Cranberry Wild Rice

Submitted by Lani M.



4 c. water
3/4 c. uncooked wild rice
1 small read onion, chopped
1/2 c. chopped dried cranberries
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. dried thyme
1 T. olive oil
2 T. pine nuts, toasted

1. In a large saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes or until rice is tender.

2. In a large skillet, saute the onion, cranberries, garlic and thyme in oil until onion is tender. Drain the rice if needed; stir in the onion mixture and pine nuts.

Baked Chicken and Acorn Squash

Submitted by Lani M.



2 small acorn squash (1 1/4 lbs.)
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. canola oil, divided (I used olive oil.)
4 chicken drumsticks (4 oz. each)
4 bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lbs.), skin removed
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. minced fresh rosemary OR 1 t. dried rosemary, crushed
1 t. salt
1 can (15 1/4 oz.) sliced peaches, undrained

1. Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Cut each half widthwise into 1/2 in. slices; discard ends. Place slices in an ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic and drizzle with 1 T. oil.

2. In a large skillet, brown chicken in remaining oil. Arrange chicken over squash. Combine brown sugar, rosemary and salt; sprinkle over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, basting with pan juices twice.

3. Pour peaches over chicken and squash. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees.

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake

Submitted by Lani M.



Serves 14

1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 16 oz. package one-step angel food cake mix

Optional: 14 Tbsp. reduced-fat whipped topping, and additional ground cinnamon.

In large bowl, combine pumpkin, vanilla and spices. Set aside. In another bowl, prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fold 1/4 of the batter into pumpkin mixture. Gently fold in the remaining batter. Spoon into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. (I used two 9 inch bread pans.) Cut through the batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake on the lowest oven rack at 350 degrees for 38-44 minutes or until top is golden brown and cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Run a knife around sides of cake and remove to a serving plate. Garnish each slice with whipped topping and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (with 1 Tbsp. whipped topping per slice): 151 calories, 1 g fat, 1 g saturaged fat, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein

Pre-Game Chili Heat

Submitted by Lani M.



1 lb. each sausage & ground beef (I used ground turkey.)
2 cans hot chili beans
1 (16 oz.) jar of mild or hot salsa (medium's probably fine, too)
1 can red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 (14.5 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
8 oz. of Velveeta cheese (I used a package of Kraft Mexican blend instead... not a big Velveeta fan.)
2 teaspoons chili pepper
dash of fresh ground pepper

Brown and drain meat; add remaining (drain beans before adding). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or use a crockpot on low for several hours. (My crockpots are little, so I had to split this recipe out into two pots. Maybe if I would have remembered to drain the beans before adding it would have all fit?)

Sugar Cookies (No Chill)

Submitted by Tia S.



I used the following recipe, as it had accolades for being easy and not needing to be chilled.

1 cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 and 3/4 cups of flour

Cream butter and sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla to creamed butter and sugar.

Mix all dry ingredients and slowly add to creamed butter mix.

Roll out onto lightly floured board to desired thickness.

Cut out your shape. Bake at 400* for 7-10 minutes. (cookies should be light in color with light browning on edge)

My take on this recipe is that it could use chilling, or a lot of powdered sugar for rolling.

Pumpkin Cake from Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

Submitted by Lani M.



Cake:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I used trad.)
1 cup whole barley flour (I used 1 cup cake flour...but am going to try Amaranth flour next time; you just need to use something lower in gluten than reg. flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 3/4 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

Ginger cream cheese frosting:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups (1 lb) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I used pecans)
1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger (kind of globby when you process it in the food processor, but it mixes in fine when you beat the frosting together)
2-4 Tbsp milk, if needed, to make frosting spreadable (needed!)

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 13x9 pan. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Mix together the brown sugar, butter and oil in a large bowl until thick and mayonnaise-like in consistency. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl once or twice to be sure everything is evenly combined. Stir in the pumpkin, then the dry ingredients. Mix until evenly moistened. Transfer batter to the prepared pans. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched and the edges of the cake pull back from the pan, 33-40 min. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before frosting.

To make the frosting: Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla in medium bowl, and beat them together until they are light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating well. Stir in the nuts, if desired and/or ginger, then add the milk a little at a time until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.

Cranberry-Chocolate Chip pumpkin cake: Stir in 1 cup each dried cranberries and chocolate chips before baking. I meant to do this and forgot, so I put shaved chocolate on top of the frosting along with the nuts! :)

Homemade Salsa

Submitted by Lani M.



1 garden fresh tomato
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 green jalapeno
2 green onions
cilantro
mint

Ad lib as you see fit. Nothing better than fresh homemade salsa during tomato season.

Touch Down Cake

Submitted by Lani M.



1 package yellow cake mix (I used Devil's Food instead.)
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips
6 Tbsp. grated chocolate
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Combine cake and pudding mixes, milk, oil and eggs. Beat on low with a mixer until moist; beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and 3 Tbsp. of grated chocolate. Pour into greased Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes and remove from pan to wire rack. Let cool completely and combine remaining grated chocolate and powdered sugar; sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Dutch Honey Butter

Submitted by Lani M.




1 c. sugar
1 c. honey
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 lb. butter, cut up
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Bring first three ingredients to a boil. Boil for about a minute. Pour over 1 lb. cut up butter in blender. Blend until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Pour into containers & chill. Makes 5 1/2 pints.

Pork Chops with Onion Raisin Chutney

Submitted by Lani M.

This one's a keeper, folks. I'm not usually a raisin fan, but I liked them this way.



4 4-oz. boneless, center-cut pork loin chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1/2 of a 12-oz. bottle lemon-pepper or herb and garlic marinade
1 Tbsp. margarine or butter (I used olive oil.)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper (I used the yellow pepper I had.)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. finely chopped toasted walnuts
Fres sage sprigs (optional)
Steamed fresh green beans (optional)

Place the pork chops in a bag set in a bowl; add marinade. Seal bag and refigerate for 4 to 24 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Drain chops, discarding marinade.

Grill pork chops on rack of an uncovered grill over medium-hot coals for 11 minutes or until juices are no longer pink, turning once.

Meanwhile, for chutney, in a medium skillet heat margarine or butter. Add onion, pepper, raisins and cloves. Cook for 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring often. Add vinegar and sugar; reduce heat and simmer, unocvered about 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly evaporated. Stir in nuts. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve pork chops topped with some of the chutney. Garnish with sage sprigs and serve with steamed fresh green beans on teh side, if desired. Pass remaining chutney. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Tuscan Sandwich

Submitted by Lani M.

Inspired by Jessica's creation awhile back, I've been trying to get fancy with the sandwiches. I find that the following sandwich works best with garlic focaccia bread if you can find it. It's round and you can just cut the bread like a pie and slice the pieces in two. They were out, so I used Italian bread instead.



Cut bread in slices and spread out on a baking sheet or pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle oregano spice (and/or rosemary, if you'd like) on top. Put a slice of provolone cheese on one of the slices.



Broil on high for a few minutes until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted and browning a little. You'll have to watch it closely, because it can go from toasted to burnt really quickly.



Put the toppings of your choice on your sandwich. Lately we've been using lettuce, tomato, avocado, pepperoni slices and shaved deli turkey. Um. YU-um!

Banana Bread

Submitted by Lani M.

This is my favorite way to eat ripe bananas (from my Six Ingredients or Less cookbook):



1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas
4 large eggs, well beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour

1. Set oven at 350 degrees. In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add bananas adn eggs. Combine baking soda and flour. Add to banana mixture; stirring by hand, until flour is moistened.

2. Pour batter into two sprayed 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Run knife around edge and turn out immediately. Cool on rack. Makes 2 loaves.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Submitted by Lani M.



Wash the seeds once scooped out of the pumpkin and spread them out in a pan to let them dry overnight. I put tinfoil in the bottom of the pan.



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons olive oil (can use melted butter)
1 pinch salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Toss seeds in a bowl with the olive oil and salt.
3. Spread seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet (I lined with tinfoil.) and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown; stir occasionally.

Crockpot Pizza Soup

Submitted by Lani M.



2 (26 oz.) cans tomato soup, undiluted
2 (26 oz.) soup cans of water
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small can black olives, sliced
1 lb. Italian sausage (browned, drained)
1 small package pepperoni
1 1/2 T. dried basil
2 T. dried oregano
1 T. garlic powder
mozzarella cheese



Combine soup, water and diced tomatoes in large crockpot (won't fit in small one). Saute onions, green pepper and mushrooms over low heat. Stir into crock pot with soup. Add cooked sausage, pepperoni, black olives and spices. Stir to mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on each bowlful when serving. Serve with breadsticks or French bread and salad. This recipe freezes well, too.

Molasses Cookies

Submitted by Lani M.



1 1/2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 c. flour
Small bowl of sugar

Scoop dough, roll into a ball, roll in small bowl of sugar until all sides are covered, and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes, until the tops of the cookies crack.

NOTE: If you want, make the whole batch, scoop the dough, roll them in sugar and freeze what you don't bake.

Frozen Blueberry Jam

Submitted by Dee B.

2 cups crushed blueberries
4 c sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin
1 c water

Mix berries and sugar. Let stand 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Combine pectin with water and bring to boil. Boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Add pectin to berry mixture and stir about 2 minutes more. Pour into clean sterilized jars and cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, then freeze.

Pancakes with Blueberries

Submitted by Dee B.

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 t salt
3 T sugar
3 T double acting baking powder
1 egg
3 T melted margarine or butter
1 to 1 1/4 c milk
1 1/4 c blueberries

Sift together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Beat egg. Add margarine and milk. Add dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. Pour a scant 1/4 c batter for each pancake onto hot lightly greased griddle. For each 3 pancakes, sprinkle 1/4 c blueberries on batter. Immediately after it has been poured, turn pancakes when they are puffed full of bubbles and golden brown on one side, turn and bake until browned.

Makes about 15 - 4 inch pancakes.

Waffles

Submitted by Dee B.

1 3/4 c all purpose flour
3 t double acting baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 egg yolks - lightly beaten
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c veg oil or melted shortening
2 egg whites slightly beaten

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine egg yolks and milk. Add veg oil or melted shortening and mix well. Fold in egg whites. Pour batter into center of hot waffle iron. Bake until done. Makes about 4 waffles.

Sour Milk Pancakes

Submitted by Dee B.

2 c sifted cake flour
1 t double acting baking powder
3/4 t soda
1 t salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 3/4 c sour milk or buttermilk
2 T melted shortening

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder, soda and salt and sift again. Combine egg and 1 c sour milk or buttermilk. Add to flour; mix only until smooth. Add remaining milk and shortening; blend. Bake on hot greased griddle. Serve with butter, maple blended syrup, sausages and bacon. Make 12 to 14 servings.

Banana Pancakes (per Ralph Sines)

Submitted by Dee B.

2 c sifted cake flour
2 1/2 t double acting baking powder
1 t salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 c milk
2 T melted shortening
Mashed bananas

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt and sift again. Combine egg and 1 c milk. Add to flour; mix only until smooth. Add remaining milk and shortening; blend. Mix in mashed bananas. Bake on hot greased griddle. Serve with butter, maple blended syrup, sausages and bacon. Make 12 to 14 servings.