Fall/Winter 2012 - What's cooking at your house?

[Bucky]

Last October, we had a thread titled, "What's cooking at your house?" - and it is 14 pages long now, so . . . time to start another thread.

I hardly used the oven at all this summer - it was just waaaaay too hot and I didn't want to heat up the house using the oven.  Now, that cooler temperatures are here, I can start using the oven again (and the crock pot - which I DID use this summer).   

Tonight, I went to this health fair sponsored by a local hospital and it had this little cafe with some refreshments for those who attended.

There, they had some Pumpkin Fluff Dip - which I had never heard of, nor tasted before.  It was quite good, so here's the recipe (they had recipe cards there for us to take):

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

1  16 oz. container frozen whipped topping
1   5 oz. package instant sugar free vanilla pudding
1   15 oz. can pumpkin
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Blend well & chill

They served this dip with graham crackers.

So - what's cooking at your house?

Bucky

[susanep]

ooh Bucky that sounds good. My husband had a recipe for pumpkin cake, but it's different than most would think. It's very healthy.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 can of pumpkin
mix and bake (use baking temperature given  on your box of cake mix)
THAT'S IT !!

We ate it like this. It is super moist, but optional you could drizzle something of your choice on it such as the white confection sugar glaze or a chocolate glaze - maybe some nuts inside. But my husband says just those 2 ingredients. hehe. Oh, and if you don't like chocolate cake mix you can use any type.

susanep

[irish]

I have to admit that my cooking leaves something to be desired lately. I haven't felt good enough or even motivated to cook. Both hubby and I have crazy appetites lately. We have been known to have Dairy Queen Blizzards for supper on Sunday nights. HaHa!

Anyway, I had a fairly large beef roast in the freezer and fixed that this weekend cause the son and grandson were down overnight. I took some of that meat and made a big crockpot of vegetable soup. I put rhutabagas, potatoes, peas, carrots, sweet potato, onions, can of pork and beans (adds a little different flavor), can of tomato sauce and sugar plus various spices and broth.

It had a lot of meat and tasted pretty good. After a couple of days I decided to use up the mashed potatoes by putting some soup over it and heating in the microwave. Wow, that was good. My hubby, on the other hand, wasn't as entralled with it as I was.lol These husbands!! Irish

[irish]

Susan, That cake sounds really good. If I made it I would eat the whole thing myself. Irish

[Liz D.]

I just heard of and then make a simple, great pumpkin pie.  Instead of making a standard crust, you use crushed up ginger snaps with 1/3 cup melted butter and 1/3 cup sugar.  Mix and press into pie plate.

One can of pumpkin, one can sweetened condensed milk and two eggs for the pie filling.  Blend well and pour in the ginger snap crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.  Check middle with knife to see if it comes out clean.

The cool thing about this pie is that all the spices you would normally put in the pie filling are all in the ginger snap crust so you don't have to add any spices.  The pie comes out more orange color than brown because of that.

Of course, top with whipped cream when serving!!

Liz D.

[susanep]

After this thread me and my husband went through a McDonald's the other day, and he ordered us each a piece of quick pumpkin pie they are selling. It was good. 

susanep

[grammad97]

Susan the cake sounds fantastic!  I want to try it in a boxed spice cake mix. Will let you know the results. I make a lot of from scratch foods because I am gluten intolerant. I am trying to eat more foods that are chemical and preservative free. We have a food co-op here that is nationwide called Bountiful. Baskets that I purchase approximately $50-70 dollars of veggies/fruits for only $15! I either plan my meals around what I get and have to use immediately or I freeze for later. Since its fall I have made homemade minestrone and also creamy potato/cauliflower soups. I make fruit smoothies with the assorted fruits by adding them to yogurt.
We love soups and stews and are so happy to have access to affordable quality produce. Go online to bountifulbasket.org to see if you can participate in your state/area.

[Joe S.]

Last night we had chicken and "Hard" dumplings with our grandsons. I left the chicken and had the dumplings and mashed potatoes. I must of had ten of those dumplings. Hunter at 2yo had 4 and Ryder at 5yo had 6. My daughter got back and had 8 that I saw. Jan complained that it was a 4x batch and they were almost all gone.

My mom would make this dish and my daughter and I would split a very large mixing bowl of them (3x). We would usually finish the bowl before anyone else could get seconds.

Hard dumplings
Mix together:  2 eggs, water equal to the 2 eggs, salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp baking powder

Add flour until stiff and sticky. drop by tsp into boiling water, dumplings are done when they float and look white. I avoided saying until it looks right but it was hard

[susanep]

grammad97 that sounds great. My mom a few years back went gluten free to see if that helped her peripheral neuropathy, but it didn't. I remember her ordering off to find some foods.

I like the sound of your smoothies. I will check out the baskets. Sounds great. We like soup and stews. I love good foods. I love fruit too.

susanep

[Bucky]

Homemade pizza . . . yum!!!   

[xANTHONYx]

White Castle...

[grammad97]

BLTS today. Tomorrow porkchops covered with thin sliced potatoes and onions covered in just enough liquid and baked in oven. Mmmmmm. My mama's favorite recipe.

[genko_b]

I made a potato salad of potatoes and green beans, tossed in a vinaigrette with finely chopped onion and Dijon mustard in it. You use a lot of mustard, almost as much as the volume of olive oil and white wine vinegar. Other seasonings in there: salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic powder. It's a popular dish each time I make it.

We still have lots of heirloom tomatoes from the garden ripening on trays in our cool basement, so I've been making tomato sauce and soup, as well as simple salads. A favorite is sliced Black Prince tomatoes with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar, and French sea salt with herbs in it.

Both make great potluck dishes as well.

I've also got lots of chard and kale in the garden still, and will be using them both in hearty soups with my favorite Maya Copa beans (also called Peruanos). Bean soup and cornbread is a nice, inexpensive meal, with many variations possible.

Genko

[DebbiK]

I have chili cooking at my  house. I found if I put a tsp of baking soda in it that it cuts the acidity of the tomatos so can eat it without reflux problems. I usually buy one of the chili mixes that is gf but can't remember the name of it right now. Hunting season is right around the corner here in Wisconsin so will have many more items cooking soon.

Deb

[Scottietottie]

my husband!