Easy Creamy Corn Casserole

I found this on All Recipes and it was scrumptious!!!  It was really tasty and got great reviews at Thanksgiving from everyone.  It was my first time to make a corn casserole and I definitely will be making it again!  This would be good for a Christmas dinner celebration too.  I made this on Tuesday night, let it cool and then kept it covered until Thursday when I reheated it at 350 for about 20 minutes or so.  Sorry, no picture this time - forgot to take one before we ate it!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5 oz) pkg dry corn bread mix
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 (14.75 oz) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish (of if you double the recipe like I did, put it into a 9x13 dish/cake pan).  In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients.  Spoon mixture into prepared dish.  Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven or until the top is golden brown.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I saw this recipe on Chef Mommy - it is easy and yummy!  It's also a nice change from chocolate chip cookies and seemed like a good recipe to try for Thanksgiving.  One tip I have for baking (and I am really not a baker) - use parchment paper!  It is cheap and I swear everytime I use it my cookies taste so much better and they never burn, even if I get a little distracted by a certain toddler around here.  Even better?  You can use the same piece of parchment paper to bake the entire batch of dough.  No more burned cookies and a super easy clean up!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or a silpat mat if you have it).  In a large bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture.  Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries.  Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes in the preheated oven.  For best results, take them out while they are still doughy.  Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.


Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

I do not know where I got this recipe but I wish I had written it down so I could give them credit.  It is yummy and that is coming from someone who is not a big pumpkin fan.  I like pumpkin seeds and every now and then I like pumpkin bread but that is about it.  That is, until tonight when I tasted one of these cookies!  I made them to take to Thanksgiving and wish I would have made them earlier in the month.  These will definitely go into the regular rotation next fall.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.  In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by spoonful (dough will be very sticky).  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.


To Make Glaze: Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 5 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp melted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla. Add more milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency.

Here they are all packed up and ready for Thanksgiving...have I mentioned I can't wait?!?!

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I made these a couple of weeks ago when it was cool outside.  My mom has been making these for as long as I can remember and I love them.  They are definitely a comfort food to me and they are so yummy, especially when it's cold outside.  This recipe is pretty much the same steps you would take when making twice baked potatoes, only w/sausage & tomatoes instead.  Serve w/a green salad and you have a full meal, hopefully with enough left over for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:
Baking potatoes - 4 or 5
1 lb. breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean's or whatever you like)
1 large can of diced tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Scrub potatoes, roll in kosher salt, wrap in foil and bake for about 1 hour (or until done).
While potatoes are baking, cook the sausage in large skillet.  Once sausage is cooked turn heat to low and add the tomatoes (do not drain the juice).
When the potatoes are done and have cooled enough to handle, slice them open and scoop them out, placing the potato in the skillet with the sausage and tomatoes.  Continue until all potatoes have been scooped.
Stir to combine the potato, sausage, and tomato mixture and season w/salt, pepper, and plenty of garlic. 
Scoop the mixture back into the hollow potato shells and top w/shredded cheese.
Place the potatoes back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until all of the cheese is melted. 

Beef Chili

Last week a cold front blew in and I couldn't wait to make chili.  I waited one day too late because I made this on Sunday night (halloween) and it was 80-something degrees outside.  It was still delicious.  This was a new recipe I tried and I didn't get a picture because we completely devoured the whole thing.  The recipe is from a cookbook my mother-in-love got me years ago -- A Perfect Setting; The Junior League of Lubbock: A Collection of West Texas Recipes.  I made a double recipe of what is posted below and before you ask, it wasn't just me and Luke eating it....we had some help.  :)  I served the chili on top of some white rice and put lots of cheese on top.  We also had cornbread on the side....yum!!!  Make this when it's cold outside (or not) and enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef ( I use ground sirloin)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1 (16-oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 can ranch-style beans

Directions:
Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic in the skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain (I never drain the meat but I always use a lean ground beef).  Add the chili powder, flour, salt, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, sugar, water and undrained tomatoes and mix well.  Cook on low heat for 5 to 6 hours or until done to taste.  Stir in the beans and serve.

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Last Friday Colin's class had a halloween party and I signed up to take mini cupcakes.  These turned out pretty cute.  Colin helped me make them on Thursday - he is a great chef in the kitchen, though he is a little messy.  I didn't get the best pictures and really it's not a recipe but it's a cute idea for fall cupcakes.

Ingredients:
- box of yellow cake mix (eggs, water, oil as called for on the box)
- red and yellow food coloring
- icing
-candy corns

Directions:
- make yellow cupcakes according to directions on box. when i use a box cake mix (which is like 99% of the time) any time it calls for water i substitute milk instead.  it makes the cake really yummy.
- fill cupcake liners 1/3 full of yellow cake mix.
- use several drops of red and yellow food coloring on the remaining cake mix until you get the right shade of orange.  now fill the cupcakes liners with the orange colored cake mix (pour on top of the yellow).
- bake cupcakes according to instructions on the box.
- ice w/your favorite white icing and top with a candy corn.

Lunches Last Week

I don't have a full week of lunches from last week.  I had the stomach flu so Luke packed Colin's lunch on Monday.  I didn't remind him to take a picture and I probably didn't really care at that point. :)  He also had a Halloween party at school on Friday and they had cheese pizza with a myriad of junk food/candy/cupcakes so I didn't send a lunch - I think he had oatmeal for breakfast and fruit for snack. Here goes the other 3 days of the school week.

Tuesday, 10/26

breakfast:waffle.

snacks: pretzels & applesauce.

lunch: cheese quesadilla, veggie chips, pineapple bits, and a sweet treat w/a candy corn.

 Wednesday, 10/27

breakfast: apple cinammon mini waffles, syrup in the muffin cup, and strawberries.

snacks: grapes, cheese stick, and mini saltine crackers.  yogurt.

lunch: fake out chick-fil-a nuggets (will post the recipe late), veggie mix, and peaches.

 Thursday, 10/28

breakfast: oatmeal (luke made it when he took colin to school).

snack: blueberry scones & leftover snacks from monday, tuesday, and wednesday.

lunch: ritz crackers, turkey, and cheese with cherry tomatoes and grapes (colin's favorite lunch).