Two Mini Sweet Potato Pies

Photo: Etsy

A few days ago I had one can of sweet potatoes I didn't know what to do with because ... well we don't eat canned sweet potatoes. So I used it to make two 4" mini sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving. The small pies are enough for 4 servings. The trouble is on Sunday night my mother and I took one of the pies out of the refrigerator and ate it! Why? Because they were made too far in advance of Thanksgiving.:) The pie was delicious and not too sweet, so I'm posting my recipe below.

Full-sized pie with fresh microwaved sweet potato

To make a full-sized pie, simply double all the ingredients, beginning with the crust. For example, use 28 oz - 29 oz (2 cans or 2 full cups fresh, cooked, and mashed) sweet potatoes: 

So let's begin with the crust ... 

No Fail Flaky Vinegar Pie Crust (Double this recipe for a 9-inch pie.)

Ingredient:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of cold butter, sliced and diced quickly to keep it cold

A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cider vinegar (the flaky crust’s secret ingredient. Vinegar slightly retards gluten to keep the crust from toughening.)
3 tablespoons ice-cold water

Directions:

1) Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and form into a ball. (Since I made 2 small pies, I divided my dough into 2 small balls.) Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes or more.

2) With a rolling pin, roll the dough flat on a floured surface and fit it onto your buttered pie pan(s). 

3) Using a fork, poke holes all over the dough to release air during baking so it doesn't bubble.

Source: Taste of Home

Sweet Potato Pie Filling (Remember to double the filling for a 9" pie)

1 14-ounce can of sweet potatoes (or about 1 1/2  cups of cooked, softened, and mashed fresh sweet potato)

1 egg

1/4 tablespoon dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon of cottage cheese

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

A light sprinkle of Allspice

A pinch of salt

Optional: 1 tablespoon of butter (for additional creaminess and flavor. I left it out to save calories. You decide for yourself.:)

Directions:

1) Using an electric mixer combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl for about 2 minutes or until smooth. I didn't miss the butter but you can put it in for extra creaminess and flavor.

2) Pour into your waiting prepared pie dough-lined pan(s).

3) Bake in a preheated 400-degree F oven for 50 - 60 minutes. (Mini pies take about as much baking time as full-sized pies.)

Photo: LSU AgCenter

Some recipes call for more sugar and butter in the filling, but my first homemade mini 4" sweet potato pies turned out so delicious, I'll lighten up my recipe again! We had no trouble eating the lesser caloric pies. Now what will we do if we have to share our 2nd mini pie with an unexpected guest who drops by? I suppose we'll offer it to our guest? Baking in advance of a holiday doesn't always pay off.😛

🍁Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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Turkey Pot Pies With Leftover Stuffing

Thanksgiving sides are delicious! They can include stuffing (called dressing when not stuffed in the bird), green beans, carrots, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and potatoes, along with cranberry sauce. It's what we ate. Although we lacked a crowd dining with us, I wouldn't dream of omitting the Turkey stuffing. This year instead of toasting bread and making a pan of cornbread which would make more stuffing than we desire, I used a box of Stove Top Turkey flavored stuffing combined with a box of Stove Top Cornbread stuffing as a starter then added small amounts of grilled sausage, ham, onion, celery, mushrooms, walnuts, hot pepper flakes and dried sage to it. It came out homemade because all you get in a box of Stove Top are the croutons and seasonings. We still had plenty of stuffing! I know just what to do with our Thanksgiving leftovers:

Turkey Pot Pie - Inspired by the recipe off the back of the stuffing box which uses premade and frozen ingredients. We can use our homemade leftovers to make a different meal without really having to cook again!:

Ingredients - already cooked: 

2 cups of leftover stuffing - Mine has tons of onion, celery and sausage.

2 cups of turkey, diced (also works with chicken)

1 cup of cauliflower or broccoli, diced

1/2 cup of green beans, bitesize

1/2 cup of carrots, sliced

2 cups leftover gravy

Directions: 

Mix the vegetables and gravy in a baking dish. Top with the stuffing. Either reheat it in the oven or microwave. If reheating in the oven, brush the bottom of the dish with cooking spray or butter. Because your food is already cooked, it should only take about 15 minutes to reheat in the oven and less time to reheat in the microwave.

Eyeball the amounts of the ingredients. The above is a guide for making 4 servings. Use more gravy if needed, or other vegetable leftovers if you made them. {During the rest of the year, it works well with either leftover chicken or 3 cans of white chicken chunks, a box of stovetop stuffing, and a 14 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables. If using boxed stuffing, grill and toss in some diced onions and celery.}

You can also prepare the dish for one. Measure out according to appetite and what fits into your bowl, then reheat the single portion in a microwave in about 3 minutes.        

Another leftover we had on Thanksgiving was a bit of an experiment. It's a cherry tart on a digestive biscuit and applesauce crust (as opposed to a gram cracker crust). It has a cinnamon, strudel topping with bourbon-soaked pecans, a few white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, and walnuts tossed on top for good measure. (No added sugar in the crust or crumb topping and just enough butter in the topping to get a crumb texture). The only reason I made it was to use a jar of cherries I've had in my pantry for 1 1/2 years. It had to go! I baked it in the oven for about 20 minutes. The tart was sweet from the cherries yet not too sweet to make you feel sick after eating it. Like a healthy cherry Pop Tart!

Do you have a favorite recipe for using your Thanksgiving leftovers?

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The Wisdom Of Thanksgiving

Photo: Simonton

The following ... turkey images and Thanksgiving quotes are pinched from the internet. Go to their sources here and here for more. Visit some of my Thanksgiving blogs of the past for Thanksgiving reflections. The wise sayings and breeds of turkeys I selected below are more lighthearted fare:

Know that I can only eat a store-bought turkey. Any creature I were to feed and raise becomes a pet. I mean, you take care of the bird, acquire it as a chick, worry about it being warm, and it trusts you not to harm it, right?

In the 2nd grade, I got to take home our classroom's on-display dried tri-colored ear of corn, which thrilled 7-year-old Debbie to death! The adult Debbie realizes that our 2nd-grade teacher must have bought the colorful ears of corn with her own money and is grateful for all that teachers do for their students. I kept the ear of corn for years.

These turkeys look like an old married couple walking home.

And what is this crowd of feathered friends staring at? Are they lining up to feed, or waiting for a concert in a field to start? :)

 

I just know these 3 birds on the left are gagster turkeys. Look how they're taking over the walkway, not making room for pedestrians to pass! Watch it, boys, I didn't know you as chicks, and an attack will give me a ferocious appetite for turkey pot pies!

Are you watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade followed by the National Dog Show? I have seen the parade standing on the sidewalk (on Central Park West at W75th Street) and from a highrise (on Broadway at W53rd Street paired with refreshments), so nowadays I'm satisfied watching it on television while having breakfast. It's become a Thanksgiving tradition. BTW: The night before Thanksgiving, you can watch the balloons being blown up on West 77th Street. I've done so twice. Years ago, it was unorganized, but over time it has grown to attract more people.

🍁Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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Despite challenges along the way, life is good! Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon our strokes of good fortune: Home, family, friends, health, work, purpose and freedom ... how lucky are we?

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Again this year, I'm roasting a Thanksgiving chicken in lieu of a big turkey. As much as I love turkey, it's too much of a good thing. Due to all the sides (like potatoes, gravy, asparagus, carrots, broccoli, butternut squash, cranberries, my beer bread) and desserts (pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake -- we couldn't decide on the finisher, so we didn't:) even a chicken leaves more leftovers than can be eaten! Next year perhaps it will be a small Thanksgiving Cornish hen. My favorite side, the bird's stuffing, I'm omitting because it's simply too much to consume, plus the beer bread turned out sooo good ... and can be dipped into gravy! Enough starch, I decided.🙂

Photo: thsobrosnetwork

Wishing all my readers time to relax, reflect, connect with family and friends and a scrumptious meal with all your favorite trimmings to enjoy.

🌽Happy Thanksgiving my Friends ... I'm grateful you stopped by today!🦃    

-- xoxo --

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Be Thankful (Author Unknown)

"Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something

For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations

Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge

Because it will build your strength and character.

Photo: Pop Sugar

Be thankful for your mistakes

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary

Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles

and they can become your blessings."

Thank you, dear friends and readers for stopping by today. I am grateful for you! Keep a positve attitude thoughout life, count your blessings; and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

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Click here to download. The advice may be useful this weekend.

Photo: (free) Wallpaper  - Photoshopped. Real turkeys are weathered and dirty.

Although I eat lots of vegetables and meatless meals, I'm still a carnivore. I can't imagine a Thanksgiving without a turkey. So lately here is how I think: I take a lesson from Native Americans. Indians ate meat too, but were mindful. They killed only what they needed, then used every part of the animal. Nothing went to waste. 

As a bonafided city gal, I'm a bit of a hypocite. I let others do the killing, then buy the meat from a supermarket. If I raised cows, pigs or turkeys, they'd become pets, my farm would go out of business and my family would starve. (I might be able to kill a rooster who cock-a-doodle-dooed at the crack of down every morning! He might end up as chicken and dumplings, but other than that, I couldn't do it.) Once in a while, I like to reflect on what it takes to get food on the table. Today ... and everyday I am grateful for farmers and the food industry.

A Happy Thankgiving to all! Thank you for stopping by.

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One of the things I'm grateful for is you.  From my stats, I know you live all over the world. Thanks for your emails, ideas and simply for stopping by from wherever you are logging on.  I love hearing from you!

State fair photo by my childhood friend, Pam H.  I'm grateful for my  friends.

Hey little buddy.  You can be thankful that on this day, you're safe.  Looks like he read the preceding post on the importance of sleep, right?

Click to enlarge

I am touched by this 1936 photo of a child praying before school lunch.  Take a look.  She has a bottle of milk, a small sandwich, hot soup and an apple.  Her mother sent her to school with a clean, starched dress and a big bow for her hair.  It reminds me of the hopes and dreams every parent has for a child, and I wonder how this child's life unfolded.

Are you counting your blessings today?  Sometimes it's the everyday things that really matter. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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The Secret Sisters singing a song written by Hank Williams. They can sing anything ... and do. Click here.

Thanksgiving.  What a lovely holiday, centered around family, great food, (music in our house) and perhaps a little reflection and tradition.

According to historians, Native Americans and early colonists [in Jamestown and New England] were accustomed to holding days of prayer and celebrations, thanking God for blessings, such as safe travel, victory in battles or a successful harvest.  In the New World thanksgiving services were quite common.

Well folks, here we are again, observing a tradition, which lives on into the 21st century.  So as you take a moment to gather around and remember your blessings, enjoy the day!  As one of my buddies said, "Get out the pajama jeans!"  You're sure to need the stretch.

According to my readings, Native Americans ate a diet of maize, beans and squash.  One of their thanksgiving dishes consisted of a large pumpkin stuffed with buffalo or deer stew.  It was baked in an oven, then cut in wedges and served.  Doesn't it sound delicious?   

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