This recipe is a take off from this One I made awhile ago. The cinnamon chips are still available and I wanted to try the pumpkin spice jello.
They are really good and make a nice addition to a dessert table.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter- softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3.4 oz package jello pumpkin spice instant pudding - this is a seasonal release
2 eggs
1 10 oz package cinnamon chips- I only used half the package.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Add flour and baking soda to a medium size bowl.
Add butter, both sugars, pudding, vanilla to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time and gradually add the flour and the chips. I wasn't sure about adding the whole bag, I didn't want the cinnamon to overpower the pumpkin.
The batter will be very stiff.
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto your cookie sheet and place about 2 inches apart on a ungreased cookie sheet
Bake in a 375 preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.
Let cookies remain on the cookie sheet for about a minute then remove to the cooling rack.
Source is on the original recipe
The toy was not his. It was on the guest bed in Gregory's house. The bed is pretty high and I never thought he would jump on it. Guess he wanted another toy to add to his ever growing collection.
Wanted to try this to see if it would be welcomed on our Thanksgiving table. Did it make the cut? YES!
This recipe is adapted from A Pinch Of Yum. Thanks Lindsay.
Ingredients:
1 stick butter - melted
1 cup sour cream
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
1 (15.25) oz can corn-drained
1 (15.25) oz can creamed corn
1 beaten egg
I added a shake of Slap Ya Mama
Toppings- bacon or scallions or french fried onions. Add one or more.
Directions:
Blend together the butter, sour cream and the beaten egg in a large bowl.
Stir in the Jiffy corn bread mix and both cans of corn, mix well.
Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with toppings and bake additional 10 minutes.
Note: If you want to add the scallions wait until you take the dish out of the oven before adding them.
Corn is done when the middle is set.
It's A Wonderful Life is my all time favorite! If you enjoy holiday tv check out:
Holiday Shows
I hoped Gregory would be home for Thanksgiving but he has to go back the 25th of November. I'm going to do the dinner before he goes offshore so he can enjoy Turkey Day.
This is a old recipe. It came from Women's Day Magazine. It was in the November 1999 issue.
Ingredients:
4 turkey wings ( about 3 pounds)
2 medium onions -peeled and quartered
1 cup water
8 cups chicken broth*
3/4 cup carrot- chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions:
Heat oven to 400 F degrees
Arrange wings on a roasting pan in a single layer and scatter the onion over them. Roast 1 1/4 hours until the wings are browned.
Put wings and onions in a 5-6 quart dutch oven, or a large pot.
Add water to the roasting pan and stir and scrape any brown bits on the bottom and add to the wings in the dutch oven. Add six cups of the broth reserving 2 cups for later use. Add the carrot and the thyme also to the dutch oven.
Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 and 1/2 hours.
Remove wings to a cutting board and when cooled, pull off the meat and the skin. Discard the skin and use the meat for another use.
Strain the broth into a 3 quart saucepan, pressing vegetables to extract as much liquid from them. Discard vegetables and skim off the fat. I cooled it in the refrigerator over night for easy fat skimming.
Whisk flour into 2 cups of the remaining broth until well blended and smooth.
In a large pot bring the broth to a gentle boil . Whisk in the broth/flour mixture and boil 3 to 4 minutes to thicken the gravy and remove the flour taste. Stir in the butter and pepper.
Serve or pour into containers.
Will keep in the refrigerator up to 1 week or can be frozen up to 3 months.
On Thanksgiving when the turkey is cooled and removed from the pan- skim off some of the fat and dripping and add to the heated gravy.
* I made stock in my crockpot a few days before. Easy and the stock is just the way we like it.
Personal note- the gravy is thick because I took it out of the refrigerator to do the photo. I didn't warm it up but when I made it in the past it's smooth and delicious.
Fascinated by a flock of egrets in the back yard. I thought he would run to the fence to chase them. He stayed on the porch and just watched them.
My Boys
I needed a few things for the bathroom and saw what I wanted at TJ MAX. I noticed a sign that said "seniors" get a 10% discount on Mondays. Saved quite a few dollars on my order.
Sometimes it does pay to be old!
Here is a list of additional discounts from-Brads Deals
I saw this recipe and my mouth started to water. Love sweet potatoes, and in a bisque- YUM!
Adapted from Barefoot Kitchen Witch. Cute name for a blog.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, peeled and sliced end to end ( long way)
pinch of salt (didn't use)
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander ( didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (didn't use)
10 grinds of black pepper or to taste ( used white pepper)
1 qt chicken stock - homemade or from the store
5 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly cut into 1 inch cubes
water if needed to cover sweet potatoes ( used additional chicken broth)
salt and pepper ( didn't use)
directions:
Melt butter in a large pot, I used my 5 qt. dutch oven.
Add the onion and sprinkle with salt and cook over medium heat,stirring occasionally until the onion softens. Reduce the heat and continue to cook until the onions are golden and brown along the edges. Remove a few of the golden onions to garnish the soup later.
Add the chopped garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, chipotle chili powder, salt and pepper to the onion mixture.Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Add the sweet potatoes to the onions and spices and pour in the chicken stock, making sure all the potatoes are covered with liquid.
Cook on high and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Turn off the heat and allow to cool before you puree. Use whatever you have- blender, food processor, immersion blender and blend until there are no lumps.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with a few of the browned onions.
One of my favorite things to do is bake. Back in my NY kitchen I have everything and anything I need, not so in Florida. I'm also NOT good with change as Myra and Dawn well know. I'm in a new kitchen, winging it.
Good deal on the zucchini (88 cents a pound) I wanted to make one of Carol's zucchini breads. There is a list of breads I plan to make and this one she adapted from Barbara Bakes. Carol's adapted recipe uses Greek yogurt and Watkins Caramel Extract.
The cinnamon chip were a challenge to find. I spoke to someone in Walmart and she said they didn't have them. Being a pushy New Yorker I asked if they planned to get them in. She wasn't sure but said she would put a order in for them. I checked next week and there they were.
A warning. If you are on a diet or have someone in the house on the diet do NOT make this bread unless you have lots of will power to have just one slice. It's THAT good!
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ( I used saigon cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon caramel extract
3/4 cup vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt or you can use plain yogurt
3 cups unpeeled, shredded zucchini
1 (10 oz) package cinnamon chips
Cinnamon Topping
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 9 x 5 loaf pans or five 5 x 3 loaf pans, set aside.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk a few times and set it aside.
In another medium bowl combine the sugar, oil and eggs. Mix on low with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla, caramel extract and the yogurt and continue to mix until everything is combined.
Make sure the zucchini doesn't have any water left in it and squeeze excessive out with a towel. Once it's "dry" add it to the egg mixture.
Add the cinnamon chips to the bowl that contains the flour. Add the flour mixture to the egg/zucchini mixture and mix until well combined.
Add the batter to the prepared pans
Combine the raw sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the batter.
Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes ( large pans) smaller pans-30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool 5 minutes. Remove from pans and place on a rack and cool completely.
Spanish Moss is something new to check out. When we walk around the lake there isn't much of it but when he finds some we know we aren't moving for awhile.
Poor Max. Kids live across the street and when he hears them he runs over to the window to check out what they are doing. The kids aren't dog friendly so Max isn't allowed to play with them.
Tomorrow is Veterans Day and I wanted to honor some of the women that served in WW ll.
Link to the Women Warriors
My friend Carol, is a fabulous cook and as soon as I saw this recipe I knew this would on the table soon.
I didn't change a thing in Carol's adapted recipe. It's easy to make and Gabe really enjoyed it and our little Max loved the gravy!
Ingredients:
1 ( 1 1/2 pound) pork tenderloin
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cups baby bella or white button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary-crushed
1 (14 1/2 oz) can low sodium, fat free chicken broth or 1 3/4 cups homemade stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh parsley for garnish
directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Line a shallow baking dish with foil and spray the foil with non stick spray- set aside
Trim any fat and silver skin from the tenderloin
Combine the seasoned bread crumbs and the panko on a large plate. Roll the tenderloin in the crumbs, coating all sides of the meat.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large fry pan over medium heat and brown all sides of the tenderloin.
Transfer the tenderloin to the shallow dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until the thermometer reaches 150 degrees in the preheated 375 oven.
Make the sauce when the tenderloin is baking
Whisk together the chicken broth, tomato paste in a medium size bowl and mix well. Stir in rosemary, salt & pepper.
Clean the frying pan of any bread crumbs and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat the oil and and saute the mushrooms over medium heat until they are lightly browned, which was about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 second and then the chicken broth for an additional 3-5 minutes over medium heat. The sauce will reduce and become slightly thickened.
When the tenderloin is done let it rest now for about 10 minutes and cut into 1/2 slices.
Drizzle with the sauce.
Thank you Carol! This is a keeper and will make this for Gregory when he comes home.
I am a huge PBS fan, love the shows and now that we are in Florida I have a PBS radio station on in the car.
This recipe is from PBS FOOD. I adapted it slightly to our taste.
Ingredients:
2 eggplants - cut into 1 inch cubes
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt ( didn't use)
3 cloves garlic- crushed
1 pound tomatoes -skinned and chopped ( used 1 10oz can Rotel and 12 oz can drained chopped tomatoes)
4 tsp. sugar (didn't add)
black pepper to taste ( slap ya mama to taste)
1 14 oz can chick peas-drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses ( never heard of pomegranate molasses and used regular molasses)
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley - chopped ( didn't use)
3 Pork Boudin sausages *
directions:
Pan fry the eggplant cubes in a small amount of olive oil until golden and drain on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil
In the same saucepan, fry the garlic with a small amount of oil. I added the pork boudin and cooked them with the tomatoes.
Add the sugar, salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes.
Add chickpeas, molasses and eggplant to the above mixture and simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.
* every Christmas Gregory gives Gabe a gift package from Cajun Grocer. We had pork boudin and Alligator burger patties left. The pork I used in this recipe which was very good and I used the alligator burgers the following day.
Gabe is also a potato chip connoisseur, my man loves his spuds. He loved Charles chips, then we couldn't get them in our area. The Vermont Country store carries them but Gregory introduced Zaps to his Dad and the rest is history.
The package from Cajun Grocer includes meats and two boxes of potato chips!
Max loves walking around Lake Desoto. Plenty of ducks to terrorize and other dogs that he meets along the walk.
He's overly enthusiastic and thinks all the dogs should love him, which you know that isn't going to happen. He just loves to play and wants another buddy to chase around. Unfortunately there aren't any dog parks in the area where he can blow off some of his steam.
Unsinkable Sam AKA Oscar was a ships cat. He served during the second world war on board three different vessels and survived the sinking of all three! He was picked up by the HMS Cossack, and was the only survivor picked up by that ship. Oscar was on the Bismark. He was floating on a piece of wood debris. The crew of the Cossack named him "Oscar".
The Cossack was torpedoed by a U boat in October 1941, killing 159 members of the crew. Oscar survived.
Oscar and surviving crew were rescued by the HMS Legion. Oscar never joined Legion's crew. He was put ashore with the rest of the survivors at Gibraltar. He was then assigned to the HMS Ark Royal.
The Ark Royal was hit by a torpedo and sank and again Oscar was rescued, this time by HMS Lightening.
Oscar was then assigned to the Governor of Gibraltar's office and from there he was "transferred" back to Belfast, where he sat out the rest of the war.
His portrait is in the National Maritime Museum
Paws On Your Heart has additional information
Oscar died in 1955 but does have a facebook page!
When I cook in my NY kitchen I always have Eyewitness News ( Channel 7) on. They had Mr. Food shows on years ago. Love his "oh- so good".
This is a recipe from his Site. I had plenty of thighs left and wanted to check the recipe out and see if it was a keeper- it was !
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds boneless,skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water.
1/4 cup soy sauce (used low sodium)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger ( I used fresh)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil.
Add the chicken to the pan and brown on both sides- 5-7 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine 3/4 cup water, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, garlic and ginger- stir into chicken.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes- turning occasionally.
In a small bowl- combine the tablespoon of water and the cornstarch making sure there are no lumps. Add to the chicken and stir until the sauce has thickened.
