Posessed with Pumpkins

I'm originally from Morton, Illinois, (I say)
where the Libby's Pumpkin Canning Plant is,
When a shipment would come in, we would go watch
the pumpkins go up the ramps, sort of like watching
the bears at the dump for people not in Wis.

This time of year, I'm consumed with pumpkinesque
fantasies, and of course, being lactose intolerant
doesn't help that I can't go to the ice cream shop
and glom onto some Pumpkin Ice Cream. So I do
what I can.

ALSO there was mincemeat in this recipe, which I
swiped from the Eagle Brand site. I Photoshopped
it out. Bad! Bad! I don't even know what mincemeat
is comprised of. I had some one time at JennyTurner's house,
my fickle best friend as a child, and it reminds
me of her and I don't wanna look at it. So your
pumpkin bread will come out with less speckles than
in the pic. (Judy was a far better friend) Thanks Judy!

Here's the Way to get My Kid to eat Squash!

Fritos Squash

NPR.org, October 17, 2007 · This is one of Kaleta Doolin's favorite recipes from the original Fritos brochure. (Her dad invented Fritos)

Ingredients

5 yellow summer squash

1/2 medium-size onion, chopped

4 oz. Fritos


White Sauce

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon white flour

Saute chopped onion in small amount of butter or margarine. Slice and steam squash in small amount of water and season to taste. Spread layer of squash and chopped onion in casserole and cover with a layer of equal mixture of breadcrumbs and crushed Fritos. Repeat this procedure, making four layers.

Make white sauce, using 1/2 cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 tablespoon flour. Pour white sauce over the squash mixture and allow to penetrate. Cover top with layer of whole Fritos. Bake in a medium hot oven (375 degrees) for 20-30 minutes.

Serves six.

When the Frost is on the Punkin, I feel the need for Punkin Chunkin.

Look what I found on the Eagle Brand Site!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

The shop Ruby et Violette in Manhattan isn't there any more,
but this recipe comes via Shelterrific.com, many thanks..
and Debralee, I'm putting this here so that you don't have to
divulge your secret, but it you do ever want to spill the recipe
for those famous cookies, delete this and put yours in. ! ;-)


*Wendy Gaynor’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chunks (preferably imported).

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until
fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 4
minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one
at a time, until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the
butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla
extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do
not overmix.

3. Add chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate
batter until cold, preferably overnight.

4. Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees or a convection oven to
300 degrees, and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop
heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets
and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft
(but not bubbly), about 9 minutes in a convection oven or 12 in a
conventional one. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 36 to 72 cookies, depending on size.

*This recipe appeared in The New York Times on October 27, 2002.

Tastes Just Like Chicken!

And that would be because it is..muahhhhhhaaaaaa. Oh, sorry. lol
I just spent a little over a week with my daughter and family...alllll we did was eat and play. My kinda visit! :)
I found this very basic roasted chicken recipe; directions look long winded, but don't be a baby..TRY IT, you will love it. My daughter makes a similar dish often, but in my delirium, I forgot to beg for her recipe; so, for all I know, this could be the same as hers..yes, I am that good. *rolls eyes*

1- 4 lb. roasting chicken
11/4 tsp. salt, divided
3/4 tsp. pepper
4 oregano sprigs
1 lemon quartered
1 celery stalk, cut into 2 in. pieces
Cooking spray

2 TBS. butter, melted
2 lbs. medium yellow onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges ( about 1-inch wedges)
2 lbs. small red potatoes, cut like the onions
1/4 cup all purpose flour ( about an ounce, if you are that industrious)
1 (14 ounce) can fat-free chicken broth, divided


1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2) Remove and discard giblets and neck friom chicken..and trim off excess fat while you're at it.
Loosen the skin from the breasts and drumsticks by inserting fingers gently between skin and meat. combine 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp pepper..rub under loosened skin on breasts and legs. Place oregano sprigs, quartered lemon, and celery into body cavity of chicken. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Place chicken, breast side up, on the rack of a broiler sprayed with Non-stick cooking spray.

3) Combine1/2 tsp salt, remaining pepper, melted butter, onions, and potatoes in a large bowl..toss to coat well. Arrange onion mixture around chicken on rack. Place rack into pan; bake at 425 d. for 20 minutes Reduce temperature to 325 and bake an additional 1 hour and 10 minutes or until onions and potatoes are and tender and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees. ( NO one like chicke sushi!)

4) Cool easy clean up tip about to happen!
Place a zip top plastic bag into a 2 cup measuring cup..pour pan drippings into bag and let stand for 10 minutes ( fat will rise to the top) Seal bag. carefully snip off 1 corner of the bag and drain drippings into sauce pan, stopping before you reach the fat layer..:)

Combine remaining 1/4 tsp of salt, the flour, and 1/2 cup of chicken broth in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; then add flour mixture and remaining broth to saucepan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat; reduce heat for 5 minutes or til gravy thickens stirring frequently.

Carve chicken, serve with the fixin's.
You will have a bone bare chicken in no time, trust me.

Alfajores

(alpha-whore-eez) sounds like top dog at the cat house, doesnt it.

I have no idea where I found this recipe, but I tried them
in California a couple of years ago, and loved em.

Oven 350

1 can sweetened condensed milk -- (14-ounce)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar -- plus more to
sprinkle on cookies
1/2 cup margarine or butter -- (1 stick) softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

To make dulce de leche filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shake can of condensed milk well; pour milk into large pie plate. Bake for 1 hour or until the milk is as caramelized as you prefer. Set aside to let cool.

To prepare cookies: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Add margarine and shortening; blend with a fork. Add egg yolks, milk and lemon zest. Mix until well blended.

Divide dough into 4 portions. Put one portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper; roll it out until dough is 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick, depending on taste. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Cut dough with a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter. Place each circle on lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Repeat with remaining dough.

When the cookies have cooled, spread dulce de leche on one cookie and top it with another cookie, making a sandwich. Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar.

My Mom Called, All Excited.

Get yer bundt pan out! Spray it with Pam.

She took a package of Grands® refrigerator biscuits, opened it up, and took the rolls apart, cut each biscuit in half. She cubed up a package of cream cheese, and placed a cube of cream cheese on top of each biscuit half, and folded the dough up around it and sealed it. She then brushed each lump of filled balls with butter, then rolled it in sugar, and placed the balls seam up evenly around the bundt pan, and sprinkled any leftover sugar and butter on top, and baked it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

When it came out of the oven, she up-ended it onto a large plate, and served it with fresh sugared strawberries on top, and everybody went crazy.

She added that you could also make it with cinnamon sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon or afterwards drizzle powdered sugar mixed with a little milk on top.