Maple-Glazed Carrots

2 pounds carrots

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup maple syrup

Peel the carrots and slice into rounds. Cook the carrots with the butter in a frying pan over medium heat until almost tender. Season with salt and pepper, and add the maple syrup. Turn up the heat and allow the syrup to boil for about 30 seconds and start to caramelize around the carrots. Makes 8 servings.

Cranberry Fluff

12 ounce bag of cranberries

1 large or 2 medium oranges

1 cup sugar

1 package cranberry gelatin

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 small container whipped topping

Slice the orange(s) into six pieces and remove the seeds. Place oranges and cranberries in a food processor, and blend until chopped into small pieces (this is cranberry relish). Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the sugar.

In another bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, add to the cranberry relish, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or overnight, until set. Stir the gelatin a bit to break it up, and stir in the whipped topping. Keep refrigerated until service. Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Butternut Squash Casserole

1 butternut squash

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate

Streusel Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup pecans, toasted

1/3 cup flour

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425o F. Cut the butternut squash on a cookie sheet, cut from the side down. Bake for 1 hour or until the squash is tender.

Turn the oven down to 350o F. Peel the squash; blend it until smooth (it can also be mashed with a potato masher). Add the sugar, cream, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, eggs and orange juice concentrate. Stir until well combined. Pour into a buttered 9×13 baking pan. Mix the streusel topping ingredients together, and sprinkle over the top of the squash. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Texas-Style Corn

2 15 ounce cans whole corn kernels

8 ounce bacon

1 small yellow onion

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 dash cayenne

Dice the bacon and cook in a frying pan over medium heat, until crisp. Remove the bacon bits from the grease and set aside. Cook the onions in the bacon grease until they start to become transparent. Add the bell peppers, and cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the corn kernels, and return the bacon to the pan. Season with the peppers. Cook until the corn is heated through; it may brown a bit. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Source: Julie Lee, consumer and family sciences instructor