Sweet Potato Casserole!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I thought that this week I would make something in honor of my favorite holiday, THANKSGIVING!  This is also my brother, Craig's, favorite dish (besides my Granny's apple pie).  I absolutely love Thanksgiving because it is a time where you can get together with friends and family and have a wonderful time together!  This sweet potato casserole is extremely easy to make and tastes delicious, but then again how could something topped with marshmallows not taste delicious!

2 large cans yams (drained) approx. 40 oz. each

1 small can crushed pineapple

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

nutmeg or allspice to taste

1/2 stick butter or margarine (cut into small pieces)  may use less

Marshmallows

Mash yams with potato masher, if you don't have one of these you can use a fork or a wooden spoon.  You just need something that will mash the yams .  Add pineapple to the mashed yams and mix.  Stir in the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice.  Spray a 13x9 baking dish or other casserole dish and spoon the yam mixture into the dish.  Make sure that the yams are even distributed in the dish or the yams will cook unevenly.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes until heated through and slightly bubbly. Uncover the dish and top with marshmallows.  Turn your oven to "broil" put the dish back in the oven until the marshmallows are golden (approx. 1 minute) but watch closely--the marshmallows will burn quickly!  This can cause a lot of problems, which my Mother can attest to!  I really hope that you enjoy the casserole and I hope that everyone had a fabulous THANKSGIVING!

Stuffed Shells

Hey Ya'll, I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween and is ready for NOVEMBER!  I can't believe that it is already November 10th!  Time is going by too fast.  Just yesterday I signed up for classes for the last time in my undergraduate career, scary... Anyways, I decided that this week I would make one of my absolute favorite dishes.  My mom always makes these for special occasions.  The awesome thing about Stuffed Shells is that after you make them, you can simply cover them and freeze them and they will last for a really long time!  Ok, enough of my blabbering, here is the recipe:
1-15 oz. container ricotta (whole or part skim)
2 cups shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese
1/4 cup parmesean--grated
2-3 Tablespoons parsley flakes (dried or fresh) or italian seasoning
1-12 oz. box jumbo shells
2 jars (26 oz. each) Prego Pasta Sauce (meat flavored is best for this)

Combine the ricotta, mozzarella or italian, parmesean, and parsley flakes/italian seasoning (I like to use both) and mix well. Stuff shells with cheese mixture.  You will probably get about 20-25 stuffed shells out of all of the mixture.   Grease or spray a 13x9 pan and spread approximately 1/2 jar of sauce in pan.  Place uncooked stuffed shells on the sauce.  This size pan should be perfect for the amount of shells and cheese mixture that we have.  Cover the shells with the remaining sauce.  Add a little water (about 1/2 cup each) to each of the sauce jars and pour over the shells to dilute the sauce and to completely cover the shells.  I know that sounds kind of strange, but it helps to make sure the spaghetti sauce is evenly distributed over all of the shells.  Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Finally, uncover the shells and bake another 15 minutes until bubbly.  And now you are done.  I like to let the shells sit for a little bit to cool off and to coagulate (shout out to you Dad!) a little bit before I eat them.  Viola, you have amazingly delicious stuffed shells!