Month: March 2014

Sweet Potato Casserole

What would Thanksgiving be without Sweet Potato Casserole? In my family, I’m the one who always gets to bring it because I know the best sweet potato casserole recipe ever! My secret is the crunchy buttery topping with coconut, pecans and brown sugar. It’s so delicious and sweet that I usually eat it last, like a dessert. The fluffy mashed sweet potatoes spiced with pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, ginger and all spice are just heavenly! So if you’re looking for the best sweet potato casserole recipe, take it from this southern girl, here’s the only one you need.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe – Cooking your sweet potatoes:

First of all, you have two options of how to cook your sweet potatoes. You can either bake them until they’re soft and scoop out the inside of the sweet potatoes and discard the skins, or you can peel the sweet potatoes, cube them and boil them in a pot of water until they are fork tender then drain them and mash with a potato masher. I’ve done it both ways and they both work equally well. I usually use about 5 or 6 medium sized sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

Mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1 egg
1/3 cup milk or flavored liquid coffee creamer (hazelnut or vanilla)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix together the above ingredients with your mashed sweet potatoes. Spread them into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Sweet potato casserole recipe topping:

1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake in a 350○F oven for 20 – 30 minutes. The topping should be bubbly and browned. The smell should be amazing and will summon you to the oven when it’s getting close to done. Serve this awesome comfort food at your next Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and everyone will be begging you for your Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe.

Remember to return often to my blog for more great recipes.

Sharon Springfield

Tags casserole, sweet potato

Crockpot Main Dish

Crockpot Balsamic BBQ Beef

This is a delicious crockpot bbq recipe with a surprise secret ingredient. Read on to find out what it is… I saw a recipe on Pinterest for Balsamic shredded beef which I started out to make, until I realized that I was out of brown sugar. Time to improvise. 😉 So I started scrounging around in the pantry and fridge for an ingredient to substitute for the brown sugar. I settled upon something sweet and brown and one of my favorite things to eat. Once I had dumped all the ingredients into the crock pot, put the lid on, and turned it to low, I ran out the door and headed to work. When I returned home, I took the roast out of the crock pot and shredded it. I spooned about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the crock pot over the beef. Fat by itself would be a terrific dinner but I had barbecue on the brain so I dumped in some sweet baby rays barbecue sauce and mixed it in. I wrapped up the barbecue in a low carb wrap with some shredded cheddar cheese and some French’s fried onions. This was truly the best crock pot balsamic barbecue beef I have ever had. Give this recipe a try and if you like it share it with your friends pin it on your Pinterest board.

Crockpot Balsamic Barbeque Beef

Ingredients:

4-5 pound chuck roast
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Your favorite bbq sauce. I love Sweet Baby Rays or Sonny’s Sweet Sauce

Directions:

Coat inside of Crockpot with nonstick spray (I coat mine with Crisco)
Cut all the fat off of roast and place into Crockpot. Add the rest of the ingredients except the barbeque sauce. Spoon the liquid over the roast, put the lid on the Crockpot and cook on low for about 8 to 10 hours.

When the meat is tender enough to separate with a fork, remove from crock and put in a casserole dish. Slice the roast crosswise into 2 inch thick slices then shred the meat with 2 forks.

Spoon a few spoonfuls of the liquid from the Crockpot over the meat to moisten it. You could just eat it like this or if you like, pour barbeque sauce over and mix it in. Serve on buns, garlic Texas toast or, my favorite way, on a low carb wrap.

(I make my famously yummy low carb bbq wraps with bbq beef, shredded cheddar cheese and French’s fried onions. Wrap it all up and dig in. It’s soooo good! )

With your leftover Crockpot Balsamic BBQ Beef, you can make Barbecue Pot Pie with Cheese Grits Crust

Remember to pin this to your recipes board on Pinterest!

Crockpot Balsamic Barbeque Beef Recipe

Sharon Springfield

Tags barbecue, beef, crockpot

Casseroles Main Dish

Barbecue Pot Pie with Cheese Grits Crust

Post author By Sharon
Post date March 30, 2014
1 Comment on Barbecue Pot Pie with Cheese Grits Crust

Barbecue Pot Pie with Cheese Grits Crust

This mouth watering casserole is something you must try. I use a sweet BBQ sauce and lots of sharp cheddar cheese in the cheese grits crust. I promise, this is one tasty casserole that you will love!

1 large sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups thick barbecue sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 pound shredded barbecued pork*
Cheese Grits Crust Batter* recipe follows
Cheese Grits Crust Batter*
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 cup quick-cooking grits
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned pepper
dash of garlic powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cheese Grits Crust:

Bring water and milk to boil in a large saucepan; add grits, and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese, salt, and pepper; remove from heat.
Stir about one-fourth of grits mixture gradually into beaten eggs; add to remaining grits mixture, stirring constantly.
Spoon hot grits mixture evenly over hot Barbecue Pot Pie mixture.
Bake at 425° for 15 minutes.
Yield Makes 1 (13X9 inch) crust

Barbecue:

Sauté onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually stir in barbecue sauce and beef broth; cook, stirring constantly,
3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in pork, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
Spoon Cheese Grits Crust Batter evenly over hot barbecue mixture.
Bake at 425° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and set.
*1 pound shredded beef may be substituted for pork.
Yield 8 to 10 servings

Barbecue Pot Pie with Cheese Grits Crust

Sharon Springfield

Tags barbecue, casserole, cheese grits, pot pie