What I’m Cooking For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving will be over my dad’s this year, so I won’t be cooking an entire meal, but I’ll bring a few dishes. Here are recipes for what I’ll be bringing this year:

Too Much Chocolate Cake (from allrecipes)

I’m not sure what I’ll be filling and frosting this cake with yet, but I’ve made it before, and it’s super moist and chocolaty. Yum!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie (via allrecipes)

This is a classic pumpkin pie that’s so easy to make and tastes even better days later. Make sure to use a deep dish crust or you’ll end up with more than one pie.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Mashed Potatoes

This is a variation on a Martha Stewart recipe I used a while back. I don’t typically measure, though, so I would suggest tasting it along the way and adding a bit of the ingredients at a time until it’s nice, fluffy, and tasty. These are always a big hit at Thanksgiving.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 lbs russet potatoes
• 1 (8 oz) bar of cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil for 15 minutes or until soft.
2. Drain and mash the potatoes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.