 photo b1ec0eef-a9ee-48d9-87d2-1285feb7aa0c_zpsd6f56ab6.jpg