This is a recipe from my late father-in-law, Phil Maillie. He loved to make this for his grand children during the spring and hot summers here in North Carolina. Everyone loved these smoothies – they were just so good! It’s not truly a sole blueberry smoothie recipe as it has other fruits in it like bananas, but you will love it nontheless.  Here is this cherished recipe! I guarantee you will love it.

Ultimate Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Cup of fresh bluberries

1 whole banana (peeled of course)

Splash of orange juice

3/4 Cup of ice

1 container of plain yogurt (8 oz.)

3 tsp of sugar

Directions:

This is the simple part – put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Serve and enjoy.  You can garnish the smoothie with mint leaves in a fan shape or some sliced fruit like strawberrys, cherries, orange slices, etc. to acieve that look of perfection.

The Best Sweet Potato Casserole

ingredients:

5-6 sweet potatoes

1/2 C milk

1 1/4 C sugar

1/2 stick of melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 C mini marshmallows

Directions:

Bake the sweet potatoes at 375° for one hour and a half.  Be sure and rub them with vegetable oil before baking.  The peels will slide off when finished.

Smash up the sweet potatoes in a bowl and add the half cup of milk, one and a quarter cups of sugar, one half stick of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, two eggs beaten, and 1 cup of mini marshmallows.  Mix all the ingredients well.  Then spray large casserole dish (9″ x 13″ works well) and place the mixed sweet potatoes in the casserole dish.

Picture of sweet potato casserole prior to baking.

Next comes the topping – my kids favorite part.

Topping ingredients:

1 C brown sugar packed

1/4 C flour

1 C pecans crushed real good

*1 stick of butter melted – be sure and pour this in the bowl last*

Directions:

Mix the melted butter to the dry ingredients last after mixing the dry ingredients well with a spoon.  Then take this topping and spread on top of the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish to completely cover it.

The best sweet potato casserole after baking and ready to serve!

You can double the topping if you like.  Some people prefer the sweeter, cruncher topping. I have found, myself, that I don’t need this and the recipe is perfect as described above.

Be sure and prepare the sweet potato casserole the day before you plan on serving it.  Then bake the day you are ready to eat.  Bake for 35 minutes at 375° and be sure and bake it covered with aluminum foil. Serve this tasty dish and enjoy – it will be the talk for days.

The best sweet potato casserole already half gone at Thanksgiving and the meal has barely begun...

Doesn’t it just look yummy?  Wait until you try it.  It will be the first plate or dish that you run out of and will surely be everyone’s favorite!

As an added plus you will stay healthier this winter with this excellent butternut squash soup recipe – it is loaded with vitamins A and C and great for boosting your immune system!  It is also excellent to eat when you have the flu or are feeling sick.

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large squash

1 C oil

5 Cups chicken broth

1 jalapeno pepper

Salt and pepper

The directions here are pretty simple.  You peel and cut the squash into 1 inch cubes to make about 5 cups worth.  Then brown 1 cup of squash in the oil.

In a large pot add all the squash along with 5 cups of chicken broth.  Then slice one small jalapeno pepper to give it a little added zing or spice – this makes the soup really exceptional and stand out. 

Boil all the ingredients in the pot until soft, then put it in a blender to purée.  Follow this by seasoning with salt and pepper to your taste and then enjoy.  This is a great soup served either hot or cold.

You can also make this soup a great anti-cold or anti-flu remedy by adding some garlic (either ground or fresh) to the soup before serving.  I’ve used this remedy myself to weather many a nasty flu bug or cold.  If you didn’t know already, garlic has great anti-cold and anti-flu properties and has been proven through medical science and research to be extremely effective in fighting off viruses like the flu and even H1N1.  Soups are also great to have when you’re sick with or without the garlic.  The garlic just tends to help that much more.

Easy Southern Corn Pudding

Easy Southern Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

4 C. Corn

6 TBL sugar

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

2 TB flour

1 C. half n half

1 C. heavy cream

2 TBS melted butter

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Melt the butter and then add it to the mix.

Bake in the oven at 350° for 45 minutes.  Watch the corn pudding for the last five minutes of baking.  It should be done when the top starts to brown a bit.  Sit and let cool.  Enjoy.