I am Thankful for good food.

Wow, where does time go, here it is November. I hope you like these recipes. I will post these three recipes and will add some more later.

Mashed Potatoes
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
5 large potatoes, cut into 1" pieces (7 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup light cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
2 TBS butter
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (reserve some for garnish)
Generous dash ground black pepper.

1. Heat broth and potatoes in 3qt saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 10 min or until potatoes are tender.
Drain, reserving broth.
3. Mash potatoes with 1/4 cup broth, light cream, sour cream, chives, butter, bacon and black pepper. Add additional broth, if needed, until desired consistency. Garnish with remaining bacon.

Cream of Potato-and-Onion Soup

Makes 12 cups hands-on-time: 1hr.

2 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil
4 large sweet onions, chopped (about 5 cups)
1 tsp sugar
3 TBS all-purpose flour
1 (32-oz) container chicken broth
1 (32 oz) pkg frozen southern-style cubed hash browns
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1 cup half-and-half
Garnishes: chopped fresh chives, freshly ground pepper

1. Melt butter with oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and sugar. Cook, stirring often, 45 to 50 mins or until onions are carmel colored.
2. Sprinkle onions with flour, and stir to coat. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook 20 mins. Add hash browns and 2 cups water. Reduce heat to low, add thyme and next 3 ingredients, and simmer 30 minutes.
3. Stir in cheese and half-and-half; cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat 5 min or until cheese is melted. Remove bay leaf before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Fresh Apple Cake
makes 12 to 15 servings. Hands on time: 25 minutes

Thinly sliced apples create rich, moist layers of fruit within the cake.

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 lb Granny Smith apples (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges.

Browned-butter frosting, dark chocolate frosting, or cream cheese frosting.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
2. Stir together butter and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl until blended.
3. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in apples and 1 cup pecans. (Batter will be very thick, similar to a cookie dough.) Spread batter into a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 45 minutes). Spread your choice of frosting over top of cake; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans.