Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Onions

This is another change I have made for Thanksgiving the last several years.  We have always had broccoli and rice casserole and that is another carby dish along with all the noodles and dressing and potatoes.  So I was wanting to make more vegetable dishes and I tried this one and really liked it. Most of our children like it and it is a keeper.  This is easy and it doesn't have to be the holidays to make it.  I didn't buy pancetta is used bacon.

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 ounces pancetta
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Bring one inch of lightly salted water to a boil in a large deep skillet.  Add sprouts and simmer until crisp tender, 6-8 minutes.  Drain and run under cool water to cool.  Wipe out skillet.  Add pancetta and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until crisp 5-7 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel when crisp.  Add onion to drippings and cook stirring occasionally until tender and golden 8-10 minutes.  Increase heat to medium high and add sprouts, salt and pepper and cook, tossing until heated through about 3 minutes.  Add pancetta and vinegar and toss to combine.

Pumpkin Espresso Tiramisu

This was good and I will make it again but I will put more brandy and coffee on the ladyfingers that are inside the tiramisu. Some recipes soaked the ladyfingers, this recipe had you to brush the ladyfingers.  I also thought it needed more pumpkin.  The flavor of pumpkin could have been a little stronger.  Thought next time I might a the whole can.  It was a l5 oz. can and you use one cup which is close to the whole can.  Next time I'll use it all.

This is easy to make and the presentation is lovely I think. Also, you can make this two days ahead and keep in the refrigerator.

1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3 cups heavy cream, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup brewed espresso or dark roast coffee
3 tablespoons brandy
3 (7oz.) packages crisp ladyfingers, divided
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Garnish: ground nutmeg

Whisk together sugar and flour in a large heavy saucepan.  Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and 2 cups of heavy cream in a bowl.  Whisk cream mixture into sugar mixture and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 15 minutes or until very thick.  (Mixture will come to a simmer during the last 2 to 3 minutes.)  Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla bean paste and transfer to medium bowl. Place plastic wrap directly over warm custard (to prevent a film from forming).  Cool completely about  11/2 hours.

Beat cream cheese into cream mixture until smooth, whisk in pumpkin.

Stir together espresso and brandy.  Brush flat sides of about 24 ladyfingers with espresso mixture.  Stand ladyfingers around edge of a 10-inch spring form pan, placing rounded sides against pan.  Line bottom of pan with additional ladyfingers, cutting if necessary to cover bottom of pan completely.  Brush espresso mixture over ladyfingers on bottom of pan. 

Spread one-third of cream cheese mixture over ladyfingers on bottom.  Repeat layers twice with remaining ladyfingers, espresso mixture, and cream cheese mixture, ending with cream cheese mixture.  (Reserve any remaining ladyfingers for another use.)  Cover and chill 4 hours to 2 days.

Beat remaining 1 cup of heavy cream at high speed until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form.  Remove edging from around spring form pan and put on a serving platter leaving the bottom of the pan in tack.  Top with whipped cream and garnish with nutmeg if desired.

A Message From My Grandma Ellen

Here are the pictures of the buffet before dinner loaded with desserts.  As you can see, I did make a pumpkin pie especially for one of my children who couldn't believe we were not having pumpkin pie. I explained in an earlier post that I was trying to not make so much food and since I was making a pumpkin tiramisu, I decided not to make a pumpkin pie. I woke up early Thanksgiving morning and decided to make the pumpkin pie before I started down my list of other preparations. 

While I was making the pumpkin pie, I thought of my grandmother and thought to myself, I'm glad I did make a pumpkin pie because it made me think of my grandmother.  When I was a little girl she always made the pies for our holidays.  I remember her little chubby hands cutting three thin slices of butter and always putting them in the middle of the pumpkin pie.  I always put three slices of butter on my pumpkin pies because that is what she did.  As I was putting the butter on the pumpkin pie that morning, I thought to myself, Grandma I wonder if you can see me making this pie and putting on the butter the way you did. 

When I opened the oven door to take out the pie and saw that heart, I almost cried.  I wanted to run in and wake up Gary and tell him what happened.  I have made a hundred pumpkin pies and put butter on every one of them and not once has a pie ever came out with a heart on it.

My family was thrilled to have a pumpkin pie and they all loved the story that my grandmother had sent her love and wished us a Happy Thanksgiving.

With Thankful Hearts

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family and once again we had too much food.

We are so thankful this year to have the addition of our new little grandson to our family.  He is truly a blessing and we have all fallen completely in love with him.  He smiles and we all have our cameras clicking, he makes one little whimper and we all start for him to pick him up......laughing.  Honestly, my husband and I thought grandchildren were just not in the picture for us and we had accepted it.  But Dutch has been such a wonderful surprise and we are so thankful to get to experience being grandparents. 

As we count our blessings of friends, family and good health our hearts are filled with gratitude and much thankfulness.

Thanksgiving Eve

The house is as clean as it's going to get. :)  My hub helped me this year and I finished up about 3 hours earlier than I normally do.  Wow, was I glad.  The food is ready for the finishing touches in the morning.  I made a pumpkin espresso tiramisu instead of our normal pumpkin pie.  One of our children has found out and is pretty upset that there is not going to be pumpkin pie.  Depending on my time table in the morning, I may make one.  We have too much food and I was trying to cut back a little.  But you know how that is, everyone has there favorite thing that they want.  :)

I took some pictures of our Thanksgiving table.  I used pieces of pewter that I have collected over the years.  A piece of old burlap as a runner and the pieces of pewter with some flowers in them arranged up and down the table.  It's hard to see them but I hope you can get some ideas from the arrangement. 

The last picture is of the buffet.  At one end is my mom's carnival glass.  I have put dessert forks in one piece and after dinner mints in another small piece.  And placed all this on a silver tray along with dessert plates.  I'll post another picture later of the entire buffet when I get all the desserts on the buffet.

Wishing you a good nights rest......xo

Beautiful Sunset

Nothing like the wide open spaces!

Skillet Hash Browns with Wilted Spinach

First, let me say this was not hash browns. It is fried potatoes.  This recipe is for hash browns and this makes a wonderful brunch dish but I decided to add the ingredients to our fried potatoes to go along with the big pot of brown beans I made for Sunday dinner.  These potatoes are so hearty, they are a meal in themselves.  I'm going to tell you what I did on Sunday but the recipe for the hash browns is what I will give you.  The week of Thanksgiving is so busy for me, that I have every day before Thanksgiving planned so Thanksgiving day runs very smoothly.  I don't have time to cook meals the week of Thanksgiving so this year I thought I would make a big pot of beans and we could eat on the beans every night.  Last night, we had bean burritos and we will probably have that again tonight.  :)

I fried the potatoes until they were almost done then added the diced red pepper and the sliced green onions and garlic.  I let this cook for about 4-5 minutes then added the chopped spinach.  I stirred it into the potatoes, turned off the heat and put the lid on the pan and the heat wilted the spinach.  The potatoes tasted great with the beans.

This is the recipe:

6 large potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/2 cup canola oil
1 pound tofu, drained, pressed and cubed
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 carrot, diced
5 large garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
6 green onions, sliced

Cook potatoes in boiling water until barley tender, about 10-12 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water and drain again.  When cooled to the touch coarsely grate into a large bowl and toss with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet and saute tofu, gently stirring occasionally, until brown, about 10-15 minutes.  Transfer to small bowl.  Divide remaining oil between two skillets.  Heat skillets.  Divide potatoes between two skillets and saute, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown.  Combine potatoes into one pan and stir in onion, carrot and garlic.  Cook and stir until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in red pepper, spinach and tofu.  Cook stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and red peppers are tender.  Toss with green onions and serve.

Good with ketchup or salsa.

Party Nuts

Here are a couple of recipes for various nuts that are really good.  When you are having parties it's nice to have a couple of little dishes of nuts sitting around for your guests to snack on.  These are really good.

This is one I recently got from a dear friend.  It's healthy and it has essential oils in it.

16 oz. raw cashews  (she had made hers with pecans)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
zest of one lemon
4 drops rosemary essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oil
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place nuts on baking sheet and roast 8-10 minutes until warm and lightly golden.  While nuts are roasting, warm the olive oil, fresh rosemary and lemon zest over medium heat until it begins to sizzle and smell fragrant.  Add roasted nuts and stir to coat completely.
Remove from heat and stir in rosemary and lemon essential oils and salt.  Toss well and serve.
You could use a mixture of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts and cashews).  Store in an airtight container.

Spicy Sweet Pecan

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg white
4 cups of pecan halves
Vegetable cooking spray
wax paper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Stir together first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl.
Whisk together egg white and 1 tablespoon of water in a separate medium bowl until foamy. (No liquid should remain.) Add pecans, stirring to coat.
Add pecan mixture to sugar mixture, stirring until evenly coated.  Spread pecans in a single layer on a lightly greased (with cooking spray) foil lined half sheet pan.
Bake at 275 or 50 minutes to 55 minutes or until sugar mixture hardens and nuts are toasted, stirring every 15 minutes.  Spread immediately in a single layer on wax paper, cool completely (about 30 minutes).  Store in an airtight container up to 7 days.

I Wish You Wings To Fly!

Lunch with Friends

This was lunch on Saturday with dear friends!

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness!  Oliver Wendell Holmes

Chicken Broth

I've always bought Swanson's canned chicken broth.  There is no MSG in Swanson's chicken broth.  One day I was at our little neighbor grocery store and they were out of Swanson's the other brand had MSG.  My only option was to buy a dry broth base chicken flavored seasoning that had no MSG and it said all natural. 

But this is what I have found.  It's a lot cheaper using this dry seasoning than buying the cans of chicken broth.   You use two teaspoons of the chicken flavored seasoning to a cup of water. There are 56 servings in one jar and it's around $4.50. The flavor is as good if not better than the canned broth.  A lot of the soups I make call for chicken broth and in the past I was always running to the store for chicken broth.  This way I always have it on hand and it just takes a minute to make it. 

Just wanted to share this little tid bit that is a money saver and you always have it on hand.  I've started using the beef flavored also.  The brand I bought is Orrington Farms.  It has a couple of ingredients made from corn so I will be checking Natural Grocer for an organic brand.  GMO is in most corn products.

Correction on Waldorf Salad

It is 1/4 cup sugar for the dressing not 1/3.   Sorry  :(

Waldorf Salad

This is my mom's recipe for Waldorf salad.  I love it, it's delicious and you can use red and green apples for the holidays and it looks very festive.  I usually always make this when I make quiche.  It is a wonderful accompaniment with quiche.

3-4 apples large dice
1-11/2 cups miniature marshmellows
3-4 stalks celery, diced
1 cup pecan pieces
Put the above ingredients together in a bowl and toss.

Dressing:
2/3 cup miracle whip
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
Whisk these ingredients together and pour over apple mixture and stir until everything is coated well. You made need a little more milk.  Just add enough milk until consistency for dressing.

Quote

My husband shared this with me at dinner tonight.  Loved It!!!


"It's hard for the eyes to see when the mind is blind."     author unknown


Gary really likes Mark Twain and he is always quoting me his quotes.  This is one of his favorites,
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble.  It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.

Left over Veggies Make A Great Fritata

I had roasted some sliced fingerling potatoes, red and yellow bell pepper, some sweet onion, yellow squash and zucchini last week for dinner.  We had a small bowl left over.  So, last night I took the left over veggies warmed them up in a small cast iron skillet, whisked four eggs poured this over the veggies and topped with some cheddar cheese.  I let the eggs cook several minutes in the pan and then transferred it to a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  It turned out great!  Made a piece of sour dough toast a cup of hot tea.  A great dinner in less than 30 minutes.  :)

Creamy Asparagus Soup

When I was growing up my mom would make me creamed asparagus on toast and I absolutely loved it.  This soup reminds me of that somewhat.  I think I have posted this is the past but I made it last weekend and it's so good, I wanted to post it again.  If you like asparagus I'm pretty sure you'll love it.

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 (14.5 ounce) cans cut asparagus, undrained
1-16 ounce can sliced potatoes, drained (you can use 2 medium potatoes peeled, cooked and drained)
1-14 ounce can ready to serve chicken broth
1 teaspoon white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon red pepper or red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream

Saute onion, garlic and celery in butter in a soup pot until tender stirring constantly.  Stir in asparagus and next 7 ingredients.  Bring to a boil stirring frequently.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Pour half of mixture into a container for a blender and process until smooth and then do the other half.  Pour blended soup back into soup pot and add milk and basil and heat thoroughly. 
Garnish with a droplet of sour cream.

(If you want to use fresh basil it works great but use about 2 tablespoons)

You can freeze this up to six months.  Just don't add the milk until you unthaw it.  Heat and add the milk.

Wonderful Steak Sandwich!

Our son came down today to help with some chores around our home and I wanted to make something for lunch that I knew he would enjoy.  He is a real meat and potatoes guy and I remembered a recipe Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) had made for her husband.  I was pretty sure Gary and Ben would love it and they did.  It really is a delicious steak sandwich and doesn't take a lot of time to prepare it.  I made home made steak fries with this sandwich but I was thinking that a cup of homemade mushroom soup would be wonderful with this sandwich or your favorite salad.

1 (12-ounce) 1 inch thick New York strip boneless beef top lion steak (I used a sirloin strip)
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil
2 yellow onions, sliced in rings
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 recipe of mustard mayo
2 focaccia buns, sliced (I used ciabatta buns)
1/2 cup baby arugula

Mustard Mayo
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
(I added about 2 tablespoons horseradish)  our family loves horseradish-this is optional
Whisk these ingredients together and keep at room temperature.

Season steak liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over high heat until it is almost smoking, these sear steak 1 minute on both sides.  Reduce heat to low and cook steak 7-8 minutes, turning once.  Remove steak to plate and cover with foil and allow to sit 10 minutes.  Slice steak into thin strips.

Using same pan, heat 11/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add sliced onions, thyme and saute 10 minutes or until onions are golden brown and caramelized.

Lightly toast the buns and put one heaping tablespoon of mustard mayo on bottom of bun.  Place strips of steak have a nice layer sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with cooked onions a generous amount then top it off with baby arugula and cover sandwich with top half of bun.

Oatmeal Soup

This is absolutely delicious!  It is the recipe of a dear, dear friend who is an excellent cook.  She is one of the most hospitable people I know.  When I get to visit her she always has the most wonderful meals and the most comfortable beds.  :)

I was looking for a recipe and ran across this recipe for oatmeal soup.  I haven't made it recently so I don't have a picture of it.  But I wanted to share this recipe because it is wonderful on a cold morning and is a wonderful accompaniment to a brunch.  With the holidays around the corner and company coming, this would be something that is a little extra special for you to serve your guests.

2 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and small dice)
2/3 cup quick oats
2/3 cup 7 grain cereal
salt to taste
5 1/2 cups milk
1/4-1/3 cup French Vanilla cream (Coffee Mate)
3-4 tablespoons of butter

Put all in a pan except French Vanilla cream and butter.  Bring to a boil then cook about 3-5 minutes until oatmeal looks done.  Add butter and French Vanilla cream stir well and serve.
When I add the French Vanilla cream I put in 1/4 cup and if I think it needs a little more I will add some more.  You don't want it to be too soupy.

Our Mind

Our mind is the most amazing organ of our body and was made to be conquered by us.  It's command central and it can run you all over the gammit of every subject if you let it in a matter of minutes. Everything has its beginning in the mind.  We have been in the dark about the role our minds place. 

I started to learn in the Bible that I need to be thinking upon good things, things that are noble, pure, lovely etc.  In fact the Bible says meditate on these things.  The Bible says the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.  In my experience, I've not heard a lot of teaching on the mind in religion.  This is a very important subject because as I said in an earlier post we create our own reality and it happens by the way we think.

As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.  The Bible

Thought is the highest known form of organized energy.  In the realm of thought, mans knows no limitations.  Napoleon Hill

A man is the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.  Mahatma Gandhi

Speak ill of no man, but speak all the good you know of everybody.  Benjamin Franklin

I learned this from someone long ago that the mark on the forehead in the book of Revelations is the state of a person's mind.  Either they have the mind of God (love, joy, peace, patience etc) or they have the mind of the flesh or ego (jealousy, envy, strife, gossip, slander, etc).  I was thinking about all of this yesterday and thinking I believe this to be really true.  My life started to change when I would not let myself think bad thoughts.  This is not easy because your ego wants to do this and you will have a battle on your hands.  But I promise you, that you will start to change once you enlist in this battle.  I enjoy life and peace a lot more than I do death and that is what those negative thoughts bring.

No one really knows what happens when we die or how heaven really is.   I read this allegory and thought it was a very interesting way of looking at "heaven".  What if it is really this way, would you start being more conscious of the way you are thinking?

"Behold a world peopled with beings of your own creation, which correspond exactly to the nature of your own thoughts as you expressed them before death.  There they are, the children of your own heart and mind, patterened after the image of your own thoughts. Those that were born of your hatred and envy and jealousy and selfishness and injustice toward your fellow men will not make very desirable neighbors, but you must live with them just the same, for they are your children, and you cannot turn them out.  You will be unfortunate indeed, if you find there no children that were born of love and justice and truth and kindness towards others."

"If there is a possibility that every thought you release during this life will step out, in the form of a living being, to greet you after death, then you need no further reason for guarding all your thoughts more carefully than you would guard the food that you feed your physical body."

New Bear Hat

I had to let our little grandson model his new bear hat ! I've tried to refrain from a bombardment of pictures of this little guy but just had to put up this one.  Precious Precious Precious!!!

DETERMINATION

"Out of the night that covers me,
     Black as the pit from pole to pole.
I thank whatever gods may be
     For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
     I have not winced or cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
     My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wroth and tears
     Looms but the horror of the shade
And yet the menace of the years
     Finds, and shall find, me unafraid,
It matters not how straight the gate,
     How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
     I am the captain of my soul."

by Laura Ingalls Wilder


This poem is in a book I'm reading and when I saw that Laura Ingalls Wilder was the author of the poem I was anxious to read it and was very surprised when I finished.  I've only read her children's books and was quite moved by the depth of what she said.  And then I thought of the men and women of our day and how many people have that kind of determination.  Who will endure what Wilder is describing and not give up to circumstances mental or physical.

This poem made me feel the way I felt when I saw Brave Heart.  I will be pondering this for a while.

xo