Monday, March 10, 2014

Sweet Potato Pancakes and Onion Casserole 3/6/14


Special moments in our lives seem to be made of more magic when they appear out of the normal patterns of your life. Recently when I was having a rather dull day, (living with just me is not very exciting)  the front door bell rang. There stood a young lady with a package in her hand.  My thoughts were “Now what is she selling?” She quickly told me that I probably did not know her but she was one of my best fans who had been reading MAGIC MOMENTS for over ten years!! Further conversation revealed that she knew several of my kids and I knew her grandparents very well and am a speaking acquaintance of her mother.  In her package she was bringing me a sample of her version of my Ranger Cookie recipe!  She had made them for her father and had omitted the chocolate chips and the nuts because he did not like them in cookies.  They were successful enough that he told her to throw out the recipe for the ones she had been making for him. You never know how much you can brighten a day for someone else by a seemingly small kindness. 

Another bit of magic was found in a phone call asking if I were going to be home and could she stop by.  She brought me an almost new, beautiful sweater that she had bought and almost never worn, allowing me to gracefully refuse it if it were not to my liking. It is much nicer than any I have seen in my few shopping trips lately. I have better luck at garage sales!  If I were younger I would start a business where I made clothes that were becoming to OLDER ladies who wanted to look respectable! I told one clerk that the dresses they had I would not take home if they were free!  That reminds me, I have a grandson getting married and still do not have a satisfactory dress to wear. Don’t think my newly acquired sweater will do the trick.

Life is still beating my family up with a lot of questions, serious tests, and surgeries scheduled, so once again I will put them all in God’s hands and turn my thoughts to food.

Do you like sweet potatoes?  I usually just boil them super tender, mash them up and put lots of butter on them, so I was tempted by a new recipe I saw for pancakes. Maybe I am a bit weird in my food preferences.  I thought I heard a chorus of strong “Amens” but I just turned up the volume on the TV and it went away so I will proceed with my recipe.
      
SWEET POTATO PANCAKES
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 medium apple
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
Peel and grate potatoes. Core and shred unpeeled apples. Drain any liquid. Combine eggs, salt, sugar, cinnamon and flour. Add to the potato and apple mixture. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Place portions of ¼ cup of mixture into the hot oil. Flatten with spatula. Cook 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve immediately with syrup  of your choice and chopped pecans if desired.

Need a new idea for a vegetable side dish? How about an onion casserole? Sounds good to me.
     
VIDALIA ONION CASSEROLE
I stick butter
4 large Vidalia onions
24 snack crackers
½ cup grated cheese of your choice
Chopped parsley
Melt butter in skillet. Saute peeled, halved, sliced onions for about 10 minutes. Layer half of the onions into a 3 quart casserole dish. Cover with half of the crushed crackers and half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with parsley. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Hope you enjoyed the weekend snow more than I did.

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