thanksgiving eats

i forgot about this picture until today. this is the rolls and blueberry pie i made for thanksgiving at the fishers. both were really good! if you want recipes let me know.

Recipe first tried at Anthony and Candice's

This is a recipe I made after first eating it at Anthony and Candice's. It's a yummy variation of the old stand-by potato casserole served at potluck dinners for the past, say 40 years ago. I guess this is like the one they serve at Cracker Barrel. Thanks for telling me how to find it, Candice.

Southern Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

1 bag of frozen hash brown potatoes (2 lbs)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup melted butter
1 ½ tsp salt
1 small onion (chopped)
1 can 10 ¾ oz cream soup (cream of chicken or mushroom)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups crushed Corn Flakes
¼ cup melted butter
Directions:

Thaw hash browns.
Mix hash browns, cheddar cheese, ½ cup melted butter, salt, onion, soup, and sour cream.
Spray 9 x 13 pan with Pam.
Pour mixture into pan and spread evenly. Do not pack tightly.
In a small bowl, mix Corn Flakes and ¼ cup melted butter. Sprinkle on casserole.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until lightly brown.

(It might be a good idea to avoid getting on the scales for a couple of days after eating this.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

I made these yummy pumpkin bars for a "Just for Fun" gathering (of friends) from Church. I also made taco soup, rolls and tossed salad. Everyone liked it. This is an easy seasonal recipe and takes about 15 minutes to prepare (before baking). Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

1 pkg. white or yellow cake mix
3 eggs
2 TB melted margarine
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
(2 ½ cinnamon 1 ginger, ½ cloves)
1 8oz. package softened cream cheese
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 16 oz. can pumpkin
½ tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine cake mix, 1 egg, margarine, 2 tsp. of spices. Mix on low speed until crumbly. Press into bottom of 15” x 10” jelly roll pan. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, 2 eggs, pumpkin and remaining 2 tsp. spices and salt. Mix well and pour over crust. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake 30 - 35 minutes on 350 degrees.
Cook, chill and cut into squares.
Store in refrigerator.

Note: 9” x 13” cake pan may be used, but baking time is increased by 20 - 25 minutes until knife comes out clean. Crust will be thicker.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
2 c. roasted corn (approx. 3 cobs)
6 shitake mushrooms, stems removed and julienned
1 leek, top and bottom removed and sliced thin
1 shallot, diced
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 qt chicken broth
2 c. potatoes, cooked and chopped
2 c. heavy cream
1 red bell pepper, roasted and diced
salt
pepper

To roast corn, peel back husks, remove silk. Lightly coat with softened butter, salt and pepper. Rewrap husk around cob and tie with twine. Bake at 400 F for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely before removing husks. Cut corn from cob.
To roast bell pepper, cut in half and remove seeds. Coat with olive oil. Broil for 5-10 minutes on highest rack setting, until skins are almost completely black and blistered. Allow to cool completely, peel off blackened skin and dice.

Melt butter in large soup pot over medium heat. Saute shallot, mushrooms, and leeks until softened. Sprinkle in flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add corn, bell pepper, and cream. Cook until hot. Add salt and pepper as desired. Serve.

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lasagna

I made lasagna on Sunday and forgot to take a picture, but this is a picture from the website I use to find recipes. Anyways, it was so easy to make and it was soooo delicious! If you want to try go to allrecipes.com and look up bob's awesome lasagna. Other successes in the kitchen this week have been: french baguette, cinnamon rolls (a favorite in our house), and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Clay's cookin'

Unfortunately I didn't take pics of the tacos, probably because they
were so good. Jenna's the expert. She toasted the shells in the oven,
which I would highly recommend to any other taco makers.

ribs

I made ribs last Sunday for dinner. They took a few hours but turned out really good. I also made garlic red potatoes and cornbread and corn. The potatoes were really good as well.

i forget what these are called...but they were good!

these are a mexican inspired appetizer i tried out one day. you take a tortilla and cut circles out of it using a cookie cutter. then you put those in a muffin pan so they kind of make a small cup and then you put whatever you want in them. i did some refried beans, cheese, and olives. i think you bake them at like 400 or 450 for 5 minutes, let them cool a minute and then eat. we had ours with sour cream and salsa. they turned out sooo good i thought! the tortillas got kind of crispy, exactly what i was looking for.

fruit salad

Just made this fruit salad. Kiwis, strawberries and mangos ... tasty combo. It's been a while since I've combined fruit.

one more pic

this is the last pic from the series below, its the apple pancake upside down. the cinnamon sugar kind of makes a glaze and the apples turned out really soft. it was good. the secret to making the apples stay at the bottom is to saute them first. i learned this the hard way. the first time i made this they floated so they didn't keep any of the sugary stuff on them...wasn't as good.

the last few months...if you want a recipe let me know. but here are some pics

the first is hootenanny, you've all had that.
next is some blueberry pancakes. the blueberries were good and juicy, the pancakes weren't very sweet, they were very bland and needed lots of syrup.
then there's some shepherd's pie. it's the best shepherd's pie i've ever had. serious.
this is a copy of the apple pancake from the original pancake house. it was kind of close...but some parts were almost "omelette-ey." It's similar to hootenanny but with some added ingredients like cinnamon and apples.

Double Chocolate Dream Cookies

I made these cookies and put them in the mail to Danny for his birthday. Ethan and Laura also ate some of them, and I ate a couple, too. Yum. I forgot to take a photo again. Maybe next time.

2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c. (1 pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool a little before using spatula to remove cookies from baking sheet.