My Savory Stuffing

I loooove me some stuffing at Thanksgiving time! This is my go-to recipe every year and it's just delicious! No apples, no sausage, no pecans, no oysters, no giblets....just plain ol' savory goodness from a mirepoix and some spices... enjoy!

• 4-5 cups or so of dried bread cubes (This year I used Trader Joe's cubes, which were a mixture of white bread and cornbread)
• mirepoix - equal amounts of finely chopped celery, onion, and carrot) I chopped about 3/4 cup of each.
• 3/4 stick of salted butter
• 2 mushrooms chopped (optional - I added these for flavor only)
• 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth
• 2-3 TB fresh or dried parsley
  
• 2 TB sage (or to taste)
  
• 1 TB thyme (or to taste)
• kosher salt and pepper to taste

In a deep skillet on med high, melt the butter. Add the mirepoix and mushrooms. Saute until tender. Melt in more butter if this is a little dry.

In a mixing bowl, add the bread cubes and mirepoix mixture. Toss to coat. Add parsley, sage and thyme. Toss to coat.

Add the chicken broth, a little at a time, tossing thoroughly. Adjust to your liking...I like mine on the moist side, so I sometimes add more depending on the amount of bread cubes. Give it a taste test, and add more sage/thyme if necessary. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Adding rosemary is a nice touch, too.

Place in a covered casserole dish and bake for 40 mins.

Enjoy!

Creamed Cauliflower

This is a Thanksgiving must for me! I first had it at my MIL's house when I was married. I did my best to recreate it by memory, and I think I've nailed it...thanks Judy!

• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 Tb. butter
• 2 Tb. flour
• 1 c. 2% milk
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
  
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper on top, or season throughout with white pepper

Cut the cauliflower into large florets. In a pot large enough to hold the cauliflower, add the cauliflower and cover with water. Bring to boil. Boil until fork tender.

Drain, and let cool in a colander for easy handling.

Either chop the cauliflower by hand into small bits, or use a hand-cranked processor to accomplish this. Set aside.

For the sauce:

In a deep-sided skillet, melt the butter. Add the flour and make a roux. Add the milk a little at a time, constantly stirring with a whisk. Add the chicken broth and season with salt. Keep stirring with the whisk until the mixture is thickened and remove from heat. Add in the cauliflower and stir to coat.

Serve with cracked pepper on top.

Simple! Awesome side for any dinner, but especially Thanksgiving!

Papa DeC's Ham & Bean Soup

This is another childhood favorite of mine. I remember my dad doing most of the cooking, and his specialty was crockpot meals. This was one I would wait ALL day for, and when it was ready, I'd devour bowl after bowl.  I loved the big chunks of ham and the creamy limas.  It's thicker and tastier the 2nd day, too!

Yes, it's good, but it's also CHEAP and EASY.

• 1 meaty ham hock
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups water
• 1 bag of Goya Large Lima beans
• kosher salt / cracked black pepper

Combine all in a crockpot and cook on low for at least 8 hours. Remove ham hock and separate the meat from the bone, returning the meat to the crock. Season with salt and pepper. Careful with the salt, since the ham is already salty.

Enjoy this childhood fave of mine!

Silky Pumpkin Bread

I have been on a huge pumpkin kick. Can you blame me? It's FALL! I even stopped by Fennario's today and had the barista conjure me up a Pumpkin Latte. It was heaven!

But, back to the bread. I'm not a huge pumpkin pie fan, plus I wasn't into the idea of scarfing down all those calories. So, I searched for the perfect bread recipe, and I think I found it! This one is adapted from a recipe on AllRecipes.com. It's SO moist, and full of flavor. Try it with some apple butter, or melted butter.

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 small bag of chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F .  Grease and flour 5 mini loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the greased pans.
3. About 10 minutes in, top with walnuts if desired.
4. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Homemade Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes!

As far as I know, Tastykakes are a tri-state thing. At least they were. Maybe it's expanded to an East Coast thing. Either way, it's a crime that the whole world doesn't have access to these things. For me, they were a childhood favorite, and some GENIUS came up with a homemade version without all the preservatives, chemicals, and hydrogenated oils! I heart YOU, whoever you are!

Recipe:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten well
1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour
12 oz. MILK chocolate chips

2 tbsp Crisco
1 Jar Creamy Peanut butter

Grease 2 cookie sheets. Beat eggs, butter and sugar together. Stir milk and vanilla together. Mix with eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix til blended. Pour into greased cookie sheets and level evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes on top level. Spread with peanut butter while still warm, then refrigerate at least 1/2 hour. When cool, melt 12 ounce chocolate chips and the Crisco in the microwave and spread on top of the peanut butter. Cut into serving sizes before chocolate cools completely.

I freeze these and pop one into Lilly's lunches each day as a small, portion-controlled dessert. Makes a LOT, so these are nice for parties.