Holiday Recipes from The Lasso Staff

The Lasso staff would like to share our favorite holiday recipes with you! We hope you enjoy!

 

Sweet Potato Souffle: Rhonda Ross, Advisor

Souffle:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature, plus more to grease pan
5 medium sweet potatoes
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt
Topping:
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened

 

For the souffle: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with butter or spray with Pam.

Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into quarters and boil until soft. Drain and place the flesh in a large mixing bowl and mash until very smooth. Add the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, milk and salt. Combine well with an electric mixer or hand mixer. Turn the mixture into the baking dish.

For the topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, brown sugar, flour and butter until thoroughly combined. Spoon the mixture over the sweet potatoes, making an even layer. Bake the casserole until slightly browned, 40 minutes. Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Monkey Bread: Emily Nickles, Page Editor

My family does a special breakfast every Christmas, one of the rare times my dad will bake something. Between scrambled eggs and potatoes ’o’ brian we bake monkey bread, also known as pull-apart bread. It’s often a dish associated with the south and other balmy regions, but our family recipe is a special spin my grandmother created.

2 cans of biscuits

1 stick butter

¾ cups brown sugar

1 tsp of cinnamon

Instructions: Cut biscuits into quarters and place in a dish about 2-3 inches deep meant for baking. Heat butter in pot and mix in brown sugar and cinnamon until it boils. Next, put heat on low until it thickens, stir while heating. Once the mixture is ready pour onto biscuits and toss/mix the biscuits with the glaze until everything is covered. Put in oven at 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Green Bean Casserole: Sierra Taylor, Managing Editor

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2-cup milk

1-teaspoon soy sauce

1 dash black pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 1/3 cups French fried onions

• Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. In a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish mix together the soup, green beans, milk, soy sauce, black pepper and 2/3 French fried onions.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir the bean mixture.  Sprinkle with the remaining onions.

The entire dish is so delicious, savory, creamy, crunchy, and magnificent. The classic green bean casserole is the perfect side dish for any holiday occasion.

 

Turkey with Lemony Thyme Butter: Nadiyah Suleiman, Page Editor

Lemony Thyme Butter

Zest of large lemon

4 garlic cloves

1 cup butter, room temp.

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 large lemon

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

 

Blend lemon zest and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add butter, mustard, lemon juice, scallions, thyme paprika, salt, and pepper, and process. The butter can be made 2 days ahead. Bring to room temperature before using.

 

Turkey

14-16 pound turkey, rinsed, giblets removed, patted dry inside and out

Salt

Pepper

3 lemons, cut into 1/8 inch thick slices

4 fresh parsley sprigs

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 cups turkey stock, chicken stock, or water

 

Set oven rack at the lowest position and preheat to 325F.

 

Generously season the main turkey cavity with salt and pepper, and coat the cavity with 2 tbsp. butter. Starting at the neck end of the turkey carefully slide your hand between skill and meat of the breast, thighs, and upper drumsticks to loosen the skin. Spread the Lemony Thyme Butter over the meant of the thighs and drumsticks, below the skin, on both sides. Arrange a few lemon slices under the skin. Spread the remaining butter over the breast meant, below the skin. Fill the main cavity with any remaining lemon slices, parsley, and rosemary. Tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Tuck the wing tips under.

 

Place the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Rub outside all over with the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour stock into the pan. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickets part of thigh registers 165F to 170F, about 3 hours. Transfer the turkey to a platter. Tent it very loosely with foil, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes (the internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees.

 

Serves 10 to 12 people.

 

Fruit Cake: Johnna Headley, Reporter

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Black Label Jack Daniels

1 lg. pkg. mixed candied fruit

1lg. pkg. red candied cherries

1 lg. pkg. of green candied cherries

Fill packages of candied fruit and cherries with Jack Daniels. Allow to soak for at least 1 month.

 

2 ½ cups of flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves, allspice and nutmeg

Mix together in a small bowl and set aside

 

4 eggs – slightly beaten

1 jar of Mincemeat

1 pkg. chopped dates

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of chopped pecans

1cup chopped walnuts

In a large mixing bowl, add the candied fruit to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Bake in the oven at 300 degrees until done

 

Snicker doodle Cookies: Heather Hines, Reporter

2/3 cup Shortening

1 ½ cup Sugar

2 each Eggs

2 ¾ cup Flour

2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

1/3 cup Butter

2 tablespoons Sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

 

Blend dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat shortening, eggs and sugar together, then blend into dry ingredients. Roll dough into balls, coat in cinnamon and sugar then place on pan two inches apart from each other. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Yields 3 dozen.

My grandmother passed down this recipe to me a couple years ago, I make these cookies for almost any occasion my family has to celebrate, they’re great for the fall and winter and my father’s favorite.

 

White Chocolate Fudge: Heather Hines, Reporter

3 Cups Sugar

3/4 Cup Butter

2/3 Cup Evaporated Milk

1 bag (12 oz.) of Semi-sweet White Chocolate pieces

1 (7 oz.) Marshmallow Cream

1 Cup Chopped Pecans

1 Teaspoon Vanilla.

Grease sauce pan with butter. Add sugar, butter and evaporated can milk. Bring to rolling boil and stirring constantly. Measuring with a candy thermometer bring the mixture up to 234 degrees, the mixture should take approximately 4 minutes to reach this temperature. Remove from heat and very quickly, stir in the semi-sweet chocolate pieces, then the marshmallow cream, chopped pecans and vanilla. Grease pan with butter before pouring in mixture and letting set.

This fudge tastes wonderful and impresses party guests. However, any fudge can be tricky to make and sometimes will not set, if this happens there is no way to fix your fudge. The only way to salvage your work is by buying ice cream and announcing you have homemade hot fudge syrup.

 

Crepes: Amber Robertson, Social Media Editor/Designer

Ingredients

1 Egg

½ cup milk

¼ cup flour

1 pinch salt

(Yields 1 crepe, Multiply as needed)

Directions:

1. Whisk together eggs, flour, and salt.
2. Slowly add milk to prevent lumps from forming in the butter.
3. Use butter to grease your frying pan and use between ¼ cup and ½ cup batter per crepe (depending on pan size).
4. Cook on Med-Med Hi heat until crepe steams and there is barely any uncooked batter on top.
5. Flip and cook other side.

We spread butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the inside and roll them up, but you can fill them with whatever you want.