Happy Fall, Y'all!

   My very favorite season of the year is Fall! I like the cool, crisp weather, the changing leaves on the trees, and the foods that people start baking and serving when Fall rolls around again. :) Last night I made a new sweet potato recipe that my family and I loved! My sweet potato skins burned before the insides were soft, so I didn't get to stuff them, but it was still quite tasty! I think I will try turning the oven temperature down to 400* next time. 

Apple-Pecan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

4 medium size sweet potatoes (a/b 3 1/2 lbs.)

1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter

1 large apple, chopped

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

a small dash of allspice

1. Place sweet potatoes on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425* F for 1 hour or until tender.
2. Heat nuts in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5-10 minutes or until toasted. Remove from skillet.
3. Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple; saute' about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Remove from heat. 
4. When potatoes are cooked, cut in half lengthwise; scoop pulp into bowl, being careful to leave shells intact. Add apple mixture to sweet potato pulp in bowl; stir until blended. Spoon mixture into shells. Place on baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350* F for 15-20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with pecans.

   This was so delicious - I think it's our new family favorite! Enjoy!

Dairy Free

  There are many alternatives to cow's milk for those that are allergic or lactose intolerant. I have tried soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk and rice milk. Since Rice Dream Rice Drink is my favorite, that is what my recipes will call for. You can substitute 1:1 with any of these other drinks that I listed. These are quite a bit more expensive than cow's milk, so I have come up with a recipe to make my own rice milk. I use homemade rice milk in all my baking and mix it about half and half with Rice Dream for drinking or on cereal. You can use brown rice, (it's more healthy) but I don't care for the taste other than in baking. 
  Here is my recipe:

Rice Milk

1 cup cooked white rice

6 cups water

about 2 tablespoons honey, sugar, or other sweetener 

Mix the rice and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil, watching carefully, (mine always either tries to boil over or stop boiling altogether) for 20 minutes. Stir in honey until dissolved; cool. 

 Blend in blender on "liquify" setting for about a minute and a half or until blended.  Add 2 cups water and blend again. At this point, if there is any grainy sludge, strain through a fine sieve. (Brown rice will have a lot of this, but white rice shouldn't.) Add 2 more cups water, stir and pour into glass quart jars. Store in refrigerator.   

Makes 2 quarts and keeps for about 2 weeks.