Cranberry Sauce

I never really liked cranberry sauce. Maybe it’s the way
that it slides out of the can like dogfood, still in the shape of the can. But,
after making my own, I can’t get enough! Here’s the recipe – it’s so
simple!

12 ounces cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from hear and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Pie Crust

Our family believes that a million pies at Thanksgiving is a must! {and layered Jell-O} This year, at our trial run with Jayson’s parents, I made apple, pumpkin {from a whole pumpkin} and my favorite – Chocolate, Peanut Butter Banana Pie. {I just use a premade graham cracker crust when making this. Super easy.}

This year the apple was the best ever. I blame the crust! Here’s the crust recipe. Jayson usually makes the crust for me!



2 cups flour
1/2 cup cake flour
3 tsp powdered sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup salted butter
pinch salt
1 egg
3 tsp vinegar
1/4 cup ice cold water

Using a pasty blender, blend the flours, sugar, shortening, butter and salt. Whisk the egg, vinegar and water in a 2 cup measure and pour over the dry ingredients incorporating all the liquid without overworking the dough. Toss the additional flour over the ball of dough and chill if possible. Divide the dough into 2, for a top and bottom or 2 tops.

 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Since Thanksgiving is coming up (and we already had a trial run) I am listing my favorite recipes, just in case you want them. So – let the Thanksgiving Baking commence!

Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet Potatoes {approx. 4 cups} -bake at 350 for 1 hour. Peel.
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
4 Tbs butter
½ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla
Mix together with an electric mixer. Pour into a 9x13” pan. Mix topping ingredients (below) in a bowl and sprinkle on top.
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 Tbs butter
½ cup pecans, chopped
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Kitchen Make Over

We love it! I think is is really a little darker in real life. fun - fun - fun! Does this mean I have to cook now? Why didn't I have a nice kitchen when you all were little and I lived in the kitchen?

Blackened Fresh Chicken Alfredopomodoroitaliano

Here's Pato's take on Chicken Alfredo. Kacey isn't a huge fan of the heavy, rich, way too much alfredo that you get in most restaurants; so here's how we make it.

You'll need:
Chicken breast
Blackening seasoning
Penne pasta
Fresh tomatoes
Fresh spinach
Alfredo sauce (it can be from the bottle, but pick one that isn't loaded with fat) We found some roasted red pepper stuff that was good and not super fatty.



Step 1:
Butterfly the chicken breast so it's 1/2" thin or so and sprinkle plenty of blackening seasoning on both sides. The more seasoning, the spicier the final result!! Cook in a hot sautee pan with a little olive oil.

Step 2:
Cook the penne pasta. 'Nuff said.

Step 3:
Dice the tomatoes and run a knife through the spinach to make it a little smaller.

Step 4:
When the chicken is done, let it rest for a minute or two and then slice it nice and thin.

Step 5: (where the magic happens)
Get a clean sautee pan nice and hot and add a few ounces of your alfredo sauce. You just want enough sauce to coat the ingredients, not to form a big pool of the stuff on the plate. Throw in some penne pasta, chicken and spinach. Toss together and cook for 30-45 seconds, just until it's nice and hot, not until the spinach is nasty!! Dump it onto the plate (Pat cooks each portion separately so you feel like your eating at Macaroni Grill!) and top with the diced tomatoes.

Serve with garlic bread and chocolate milk. It's nice, tasty and not as heavy as most Alfredo dishes so you can eat the whole plate!




Bon Apetite!!!

Orange Julius

Zuppa Toscana

Seriously, this soup is delicious. It does have a taste a little like biscuits and gravy {due to the sausage and cream} but it is fantastic! Took me about an hour start to finish, with just minimal stirring and adding ingredients. If you don’t want to go to all the trouble of making it, you can just buy it at Olive Garden. {Yes, my goal in life is to be able to make everything better than Olive Garden so I never have to overpay for pasta, salad and breadsticks again.}

*Dutch Oven is just a large pan that can fit the soup in it. Use the largest one you have.

Zuppa Toscana

• 1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 oz) cans chicken broth
• 6 potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ bunch fresh spinach or kale

1. Cook the Italian sausage in a Dutch oven* over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.