Check out these Thanksgiving recipes from KGW viewers

PORTLAND, Ore. — This week on KGW News at Sunrise, viewers took part in our early morning newscast by sharing some of their favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

They didn't just send us the ingredients and instructions — these wonderful viewers actually let us into their homes and their kitchens so they could show us how they put these recipes together. Videos and recipes were added to this article as segments aired throughout the week.

Here are the recipes that got the spotlight this week on Sunrise:

Monday: Loaded Mashed Potato Balls

We paid a visit to Southeast Portland to meet a loyal KGW Sunrise viewer named Angie, who showed us how to make one of her Turkey Day favorites. She calls them her Loaded Mashed Potato Balls.

Here's the complete recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups cold mashed potatoes
• 8 pieces thick-cut bacon, diced, cooked until crisp
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 5 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup of plain breadcrumbs
• Oil for deep frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix mashed potatoes, bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions.
2. Place in refrigerator and allow to rest for at least one hour.
3. Add flour, a slightly beaten egg, and breadcrumbs to three SEPARATE shallow bowls.
4. Use a small ice-cream scooper to create balls with mashed potato mixture. Roll the balls in flour and gently shake off excess flour.
5. Place balls in eggs, roll and coat, before placing balls in breadcrumbs. Completely cover them with crumbs.
6. Continue repeating the steps above until all the potato mixture has been turned into balls.
7. Heat oil in a saucepan, or deep fryer, to 350 degrees or until the end of chopstick produces bubbles when inserted into the oil.
8. Drop balls into hot oil without crowding the pan. You will need some room to move them around without breaking them.
9. Fry 3-5 minutes until golden brown.
10. Remove from oil and drain. Serve with sour cream or ranch dressing.

Tuesday: Corn Bake

Day 2 took us out to Molly’s house in Southeast Portland. The name of her recipe is as simple as the recipe itself.

Here's the complete recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 white or yellow onion, diced
• 1 Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can corn
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and find a baking dish that is round 9x13. It doesn't have to be exact!
2. Sauté your onion in the butter until it's soft, but not caramelized. Allow to cool a bit.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the muffin mix, can of corn (not drained!), can of creamed corn, and the eggs. Don't overdo it on the mixing. Add to the baking dish.
4. For the topping: in a separate bowl, stir the cheese and sour cream together.
5. Finally, top the casserole with dollops of the cheese/sour cream mixture, cover with aluminum and put in the oven.
6. Bake for at least 60 minutes, depending on the depth of your baking dish. Wiggle the dish around to see if it is cooked through, or use a toothpick to check.

Wednesday: Macadamia Nut Pie

For Day 3, we're serving up dessert! A loyal Sunrise viewer named Tracie invited us into her home in Vancouver to show us how she makes her Macadamia Nut Pie.

Here's the complete recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups macadamia nuts
• 1 9-inch uncooked pie shell (recipe + instructions below)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Whisk brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl.
3. Rough chop macadamia nuts (leaving some whole pieces) and fill pie crust with nuts.
4. Pour sugar mixture over nuts in pie crust.
5. Bake until center puffs slightly (about 50 minutes)

Homemade Single Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
• 1/4 cup cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine flour and salt.
2. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (or mix in mixer on low for 30-45 seconds).
3. Stir in water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough holds together.
4. Roll into ball, flatten slightly.
5. Wrap in plastic, refrigerate 1-2 hours.

To use: roll between wax paper, press firmly into 8-9 inch pie shell.

Thursday: Sweet Potato Casserole

Day 4 comes with a sensational side dish! We headed up to Camas for this one, to the home of a long-time Sunrise viewer named Roberta, who showed us how she makes her Sweet Potato Casserole.

Here's the complete recipe:

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred)
• Fresh rosemary, to taste, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the sweet potato mixture:

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes/yams (about 6 medium sized), baked until fork-tender, then peeled and mashed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine ingredients for crust mixture in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Combine mashed sweet potatoes with remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and pour into a buttered baking dish, roughly 3 quarts in size.
4. Sprinkle the crust mixture evenly over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake for 30 minutes and allow to set for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Friday: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Horns

Here it is: the Grand Finale for this year's KGW Viewers' Thanksgiving Recipes series. We wrap up the week with a sweet treat from a viewer named Richard. He invited us into his home kitchen in Southwest Portland to show us how he makes his Chocolate-Dipped Almond Horns.

Here's the complete recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 227 grams (8 oz.) almond paste
• 100 grams (3.6 oz.) sugar
• 40 grams (1 extra large white) egg white
• 1.5 grams (1/4 teaspoon) salt
• 25 grams (1/4 cup) fine almond flour
• Sliced almonds (as needed)
• 300 grams bittersweet chocolate

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. On slow speed in a mixer with paddle attachment, mix the almond paste with the sugar and salt.
3. Gradually add the egg to create a smooth paste.
4. Add almond flour and mix until well-combined.
5. Spread the sliced almonds out on a large plate.
6. Scoop 1 tablespoon of mix onto the sliced almonds.
7. Place a handful of almonds on your palm and press the almonds into the scooped ball to form into a cigar shape.
8. Carefully curve cookie into a crescent shape and position on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
9. Bake until the almonds and cookies are lightly browned for about 12 to 15 minutes (Do not over bake!).
10. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
11. Dip the ends of the horns into melted chocolate.

Instructions for tempering chocolate:

1. Chop up the chocolate (the kind with cocoa butter) and pour in glass bowl.
2. Using double boiler method, melt 200 grams over medium heat until it reaches 110F/118F.
3. Cool down chocolate until 80F by adding remaining 100 grams of chocolate.
4. Bring temp back up to 88F and ready for use.