Bethany's Recipe Box

Our family has always valued our time together at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The lunch-time meal (which we always call "dinner" for some reason) is a HUGE part of our celebration. Every year, little things or new traditions are added to our holiday celebrations; but,the meal VERY RARELY changes. It was a really big deal when we added the squash casserole about 10 years ago! One of the main reasons I started this little recipe collection was so that this particular meal created and orchestrated every year by my mother, Linda Fayard, can continue on forever! The women of our family gather the day before the meal to prepare and refrigerate it all. This is not a sexist thing :) I am all about some girl power but this has just become a wonderful family tradition for us girls to get together and prepare the family meal and spend time together. The boys are welcome to join but so far none of them have showed up! We do make them cut the turkey and do all this dishes so it works it...

Tricia Yearwood's Pecan Pie Muffins These are so awesome! Warning though- they are VERY sweet and rich. Also, make sure to use liners in your muffin tin and give them a very good coasting of non-stick spray or you will have a mess trying to eat them. Non-stick cooking spray 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup all purpose flour 2 large eggs 1 1/3 sticks of butter - melted Preheat oven to 350 F. Place liners in muffin tins. Spray the liners with cooking spray. The recipe makes 9 standard muffins or about two dozen mini muffins. In a large bowl, combine the pecans, sugar and flour. Make a well in the center of the mixture. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the melted butter to the eggs and stir. Pour the egg mixture into the well of your dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Spoon into the muffin tins filling each one almost full. Bake for about 20 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Shorten by 5 min if cooking mini-muffi...

VERY RICH! 2 Cups cooked squash (we slice it and boil it with skins on) 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 small jar pimento 1 cup sour cream 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 stick butter or margarine (melted) 1 cup ritz cracker crumbs Mix butter and cracker crumbs . Place half the mixture in the bottom of your casserole pan. We usually use a square one for this dish. Mix all other ingredients and pour on top of the crust. Top with the remaining ritz cracker mix. Bake at 375f for 1 hour.

We always serve this awesome salad at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is even better the next day so make it ahead of time if you can. 1 Head of lettuce (torn small or shredded) 1 cup chopped bell pepper 1 cup chopped onion (optional) 1 cup chopped celery 1 pkg frozen English peas 1 cup mayo 3 tbs sugar 2 cups finely grated cheddar cheese Bacon bits (optional) BIG GLASS SERVING BOWL Layer the first 5 ingredients in the bowl. Mix mayo, sugar and cheese. Spread the mixture on top. Top with bacon bits if you'd like.

This one has always been my favorite at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's so easy to make and soooo yummy! It would be great in summer time as it's cold and very refreshing! 2 Graham Cracker Pie Crusts 1 little tub cool whip 1 small can mandarin oranges (drained) 1 can condensed milk 1 cup chopped pecans 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice Combine all ingredients well and fill both pie shells. Refrigerate until firm.