Pumpkin Pie Crunch ...p111

There in my cabinet loomed a large can of pumpkin yet unused from Thanksgiving.  This was the motivation I needed to make an almost unheard of treat in our home barring the holidays - dessert.

Except for slicing two sticks of butter

and chopping pecans with my favorite Uli knife,

this was a very simple "cake" to make - much like a dump cake (a term that causes my kids to squirm and question what the heck the ingredients are, while I pray that Nana doesn't mutter her favorite word during our exchange!)

But, of course, why would she with this wonderful variation on the pumpkin theme - pie or cake, whatever you call it, it's a rich, delightful dessert that will feed a crowd.

 

  

Not sure why - maybe my oven's off, or maybe the humidity was too high, but the 50 min. of cooking I anticipated turned into 1 hr. 30 min before my knife came out clean.....  Make it ahead if you don't wanna keep them waiting ;-) 

Hardy Appetit!

Baked Orange Roughy ...p51

I'll tell you what, I don't miss the West Coast "nuts" (okay my friends, you know I'm kidding), but I sure do miss its fish.  You'd think fresh fish would be plentiful here on the gulf coast, but my little town has little to offer in that category without an hour long foray.  I am so jealous of my Alaska family!  Send me some salmon, will ya?

"Orange Roughy" is a strange name for a fish, conjuring up images of a rough textured bully, so I found it interesting Wiki reading that it is the largest member of the "slimehead" family.....  Not quite the same visual.  I also felt bad for eating this poor fish as it can actually live to be 149 years old.  Tricia, with her usual blunt questioning, asked, "now how do they KNOW that?"  Sheez, they've obviously been tagging them for that long, eh?

In all seriousness, this recipe brought oohs and aahs from the family and yet was so simple to make.  I even found the fish - fresh - close to home and very reasonably priced.

 

Delicate and mild, this white fish melts in your mouth.  Creamed spinach, saffron rice and fresh asparagus added a nice variety to the meal. 

Hardy Appetit!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole ...p57

What's in my freezer?  Chicken.  What's in my fridge?  Tortillas.  Typical Texan (no, no, no - I hear ya!  Beef!)

Either way, I found a recipe for which I had all the ingredients WITHOUT going to the store. 
I must admit I have made this recipe a gazillion times - it's truly an old standby in our house, but a worthy favorite.  It's relatively quick, easy, feeds a crowd, but is yummy.  IMHO.  Check out the recipe for Nana's (INHO).

Changes I made?  Corn tortillas - mixed opinions in our house.  Some like corn, others flour.  I do like to pour a bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan before adding the first layer though, as sometimes I've had the bottom layer tough.  I have never let it "marinate" overnight and omitted this step again.....so perhaps that is my real problem with the bottom layer?  Whatcha think, Kimber? No doubt the kitty wanted some........

My daughters informed me that my favorite local antique store was closing down and everything was marked way down; so, between the daily activities, we managed to run down there where I scored a cute copper heart mold for $2.00.  It was a nice touch to my valentine theme.

Hardy Appetit!

Pecan Tassies ...p102

After popping one of these in my mouth, I immediately flashbacked to my sweet Aunt Lynn's, a Roseville kitchen, during the Christmas season....  It was in my mom's and her kitchen where mustard sandwiches were born and fanciful paperbag creations were fashioned.   The fifties really were Ozzie & Harriet, Leave it to Beaver. And yes, my grandmother really wore Harriet dresses every day! 

I must confess that these "tassies" I began over Christmas - one of the recipes I never tried before.  However, I only got the pastry mixed and pressed into the mini-muffin tins when - for one reason or another - the filling wasn't completed, the tins were wrapped in foil and stashed in the freezer for future use. 

So after my quick look back, welcome to the future:  finishing pecan tassies in what might be freezer-burned yukka! 

My daughter Trish said it best:  "Wow!  These taste like mini-cheesecakes!"  And they did.  They were a bit crumbly (maybe a result of freezer burn?), so the 2nd tray I allowed to sit in the frig overnight - they came out easier, and were even creamier.  I think these will be a regular on my Christmas trays!

Hardy Appetit!

Italian Chicken Over Rice ...p54

So Superbowl Sunday brings out the cool Brees with a Saints amazing win over the Colts.  Whodat Nation uprising!!!  A crazy day dashed my ambition to prepare some snacks, and without a crowd coming over, I said, "ok, who cares?" Well, the family did - unfortunately, the day before they snacked on my chips for Kimber's 7-layer dip, hence that recipe was eliminated from our Superbowl line-up. 

While the first two quarters raged on, I prepared the Italian Chicken, Healthy Potato Skins and Pecan Tassies....all finished appropriately for a half-time dinner.  I was a little frazzled, but not nearly as much as the Colts!

Back to Italian Chicken over Rice....what can I say?  I love chestnuts.  I love chicken.  and I love anything Italian. Try it, you will too.  I did have to guess at the quantities, as the ingredient list was either left off the recipe or intended for one or hundred :-)

Hardy Appetit!

Healthy Potato Skins ...p17

If you're thinking, "yuk, I don't want anything this healthy!", think again.  There are some indulgences in these:  cream cheese, bacon, buttermilk - that counteract the spinach.  But don't leave out the spinach!  Truly a delightful combination of ingredients, that complemented the Italian Chicken I served alongside. 

I was a tad confused as to whether this recipe intended for me to "twice-bake" the potato - that is, restuff the mixture into the potato and bake it again; but, I figured that was the intent by its name "Healthy Potato Skins," so that's what I did.  Let me know, Rach, if I'm wrong!

Hardy Appetit!

Pregame Previews

Tonight and tomorrow cooks all over the states will be fussing over finger foods and half-time meals!  I'm no different, though we will be watching the game with just the family. 

Okay, just.  They like Superbowl food too! And Nana's a diehard Saints fan.  I predict the Colts by 3 but would love it if the Saints would bring home the gold....I suspect Manning wouldn't mind that either.

This reminds me of my youngest son Jon's unfortunate placement in the sibling line-up - he follows his brother Justin.  So when I get tongue-tied trying to address Jon, I inevitably start with Just and end with Jon - a name he uses to his advantage in the sympathy game - "I know, I know, I'm Just-Jon!"  

But back to food,  I plan to try these tomorrow - a week's quota in a day!   I'll keep you posted:

Kimber's 7-layer Dip
Healthy Potato Skins
Italian Chicken
and
Pecan Tassies.

Stay tuned.  Don't go hungry.

Pork Chops & Sauerkraut ...p48

Well, I was suspect the critic would enjoy this meal and surely she did.  A simple, yet satisfying, meal - very easy to prepare, just 3 main ingredients!  All the years I've made this, I've never added water to the pan as the recipe calls for, and I'm not quite sure it's needed - seemed like a lot of liquid to me.  I also never added the brown sugar before which was a very nice touch. 

Great around Ocktoberfest and if you like sauerkraut, you'll love this!

Hardy Appetit!

Quickie Cookies a La Stovetop ...p100

Anxious to satisfy some sweet tooths in the family (ok, teeth just does not sound right here!  but would it be?), I whipped up this cookie recipe that promised "quick."  It satisfied that title, but met with mixed reaction - Nana snickered.....but the rest ate them up promptly with a satisfied grin.  We also agreed that they were even better the next day - aging here is quite appropriate.

We used creamy peanut butter, but probably would have liked crunchy better as the recipe indicated.

Hardy Appetit!