by The Puritan's Pride Editorial Team
But since we’re all about health and wellness here at Puritan’s Pride, we took some of those family favorites and gave them a more nutritious makeover. We cooked. We tasted. We tested. We loved these recipes. Yes, it’s a tough job, but someone has got to do it.
Skip the sticky melted marshmallow topping and opt for an equally sweet streusel topping that also adds a bit of crunch with delicious, nutritious pecans.
For the potatoes:
For the topping:
Preheat oven to 350°F. To prepare potatoes, place them in a large pot; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until tender; drain. Cool 5 minutes. Next, place potatoes in a large bowl; add granulated sugar, brown sugar, ginger, evaporated milk, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt and vanilla.
Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time; beat well after adding each egg. Coat a 13″ x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray – if you use a glass dish, make sure it is safe to use under a broiler. Pour potato mixture into baking dish.
Combine flour, packed brown sugar, cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir with a whisk. Stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over potato mixture; arrange pecans evenly over top. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes or just until golden. Remove casserole from oven and preheat broiler. Broil casserole about 45 seconds or until topping is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving (1).
This holiday favorite has been showing up on dining tables since the mid-1950s when it was invented to get home cooks to buy more cream of mushroom soup. This nutritious version is also tastier, in our humble opinion, because we’ve gotten rid of the pre-packaged components.
Use frozen green beans for the convenience and nutrient content, since the beans are flash frozen at the peak of freshness. Skip the canned soup too, which is typically loaded with sodium. Lastly, dump the pre-packaged fried onions and create your own crispy onion topping. Trust us, it’s simple and delicious!
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme (or Herbes de Provence) and pepper.
Cook, stirring often, until the mushroom juices are almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add milk and sherry and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Stir in green beans and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in sour cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Whisk the remaining 1/3 cup flour, paprika, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Add sliced onion; toss to coat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion along with any remaining flour mixture and cook, turning once or twice, until golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the onion topping over the casserole. Bake the casserole until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving (2).
We know what you’re thinking…”Don’t mess with Mom’s recipe. It’s perfect just as it is.” We hear you and we know how you feel. But honestly, this one is so delicious you aren’t going to notice the wholesome ingredient swaps.
The secret to this tasty recipe “re-do” is threefold: skip the pre-packaged stuffing mix, swap turkey sausage for pork sausage, and use low-sodium broth.
Preheat oven to 400° F. Slice bread into thick slices then cut into 1 ½-inch cubes. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. If there is too much bread for one pan to spread in a single layer, use two. Bake at 400° F for 10 minutes or until toasted. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cut crosswise into slices or crumble if you wish. Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms. Sauté 5 minutes. Combine bread cubes, sausage, and mushrooms in a large bowl. Heat skillet over medium-high heat.
Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add parsley, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Sauté 1 minute. Add to bread mixture. Combine eggs and broth, stirring with a whisk. Add to bread mixture; toss to coat. Spoon into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes or until browned (3).
Leave that stale, rum-soaked cake to holidays past and serve up a fruit cake people will actually enjoy. That’s right, fruit cake. This yummy holiday cake uses cranberries, but feel free to swap out the tart berries with some other seasonal fruit such as apples or pears. It also works well with slightly acidic fruit like peaches or plums.
Note: You can substitute other flours for the whole wheat pastry flour. The ratio is 1:1 if you use whole wheat flour, but the final product will be denser. Or you can substitute 1/2 cup cake flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (4).
Preheat oven to 350° F. Heat brown sugar, 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons orange juice in a large (12-inch) cast-iron or other oven-proof skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the mixture starts to bubble. Turn off the heat and let cool. Coat the sides of the skillet with cooking spray.
Bring the remaining 1/4 cup orange juice and cranberries to a simmer in a separate medium saucepan, stirring often, until most of the cranberries have popped. Pour evenly over the cooled brown sugar mixture in the skillet. Add the walnut pieces.
Mix together the dry ingredients – whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Separate the egg whites and yolks. Place the yolks in a large bowl and add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, oil, granulated sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture alternately with milk. (Begin and end this process with the flour.) Stir just until the flour is incorporated.
Beat the egg whites in a clean dry mixing bowl with clean dry beaters on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter until incorporated, and then gently fold in the rest. There should be no white streaks. Spread the batter over the cranberry/brown sugar mixture (in the cast iron skillet).
Place into the preheated oven and bake until the top is golden brown and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate – caution the skillet handle may still be hot.
Let cool for 30 minutes more before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired. Sprinkle freshly ground cinnamon over the whipped cream, or directly onto the cake before serving (5).
Now that you’ve got some of the side dishes covered, make sure you don’t forget the most important part of the holiday meal – the turkey! This year, wow your guests with a delectable spice rub.
Combine 2 tablespoons paprika, 2 teaspoons ground fennel, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves and 1 teaspoon cayenne in a bowl, and sprinkle generously over turkey. Season with salt and pepper (6).
