Coconut Raisin Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 can sweet potatoes, mashed
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup raisins 
• 1 cups pecans
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 
  

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, milk, butter and raisins. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle with pecans and coconut.
3. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

Turkey Lurkey!

We felt this post needed a disclaimer, so first things first....

DISCLAIMER: Please do not hate us for the wonderful smells that will be coming from your oven after the first 30+ minutes of cooking. We are really sorry, and don't worry...you will be able to eat it soon enough.

Phew, glad that's out of the way. 

So, this is the first turkey Ashley and I cooked in the new apartment. The turkey was cheap, and at 45 cents per pound...it was hard to pass up. Searched for a recipe online, and had to make a change since we didn't have enough olive oil. This change will now go into every turkey we do. We pulled it from here , and the changed steps are as follows:

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup Sesame Oil

3 Tablespoons minced Garlic

2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley (Fresh works, too)

1 Tablespoon chopped Basil (Fresh works, too)

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Salt to Taste (1 Teaspoon)

For Turkey:

1 cup of wine (White, used a chardonnay from Wal Mart. Only 3 bucks a bottle)

1 Turkey (10-15 pounds)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350. 

2. If your turkey has them, pull out the guts. The neck and gizzards were in a nice little package, which made clean up very easy. 

3. Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl, and set aside. 

4. Put the turkey into a pan for cooking. 

5. Time to get under your turkey's skin...litterally! Loosen the skin from the breast. This is done by slowly working your fingers between the breast and the skin. Go all the way to the drumstick, but be careful not to tear. Don't want a holey turkey. 

6. Take the sauce, and work it under the skin. Make sure to get the inside and outside of the turkey, as this is needed for more flavor. 

7. Take the cup of wine, and add it to the bottom of the pan. This will help keep the turkey moist, and  give it an amazing flavor at the end.

8. Put it in the oven. For cooking time, ours was done in about 2 hours and 45 minutes, and we pulled it out once the pop-up timer popped. (HowStuffWorks = win)

9. Let it cool for an eternity, 30 minutes. Carve the turkey, and eat! =)

--Ronnie