Slow cooker Butternut Squash Soup

Thank you Amber for this recipe, I can't wait to try it!
Slow-Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
(BC Christmas 91)
INGREDIENTS:
2 TB butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 butternut squash (2 lb) peeled, cubed
2 cups water
½ tsp dried marjoram leaves
¼ tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne/red pepper
2 X-Large veggie bouillon cubes
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
DIRECTIONS:
In skillet, melt butter. Cook onion in butter.

In slow cooker, mix onion and remaining ingredients (except cream cheese)

Cover; cook on low 6-8 hours.

In blender, place 1/3 of the soup mix at a time. Cover; blend until smooth. Return to slow cooker.

Stir in cream cheese. Cover. Cook on low 30 min.

Thanksgiving Feast

Yum, yum! Here are the recipes I used in preparing Thanksgiving this year...I can't wait to make them all again!

(All of my recipes were found, and slightly altered, from: http://www.allrecipes.com/)

Sugar Coated Pecans:

INGREDIENTS

1 egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 pound pecan halves
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

Out of this World Turkey Brine:
INGREDIENTS
2 gallons water (I used 1 gallon water and 1 gallon apple juice)
1 1/2 cups canning salt
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a turkey bag or container large enough to hold your turkey, mix together the water, salt, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Store in a refrigerator, and soak turkey for 2 days before smoking or roasting. **I prepared mine in a turkey bag, tied it up and put it in a cooler with ice.



Here is the turkey in the smoker...it looks dark because of the 30min. @ 500 first...but certainly recommended.

Rosemary turkey rub:

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pkg. fresh rosemary, thyme, sage mix, chopped (these were the herbs I was going to use and I found a poultry mix pkg. at Winco with the three of them combined...perfect, and I used all of it!) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning


DIRECTIONS:
Here are the oven directions, we used our smoker to cook the bird this year and at 250 degrees it took 5ish hours...much less than anticipated!
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, chopped fresh herbs (fresh is the only way to go in my opinion!) and Italian seasoning. Set aside.
Wash the turkey inside and out; pat dry. Remove any large fat deposits. Loosen the skin from the breast. This is done by slowly working your fingers between the breast and the skin. Work it loose to the end of the drumstick, being careful not to tear the skin.
Using your hand, spread a generous amount of the rosemary mixture under the breast skin and down the thigh and leg. Rub the remainder of the rosemary mixture over the outside of the breast. Use toothpicks to seal skin over any exposed breast meat.
Place the turkey on a rack in a roasting pan. Add about 1/4 inch of water (I used chicken stock)to the bottom of the pan. Roast in the preheated oven 3 to 4 hours, or until the internal temperature of the bird reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). ***I also found that cooking the bird for the first 30 min. really crisped up the outside quickly sealing in the flavor and juices for the remainder of the cooking time.

Green Bean Casserole:

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup sour cream
3 (14.5 ounce) cans French style green beans, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1 can french fried onions
1/2 cup crumbled buttery round crackers
1 tablespoon butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet and saute the chopped onion until tender and translucent, set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, sugar, sauteed onion, 1/2 can french fried onions, 1/2 of the cheese and sour cream. Add green beans, and stir to coat.
Transfer the mixture to a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Spread remaining shredded cheese over the top. In a small bowl, toss together cracker crumbs, remaining french fried onions, and remaining butter, and sprinkle over the cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Awesome Sausage, apple, and cranberry stuffing:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
4 cups cubed white bread
1 pound ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage *
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary *
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme *
1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
3/4 cup turkey stock ***
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 egg

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl. **I toasted my bread slices then cubed them.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors. *I used fresh herbs and again, think it makes a huge difference...double the amount of herbs if using fresh.
Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver (I omitted the liver). Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill. ***I did not stuff the bird this year, so I used much more stock than called for...my guess is that I used 3 or 4 cups but really I just added until it felt perfectly moist. Spoon into baking dish, cover and bake for 35-45 min., stirring after 20 min.

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream (I used whole milk)
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I used Splenda)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash. **Instead of baking the potatoes, I peeled, cubed and boiled them.
In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Mashed Potatoes:

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 potatoes (I used a mix of red and Yukon Gold) 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup butter salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Peel the potatoes, removing as many of the eyes as possible with the tip of your peeler.
Submerge the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to keep them from turning brown while you are chopping them.
Cut the potatoes into similar-sized chunks so they will cook evenly: the cubes should be about 1½ to two inches wide.
Use a pot large enough to hold the potatoes with enough water to cover. Add salt, if desired. Place the pot over a high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
Simmer, covered, until tender--about 15 to 20 minutes. A knife tip inserted into a potato should meet no resistance; if the potato clings to the knife, the potatoes need to cook longer. When potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain immediately.
Let the potatoes sit for a minute to dry and to allow any excess water to drain from the bottom of the colander. Meanwhile, heat the butter and cream in a small saucepan at a low temperature. It was suggested to use a food mill or potato ricer to prepare the potatoes but I found my Kitchen Aid Mixer to work great. Use care: mix the potatoes enough to avoid lumps, but not so much that they take on a sticky, gummy consistency.
Once the potatoes have been mashed, drizzle the butter and cream over potatoes and gently stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Steven's mom prepared the gravy (I was not ready for that yet:)), rolls, and relish tray and Tereasa and the boys made delicious pumpkin, banana cream, and chocolate cream pies for desert...yummy!!!