Pumpkin Cake

This is the perfect time of year for everything pumpkin.  And me, personally, I love pumpkin.  So here is an amazing way to enjoy all things pumpkin - Pumpkin Cake!  

This recipe is from my mother-in-law and it has served me well over the years.  

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 box yellow cake mix (reserve 2/3 cup for topping)

1/2 cube (4 TB) butter - at room temperature

1 egg

Filling:

1 16 oz can pumpkin puree

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice, dash of ginger and ground cloves)

Topping:

2 TB butter - at room temperature

2/3 cup reserved cake mix

1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter and egg.  Mix with a fork or pasty cutter to combine.

Press mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Use your fingers - it's the only way.

In another bowl (or the same one after you've washed it out), combine all the filling ingredients.   Stir with a whisk to throughly combine them all.

Pour filling mixture on top of crust.  

Take reserved cake mix and add cinnamon and butter.  Use a fork and combine until it forms a crumble consistency.

Sprinkle this mixture on top of the pumpkin filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.  It will come out golden and wonderful.

Serve it while it's still warm - although my kids have been know to eat this even if it's cold.

Make sure and add a large dollop of fresh whipped cream.   Believe me, you'll be going back for seconds.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Puff

My friend, Gwen, has made these Sweet Potatoes the last few times we've done Thanksgiving together. It's hard to believe that they have about half the calories and about one third the fat of regular sweet potatoes.

Now, some of you might not care about that sort of thing, but for people like me who eat sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner - it's something to think about.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Mixture:

3 cups fresh (cooked) sweet potatoes

4 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. flour

Topping:

3 Tbs. flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs. butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Peel sweet potatoes and cut up into small 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a pot of water and bring to boiling. Boil until potatoes are soft - about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and drain. Use a potato masher and mash those sweet potatoes.

In a medium bowl, mix together egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and flour. Whisk to combine.

Now add those sweet potatoes and continue to stir until well combined.

Spread into the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish that has been greased (or sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray).

In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar and butter. Stir in pecans.

Sprinkle topping mixture over the sweet potatoes.

Bake at 350 degrees form 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm - but really these things are good cold too.

Here are the ingredients for the regular Sweet Potatoes - if you're the type of person that likes all that melted butter and stuff. : )

Just follow the other instructions and swap out these amounts for the previous ones.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Mixture:

3 cups fresh (cooked) sweet potatoes

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. flour

Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Thanksgiving Dinner

I love to make Thanksgiving Dinner. We've only spent a handful of Thanksgiving Days with our family since we've been married, so I've had many years to perfect my dinner.

This year, we will be celebrating with some friends. I've decided to go the traditional route, however there is one "wild card" - the Chocolate Oreo Pie. My hubby informed me that this is hardly a "traditional" Thanksgiving pie, but when you have four kids you choose the dessert that they'll eat.

So, here you go - my list of recipes for our Thanksgiving Dinner.

Thanksgiving Turkey - this recipe is a combination of Alton Brown (Food Network) and Martha Stewart. It requires no basting and is very juicy and good.

Stuffing - My grandmother-in-law used to make an amazing stuffing with sausage in it. I'm sure she made and cubed her own bread. My stuffing is meant to resemble hers but without all the baking and cubing and waiting for bread to go stale. Check out this semi-homemade (and easy) stuffing recipe.

Mashed Potatoes - every Idahoan knows how to make those potatoes. We eat these all the time.

Gravy - a household staple. It's important for everyone to know how to make gravy.

Southern Pecan Pie - this recipe comes all the way from Albertson, North Carolina. It's great! A must try!

Chocolate Oreo Pie - I have an Oreo dessert recipe. This is pretty much the same thing, but in pie form. I figure that if you put it in a pie pan, it counts as a Thanksgiving dessert.

Pumpkin Pie - What's Thanksgiving without a pumpkin pie? Once again, I don't make everything from scratch. There is no way that I'm baking mini pumpkins, scraping out the insides and then making a pie - no way. I just buy the canned pumpkin - it's great.

Candied Yams (or Sweet Potatoes) - I must admit that I am never very good with the yams. I have some friends that make great sweet potatoes, so I always just leave it up to them. I will try to get their recipes and post it on here. Or, if you have a good one let me know - I'd love to have it.

I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner.

Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 435 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

* can substitute 1 3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. If I do this, I like to add a little extra cinnamon.

Classic Chicken (or Turkey) Gravy

drippings from Turkey or Chicken

corn starch or flour

chicken stock

Place your dripping in a sauce pan. Set heat to medium high. Depending on your amount of drippings, you may need to add more chicken stock.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup chicken stock with 2 Tbs. corn starch (or flour). Mix to combine. Add corn starch mixture to drippings and whisk constantly until thickened. If you like it thicker, do this again. Bring to a boil. Now it's ready to serve.

It's often hard with gravy to know exact amounts, it all just depends on the amount of drippings that you have as well as the desired consistency you are trying to achieve. Just remember not to add the thickening agent (corn starch or flour) directly to the drippings - always mix them with a small amount of liquid first. Also, always whisk the gravy. If you stop whisking - well, just don't.

If your gravy becomes too thick, just add more chicken stock. Once the gravy is boiling, it has reached it's final thickness. If you don't like it, add more thickening agent or more liquid until you get what you want.

Good Luck!

Chocolate Oreo Pie

This recipe is adapted from one called Oreo Dessert - if you double this recipe and make it in a 9x13 pan, you have Oreo Dessert. It's a huge hit with the kids and is always the first pie to go at our Thanksgiving gatherings.

Go ahead and make one - or two. I'm sure your family will love you for it!

Ingredients:

1/2 package Oreos

2 Tbs. melted butter

1/2 package (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 8oz. whipped topping

1 package (3.9 oz.) instant chocolate pudding

2 cups cold milk

Place Oreos in a resealable plastic bag. Crush the Oreos (I use a rolling pin). Reserve 1/2 cup of the crushed Oreos for later. Place remaining crushed Oreos in a bowl. Add the melted butter and mix together. Place in a large pie pan and press along the bottom and sides (this is your crust).

In another bowl, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Once they are combined, fold in half of the whipped topping with a spoon (not an electric mixer). After this is mixed together, spread it on top of the Oreo crust.

Now combine the instant chocolate pudding with the milk and whisk to combine. Pour over the cream cheese mixture.

Once the pudding is set, spread the remaining whipped topping over the top. Right before you serve, sprinkle the reserved crushed Oreos on the top.

Here's an up close and personal view - doesn't it look good!

Southern Pecan Pie

This recipe if all the way from North Carolina - Albertson North Carolina to be exact. The land where Pecans are know as Pee - cans.

But, hey, they know how to make an amazing pie!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup melted butter

1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell

Beat eggs thoroughly with sugar, dash of salt, corn syrup, and melted butter. Add pecans. Pour into unbaked pastry shell. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between outside and center of filling comes out clean. Cool.

I like to add halved pecans to the top of the pie. I think it makes it look nicer. Just place the pecan halves on the pie right before you bake it. Also, place the pie on a cookie sheet while you bake it - that way if it spills over, you don't have a huge mess.

Here's an example of the decorated top. I've done it both ways, and no matter what you will love it!

Ultimate Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 package Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix

1 tube sausage

1 onion, chopped (abt. 1 cup)

3 to 4 stalks celery, chopped (abt. 1 cup)

2 cups chicken broth

Brown sausage with the onion and celery. Once it is browned, place it in a large bowl. Add the Stuffing Mix and chicken broth. Mix it all together and place in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 -45 minutes.

* Optional - you can add a chopped apple and substitute half of the chicken broth for apple cider. I've never actually done this, but I've heard that other people like it like that. You decide.

Thanksgiving Turkey

This recipe is a combination Martha Stewart - Alton Brown. It has Martha's seasoning method with Alton's cooking method. I've made a turkey like this for the past 5 years, and it's always gone well for me!

Ingredients:

13 to 16 lb. turkey

1/4 to 1/2 cup Canola oil

1/2 cube butter - softened

1 tsp. salt

2 cloves chopped garlic - optional

2 tsp. dry sage or 2 Tb. fresh chopped sage

1 onion

2 celery stalks- optional

Fresh sage leaves - 2 sprigs

tin foil

Place frozen turkey in fridge 3 to 4 days in advance of Thanksgiving. You should allow 5 hours per pound for your turkey to thaw in the fridge.

On Thanksgiving morning, unwrap your turkey. Remove the giblets and rinse your bird. Pat dry with paper towels. Place your bird in a shallow roasting pan. Tuck the wings under the front of the bird. This keeps them from getting burnt.

Create a tinfoil tent for the turkey breast. To do this, take a strip of tinfoil and fold it in half. Shape it to exactly match the contours of the turkey breast. Press it down on the bird and fold in the edges to get the exact shape. Remove the tinfoil tent and set aside.

Cut onion in half. Cut celery into 3 inch sections, and rinse and dry sage leaves. Place all three into the cavity of the turkey.

In a bowl, combine the butter, sage and salt. This year I added garlic and it turned out well, so go ahead and add that too if you want.

Rub this mixture between the skin and the breast of the bird. You'll probably have to reach in there with a hand first and separate the skin from the breast. Once you've done that, you can go ahead and fill it up with buttery goodness. This will really flavor your meat.

Once you've filled it with as much butter as possible, take the remaining butter on your hands and wipe it on the outside of the bird. Once all your butter is gone, take some oil and continue to lightly rub the bird until all of the skin is lightly coated in oil. It may take 1/4 cup, it may not. You decide.

This is what it will look like as you place it on the bottom rack of the oven.

Bake the turkey in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. This will give it a golden brown texture on the top - thanks to all that butter and oil.

Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Place the tinfoil tent over the breast of the bird and continue to bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a 14 lb. bird.

Remove the bird from the oven when the thickest part of the breast is 161 degrees. I did a 23 pound bird this year, and it took about 3 hours and 45 minutes to bake.

The tinfoil tent keeps the breast from drying out. It did slide mine up a bit for the last hour of baking just so the bottom of the breast could get more golden.

Once your turkey is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

Place it on a platter for all to see.

Then, pull out that carving knife and go at it!

Everyone is waiting to eat that turkey, and believe me they won't be disappointed!