holiday side dishes

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CRAN-YAM CASSEROLE: Variation Of A Holiday Side Dish!

Yam-Cran Casserole is a flavorful, fast to prep side-dish that perks up any holiday meal. You can prepare it the day before, then pop it in the oven before mealtime. (The less I have to do the day-of, the better!)

BONUS TIP: Leftovers are delicious eaten cold mixed with plain yogurt!

NOTE: While this dish is fast to prepare, it takes about 1.5 hours to bake – so plan ahead!!!

CRAN-YAM CASSEROLE:

  • 171g / 6 oz uncooked, whole cranberries
  • 1 tart apple (such as fuji, gala, honeycrisp) – unpeeled, cubed into bite-sized pieces
  • 57g / 1/2 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted
  • 74g / 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
  • 129g / 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 36g / 3 T Cointreau (or another orange flavored liqueur, or more orange juice)
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 636g / 1.5 lbs yams or sweet potatoes

Into a bowl, combine the cranberries, apple, pecans, brown sugar, orange juice, Cointreau, cinnamon, and nutmeg. (In other words, combine everything except the yams.)

Place the chopped yams evenly in a casserole dish.

Pour the cranberry mixture evenly on top of yams.

Cover with a lid or foil. Bake at 400°F / 200°C for 45 minutes. Remove lid, then continue to bake until most of liquid has evaporated and yams can be pierced with a knife – about 35 minutes or so.

Stir casserole so remaining liquid is mixed in. Serve immediately or cover until serving time. It can be served either hot or at room temperature.

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STUFFED SWEET POTATOES: A Thanksgiving (Or Anytime) Treat!

stuffed sweet potatoes text

Sweet potatoes of some sort have become an integral part of Thanksgiving in the US. Sadly, they’re often dumped out of a can, sprinkled with brown sugar, then topped with marshmallows. Sigh!

I will agree that sweet potatoes can use some flavoring, so I decided to find a better way than covering them with sugar. Stuffing them offers the benefit of utilizing the skin, PLUS being able to assemble them ahead of time – a huge bonus when you’re trying to get a holiday dinner on the table.

STUFFED SWEET POTATOES – makes 2 servings

  • 1 sweet potato
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed & minced
  • 1/3 cup scallions, sliced (use whites and greens)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 oz (1/2 cup) jack cheese, shredded (I like jalapeño jack for an extra kick)

Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit.

Wash unpeeled sweet potato and pierce with a sharp knife a few times. Microwave 2 minutes each side until soft in center – (about 6-8 minutes total). (You can bake them in the oven if you’d rather.) Set cooked sweet potato aside to completely cook in center while you prepare the filling.

Melt butter in a saucepan, and sauté jalapeño and scallions over medium flame for about 3-4 minutes – until the butter has browned, but not the scallions. Remove from heat and add in salt and pepper.stuffed sweet potatoes4 Slice sweet potato in half lengthwise and scrap out pulp, leaving a 1/4″ border intact. stuffed sweet potatoes7Chop pulp to break up strings, then mash. stuffed sweet potatoes5Stir mashed sweet potato into jalapeño mixture along with all but 2 T of the cheese.stuffed sweet potatoes6Fill each sweet potato shell with the mixture. Sprinkle 1 T cheese on each half.  At this point they can be covered and baked just before serving.stuffed sweet potatoes1Bake at 375º F for about 8 minutes, until sweet potatoes are hot and the cheese is melted. stuffed sweet potatoes2Serve immediately.