Carrot Souffle, by Cheryl

The next few posts by me are going to be Thanksgiving related since we just hosted our very first Thanksgiving. Although this is not a traditional Thanksgiving dish is my house, I thought it was perfect to make on T-Day simply because of it's sweetness and color. This dish could actually be a dessert; it's sweet and almost looks like a pie. It was the perfect complement to the hearty meal of turkey, stuffing, biscuits, and whatever else you happen to throw on your plate that night. I think I could eat this everyday! And yes, the picture is not the best and it looks like there are some other foods that are here as well, but after a few bottles of wine and stuffing ourselves silly, we hurried to take it. This recipe comes from www.allrecipes.com. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 pound of carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar (I didn't use this)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large pot of boiling water, cook the carrots until very tender. Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

3) While carrots are warm, use an electric mixer to beat with sugar, baking powder, and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in the flour, eggs, and margarine. Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish.

4) Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Cola BBQ Glazed Chicken, by Diane

Even though it's nearly December, we have been having a spell of beautiful weather here. Last night was so gorgeous that we decided to have a cook out instead of making one of my colder weather recipes. I immediately thought of a recipe from an old issue of CL that I had wanted to try but never got around to making it. It involves making both a dry rub and a sauce- both things I had never done before. The chicken came out REALLY juicy and packed with flavor. My only critique was that the BBQ sauce tasted a bit off while I was cooking it, so I added the entire can of cola and doubled the ketchup. Overall, a good summery recipe and even better tasting when it's November :)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup cola (such as Coca-Cola) (I used an entire can)
1/3 cup ketchup (I doubled this)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cola and next 4
ingredients (through chili powder); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until sauce reduces to 3/4 cup, stirring occasionally. Set 6 tablespoons sauce aside.

3. Combine sugar and next 3 ingredients (through cumin), stirring well. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of chicken.

4. Arrange chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; baste with 3 tablespoons remaining sauce (there is a lot more sauce if you add the extra cola and ketchup like I did). Grill 5 minutes. Turn chicken over; baste with 3 tablespoons sauce. Grill 5 minutes or until done.

5. Serve with reserved 6 tablespoons sauce.

Southern Cornbread Dressing, by Diane

In our family, every other Thanksgiving is a Houston year, when we all reunite in Texas with my dad's side of the family. Being southern, my aunt and uncle serve deep fried turkey, candied jalepenos, and my favorite- cornbread dressing (aka stuffing in the south). This year is a Maryland year, but my family and I were missing our Texan relatives so much that I decided to make some cornbread dressing instead of the white bread stuffing we typically make. I added in a few ingredients (like sweet italian sausage, shallots, and pecans) and took a few out (like all kinds of fat and eggs) from my aunt's recipe. The result- a stuffing so awesome that we all agreed we are never making traditional stuffing again. Even my sister, who HATES sausage, said the flavor it added was subtle and really good. And it makes a TON- which is great because I'm already hungry for leftovers :)

ps- one trick I learned in the south is that using day-old cornbread is fine, but toasted cornbread soaks up liquid better!

Ingredients:

2 9x13 loaves of cornbread (I like Indian Head mix the best because it's just the right sweetness)

5 sweet italian sausage links

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 stick of salted butter

1 bunch celery, rinsed and chopped

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 small shallot, chopped

6 fresh sage leaves, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-5 cups chicken broth

Salt, pepper, poultry seasoning

Directions:

1. Bake the cornbread according to the mix, then slice into width-wise strips and lay with the insides facing up on two baking trays. Place under a low broiler until the cornbread toasts, then flip the cornbread over and toast the remaining side. Crumble on the baking sheets and spread to let air dry anywhere from a few hours ahead to a day ahead.

2. Preheat the oven to 350. In a large soup pot, toast pecans on medium until they get golden brown, then place in bowl and set aside.

3. Break the sausage from the casings and brown in the soup pot, making sure to crumble with a spoon into little pieces. Remove the sausage and place into a bowl (drain any liquid in the bowl).

4. In the same soup pot (unrinsed) melt the butter. Add in celery, onion, shallot, sage, and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes until the onions become translucent and the celery softens.

5. Add in the cornbread, then slowly add in chicken broth until you reach the desired wetness. Your dressing should be the consistency of wet cement- NOT runny. You want it to be thick enough so that you won't have to bake it forever to get the liquid out, but wet enough so that it's still moist after cooking.

6. Add in seasonings to taste, remembering that chicken broth has plenty of salt in it. 

7. Transfer dressing into a 9x13 pan with tall sides, and bake covered for about 40 minutes. Bake uncovered for another 10-15, or until the dressing gets a nice golden crust. Best if served with turkey gravy!

Grandma Ople's Apple (& Raisin) Pie, by Diane

The 'H' stands for my grandfather <3

Close-up shot of the inside

Thanksgiving is my grandfather's birthday, and this year for his special dessert he asked me to make him an apple pie from scratch with raisins added in. When I asked him what color raisins to use, he told me "It doesn't matter, they are all just dead grapes", lol. Anyway- I was excited to make an apple pie because I've actually never made one before, so I found the highest rated recipe online. It turned out to be really, really good but VERY sweet (next time I might cut the sugar by 1/3). Overall, he was really happy with it and it was a good completion to our Thanksgiving meal.

ps- here's the link for the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandma-oples-apple-pie/

Ingredients:

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. 
2. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
4. Bake 15 minutes at 425. Reduce the temperature to 350, and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes or until apples are soft (mine took 35).

The birthday boy blowing out his candle- 83!!!

Curried Brown Rice and Lentil Salad, by Diane

This recipe is one of those 'that sounds funny' or 'what a weird combo of ingredients' dishes that once blended and cooked magically come together to create a super healthy and super addictive creation. I found it when I was living in California (hence the use of very healthy, natural ingredients) and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! Everyone I give this recipe to is at first skeptical and then after one bite a total convert. When you're chewing, you first get the earthy flavors of the wild rice and lentils and the nuttiness of the pecans, but that is quickly followed by the sweetness of the dates and raisins, the savoriness of the garlic and chicken broth, and finally a hint of smokey curry. Insanely good, and filling too (I make extra for lunch and I'm full until dinner). It's also great hot or cold

Ingredients:

½ package lentils (8 oz.)
1 package Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Medley
½ c. chopped pecans
10 pitted dates, chopped
½ c. golden raisins
3 sprigs green onion, chopped (white and green parts)

2 tbsp. EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ bag frozen peas
10 oz. chicken broth

Curry powder 

Salt

Directions:

1. Cook lentils in 4 cups hot water, boil about 15 min. 

2. Meanwhile, toast pecans lightly over low heat, stirring and tossing often. 

3. Combine in bowl with dates, raisins, and green onion. 

4. Cook rice as instructed. 

5. Heat saucepan on medium high heat with EVOO, adding garlic until lightly browned. 

6. Add in lentils, rice, dates, raisins, onion, and peas. Mix and add chicken broth until moistened. 

7. Season with curry powder and salt to taste (I needed much more curry powder than anticipated, about 1 tsp. to taste it). 

8. Cook until broth is absorbed.

Egg Sandwich, by Cheryl

Yes, I know an egg sandwich could possibly be one of the easiest things to make, but this egg sandwich is to die for and I'm obsessed with it. While staying at our friends Dave and Carla's house over the summer, Dave cooked this up for breakfast and it is my go to breakfast on the weekends. The secret ingredient? Herbs de Provence. It adds a whole new dimension to this egg sandwich... and mixed with the gruyere cheese and runny eggs... mmm, I think I need to make another one right now. Yum!


Ingredients:

2 eggs
Italian bread sliced open
olive oil
gruyere cheese
herbs de provence
pam

Directions:

1) Spread olive oil on the bread and toast until light brown.
2) Spray Pam on a pan and heat. Open the eggs over the pan so they look sunny side up. After about a minute break the egg with a fork and let the yolk move around a bit (not too much... you don't want to fully cook the yolk, unless you hate runny yolks then cook it as you please).
3) Add the gruyere cheese and cook.
4) Flip one side over the other and cook to your liking.
5) Place the eggs on the bread, sprinkle a moderate amount of the herbs onto it, close it up, and enjoy!

Italian-Style Beef with Polenta, by Diane

This is yet another recipe stolen from Cooking Light. I hesitate to put up any Italian recipes anymore since my awesome counterpart is now living in Italy, but this is a recipe that I have always wanted to try and now I found a healthy way to recreate it. It was pretty tasty but nothing spectacular. The polenta was bland in the way that pasta is, so in a way it just tasted like pasta with meat sauce except with a different texture. If I tried to make it again, I think I would try to make my own sauce so it would taste more authentic. But, it was good and very filling.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry coarse-ground polenta

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Dash of kosher salt

2 cups water

1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

Cooking spray

1 pound ground sirloin

1 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as McCutcheon's)

1/2 cup torn fresh basil

Directions:

 

1. Place first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan. Gradually add 2 cups water and milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/3 cup cheese.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; coat with cooking spray. Add beef; sauté 5 minutes. Stir to crumble. Remove beef; drain. Wipe pan; coat with cooking spray. Add onion, pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and garlic; sauté for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add beef and sauce; simmer 8 minutes.
3. Divide polenta evenly among 4 shallow bowls. Top each serving with 1 cup beef mixture; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cheese and 2 tablespoons basil.