THANKSGIVING...FEEL-GOOD RECIPES

THANKSGIVING…



We were heading to our favorite resort for Thanksgiving, but the weather beat us…

Our son had a terrible storm to drive through, but thankfully made it…Safe AND Alive…

Our daughter and boyfriend only made it from Salt Lake to Idaho Falls…The roads were closed the rest of the way to the border…



Our two nieces rolled their car coming from Idaho Falls…

Our other niece and children hit the guard rail coming from Salt Lake…



It has been crazy! We are thankful that no one was hurt, and we had a nice cozy Thanksgiving here at home…



It was VERY informal…Instead of the five-star renowned-chef’s dining that we normally attend each Thanksgiving, we ate…

In the garage!



Family was together…



And we had a good time...







I hope that everyone else’s was safe and happy as well.

I haven’t put in as many hours at work lately and so have enjoyed being in my kitchen…



HEALTHY GOODIES...

I love how life is a circle…

A yummy organic Buttercup Squash…



Gets cooked…Eaten…



And put into the compost, which is then turned back into nourishing soil for next year’s garden!



It’s the circle of life…



Sunflower Seeds from DD’s garden…

She seasoned them in some fun different ways…



NOT-NECESSARILY-HEALTHY COMFORT FOODS…

Fridge leftover’s soup…

I had some canned peas, hot dogs, fresh carrots, and spam. The spam gave a hammy-type flavor and the carrots a sweetness...

So...

We ended up with a poor-man’s split-pea soup…

The day that Boy surprised me by coming home, I had set out ingredients to make and send him a treat package…

So…Of Course…I had to make him treats anyway!

Better Than Anything Cake…

1 German chocolate cake mix…(I had a chocolate fudge cake on hand so used that)

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 16 oz. jar caramel topping…(Like that used on ice cream—I used Hershey’s Caramel)

6 Heath bars…(I used an 8 oz. bag of Heath Toffee Chips)

Make and bake cake as per directions. Remove from oven and cool 2 to 5 minutes.

Poke holes over entire top with handle of wooden spoon. Pour caramel topping over entire cake, taking special concern to fill the hole…This makes for a really sweet moist cake!

Pour can of sweetened condensed milk over entire cake…Get the holes like above.

Top with Heath crumbles for a Really Yummy Cake!

Baked Beans…

Always a good cold-weather dish…

The amounts on all ingredients are all approximate and can be added according to your taste…

Pork and Beans (Any name brand—I’ve used store brand but found that they were too watery). I think that I used 6 small cans.

1 pkg. or so of hot dogs or fried bacon

1/4-1/2 c onions, chopped

2 T molasses

2 t. mustard (I just squirt some in and probably use less than the two teaspoons)

1/4-1/2 c. brown sugar

Combine all ingredients.

Put in 2-qt. casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes…

Or…

I like to put it in the crock pot and let cook all day so that the flavors have time to blend. When you come home from work or Christmas shopping, you’ll have a yummy warm-to-the-tummy baked bean dish!

These are only cold left-overs…I sent a couple of containers home with Elliott, froze one for DH and I, and have a bit in the refrigerator for this week’s lunches.

Dutch Apple Cake with Lemon Cream…

This really was quite tasty…

1-1/2 c flour

1/2 t salt (I always just put a little in my palm—less than what they call for)

2 t baking powder

2 T granulated sugar

¼ c butter (I ended up using ½ c to get the right consistency)

½ c milk (We drink skim milk so used half skim and half heavy cream)

1 egg, well beaten

4 lrg. Golden Delicious apples, pared, cored (remember to put the cores and peels in your compost for next year’s garden :), and cut into thin slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

1 T lemon juice

1/3 c packed brown sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

Grease bottom and sides of a 7X11 SHALLOW baking dish. This was an odd-sized pan that they called for. The closest that I had was smaller and a bit deep, so the crust turned out too thick…So be sure that you have a shallow dish.

In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

Cut butter into dry ingredients with pastry blender (I use two butter knives) until the mixture looks like tiny peas.

In small bowl, add milk to the beaten egg, and stir into flour mixture. Mix until well blended.

Evenly spread batter onto bottom of baking dish.

Arrange apples, rounded side up, in rows in batter.

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together, in small bowl, and sprinkle over top of apples.

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350.

Lemon Cream…

2/3 c granulated sugar

3 T flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 c lemon juice (I used a bit less)

2/3 c water

1 c whipping cream

1 t lemon rind (make sure you wash your lemon first)

Blend sugar, flour, egg, lemon juice, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and very thick. Cool completely.

Beat cream in small mixing bowl with electric mixer until peaks hold their shape when beaters are lifted out of the cream. (I always pre-chill my mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer before hand).

Fold whipped cream and grated rind into cooked lemon mixture.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The white whipped cream has kind of a nice surprise to the unexpecting diner with its nummy lemony flavor!

I garnished mine with lemon slices placed on the top of the dish for a nice-looking dessert…:0)

This picture isn’t a good representation—Forgot to take pre-eaten pictures…



For some strange reason, late last night, I had a craving for spaghetti—Hmmm…

So, I grabbed the tomato sauce and headed up stairs to make myself a little snack.

I ended up not using the sauce I made but instead topped my hot pasta with butter (not margarine).

This Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Pasta has much richer flavor than white flour noodles and is much healthier as well.



There are not any preservatives, and the grains used are certified organic.

Manufactured by Food For Life Baking Company, (I believe that my daughter picked it up at the health food store) this food contains all organic and sprouted whole grain wheat, whole grain barley, whole grain millet, whole lentils, whole soybeans, and whole grain spelt.

It is very important to have the whole grain versus just parts. The sprouting gives a more nutrient-rich product.

Healthy Sprouted Grain Pasta…

Box cooking instructions:

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Add pasta and 2 T organic extra virgin olive oil. Cook 4-5 minutes being careful not to overcook.

This pasta does stick together more than your regular spaghetti noodles, so don’t skip the oil or butter while boiling.

I scooped up the hot noodles, added a bit of butter, and some dill from my garden (you can use store-bought dill weed as well). It was a tasty midnight treat!



After my pasta was cooked, I used the water from it, since it was hot and nutrient-packed, and poured it over my 14-grain cereal to soak over night.





Stay warm, have a wonderful week, and cook something yummy for you and yours!

ST. PATTY'S AND A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY

What a marvelous day it was!



The luck of the Irish came early this year…After all, Wednesday isn’t a real plausible day to celebrate on, so the town held the parade today...



One year, it was almost called off because of insurance…Or lack of attendance…Or some such thing…



This year, however, proved to be three times longer than last year…And the crowds were great…



At first, I didn’t think that the littles would end up getting any candy…

As the fire truck drove by, the fireman said, “We can’t; it’s against the rules.” Against the rules to give out candy at a parade?...

Now THAT would just not have been right!

The real deal...And the new rule (I just hate rules sometimes...Well, a lot of times)...Is that they can no longer THROW the candy…But, they can still come and individually hand it out...

The little people ended up making out alright...



It was, indeed, a green kind of a day…







There were green beads…



Green shoes…



And green-colored clowns…



After we said goodbye to our beautiful daughter, mama, papa, and family…





We ran home, got Dog, and took him to get some exercise…


I enjoyed the exercise as well! It was such a beautiful day…



Then, it was time to ride!

How lovely it is when the weather warms up…

And the scenery is good…



I mean…And the scenery is good…



We rode all over town...Here and there…

DS was at work, and we stopped and saw him...I shopped Glocks and a .38 Special...

Diamonds and guns are my favorites to look at when I go in…

DH looked for a leather jacket, but they had just had a sale, and the selection was slim…

While there we met the CUTEST little dude! He was “fwee” years old…His daddy had a bike “just like” ours (because it was black ;)…And his daddy had a helmet “just like” mine…

That little lad was absolutely adorable! I could’ve taken him home!

Babies and Puppies...There is nothing like 'em!



Can you tell the generational difference here?



Like father like son…Well, not so much…;)

I think this is El’s fourth bike, and he has always gotten these rocket-types…He has ridden ours but prefers his style.



DD, on the other hand, has wanted our exact bike (even before we got it) for a long time, which is unusual for her age.

We went helmet shopping at Cabella’s…





Just kidding...

We did go helmet shopping at Cabella's, but we didn't look for Spiderman...

I love the way there store is decorated…







It was getting pretty chilly by the time we headed home, so we stopped at a wonderful little coffee shop along the way...



And got two specials…

Irish Crème Steamers…Mmmmmm

The air was crisp, and the mugs of hot sweet goodness went down so smoothly…



We sat outside…

And just relaxed…



The fire was so mesmerizing…

It just calms the spirit…

I remarked to DH that I could do this every day…He said twice a day…



Once home again, Hubby fixed the oven…

It had been going out for awhile, and I was just limping along with it...But rather than buying a new one, we thought that we would save money and just purchase an element…

One element…



For $150! Is that crazy or what?!

There was an adorable vintage-looking stove/oven combo (ours are separate) that I would have loved!

It didn’t have any frills…No self-cleaning oven…No digital time clock or buttons (read "less to go wrong")…And it was gas to boot, which I prefer…For only $300!

So, by the time the other element goes out...And I think that it may be already...We could have purchased a whole new unit for the same price…

Oh well…One week and $150 later…I at least have a working oven again, and for that I am thankful…



While he worked, I whipped up a quick little meal…

I had some thawed chicken breasts that needed to be cooked…

I had been planning on making enchiladas (kind of like last week when I just happened to ask DH to bring in the frozen turkey from the garage freezer so that I could cook it up and the oven decided to go on the fritz…;)…

So, without an oven, I par-boiled the chicken breasts, seasoned them with salt, pepper, onion powder, and chicken bouillon granules, and cut them into chunks…Being that I was on a short time-frame, this made the juices infuse the meat nicely and more expediently...



They cooked in the seasoned broth, which I then served over some quick-cook brown rice...



I buttered and peppered the beans, and it made for a fast and tasty little meal.



I’ll most likely make my enchiladas tomorrow, then, with the left-over turkey I’ve been keeping…

We had to run out one more time for necessities…Milk, bread, and the like, so loaded up Bob Dog, and off we went…

Had to stop for a tasty treat milk shake…Don’t know why I’ve been craving them so much lately, as I’m not generally a big ice cream eater…



While we sat in the car and ate our treats…Dog ran (or rather meandered around the car wondering why we weren’t coming out…

Then home again…Home again…Sweet sweet home…

And so that was the end to our perfect day!

Have a wonderful Sunday, and I pray that we will all make it a blessed Sabbath…