Grandma Reynold's Stuffing

This is the stuffing I grew up with. My family can't get enough of it to eat at Thanksgiving (or any other time it is made)

Start to Finish Time: 2 hours
Hands on Time: 40 minutes
Oven Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:
15 slices bread
2 cups water
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 apple, cored, peeled, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, grated
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or mushroom)
1/4 cup MINUTE rice (NOT regular rice)
1 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound mild sausage
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut or tear bread into 1/2" cubes (about 10-11 cups). Spread bread cubes evenly on a large cookie sheet; toast at 300 degrees until golden about 30-35 minutes; stirring once. Remove from oven; set aside to cool. Increase oven temp to 350 degrees. In large saucepan, add water, bouillon, onion, celery, apple and carrot. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in soup, rice, herbs and spices. In skillet, brown sausage. In a very large mixing bowl, combine toasted bread cubes, vegetable bouillon, and sausage. Toss until well coated. Pour into a 9"x13" greased cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for for 45-60 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

Start to Finish Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Hands on Time: 10 minutes
Oven Time: none


12 ounces cranberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Directions

Dissolve the white and brown sugar in the orange juice over medium heat. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop. Mash the cranberries with the back of a spoon, stir. Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools. Allow at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Butter

Pumpkin Scones are a favorite in my house. They have to be made at least once between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Start to Finish Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Hands on Time: 1 hour
Oven Time: none



1 T instant dry yeast
1/3 C sugar
1 C milk, warmed to 110 degrees
7-8 c flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch cloves
1 tsp salt
1/2 C cold butter, cut in pieces
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 C pumpkin puree (16 oz)
oil for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Let stand a few minutes, until foamy.

2. In a second bowl, combine 5 C flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

3. Add cold butter, and cut in until mixture resembles cornmeal.

4. Put dry ingredients in large bowl with the yeast. Mix slightly.

5. Add egg and pumpkin. Beat on low until well mixed.

6. Continue to mix on low (knead), adding small amounts of the remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

7. Beat another 3-4 minutes, and then transfer to a well greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour).

8. Punch the dough down and transfer to a floured counter. Break off golf ball size pieces. Roll the balls out into flat pieces, 1/2" thick.

9. Fry in hot oil (375 degrees) on both sides. Cool on a paper towel covered rack. Serve with cream cheese butter.




Cream Cheese Butter
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Beat ingredients with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
2. Serve with warm pumpkin scones.
3. Refrigerate leftover mixture.

Sweet Potatoes

These sweet potatoes are fattening and delicious. They are sure to please at your Thanksgiving dinner.

Start to Finish Time: 63 minutes
Hands on Time: 18 minutes
Oven Time: 30 minutes at 325 degrees


Ingredients

4 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender (about 15 minutes); drain and mash.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.

3. In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.

4. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Thanksgiving Recipes

November is upon us which means it is time to get in gear and plan your Thanksgiving meal. I am hosting this year and, as part of my preparation, will be posting all of my delicious recipes for a terrific Thanksgiving feast. All Thanksgiving recipes will be labeled with 'Thanksgiving' so you can easily find them all on my side tab.

Happy Eating!

Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction

We love lamb, but we also like to keep our wallets fat so we don't get to eat it very often. Last week Lamb Chops went on sale so I whipped some up using this recipe that I got from allrecipes.com It is so delicti-ably delicious!


Ingredients

* 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* salt and pepper to taste
* 4 lamb chops (3/4 inch thick)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/4 cup minced shallots
* 1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar
* 3/4 cup chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together the rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub this mixture onto the lamb chops on both sides. Place them on a plate, cover and set aside for 15 minutes to absorb the flavors.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place lamb chops in the skillet, and cook for about 3 1/2 minutes per side for medium rare, or continue to cook to your desired doneness. Remove from the skillet, and keep warm on a serving platter.
3. Add shallots to the skillet, and cook for a few minutes, just until browned. Stir in vinegar, scraping any bits of lamb from the bottom of the skillet, then stir in the chicken broth. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. If you don't, the sauce will be runny and not good. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Pour over the lamb chops, and serve.

Dang Hippie Soup

As a tribute to my brother Spencer, I am calling this recipe Dang Hippie Soup. Apparently anything that is healthy is hippie food to him.

It has finally gotten cold around here so I made a hearty, brothy soup last night and loved it. It really hit the spot. It is really healthy for you: lots of vegetables, low fat, low calories. Can it get any better?

4 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium size sweet potato, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp mustard
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 T soy sauce
1 medium sized tomato, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed


1. Saute onion, celery, sweet potato, and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat. 5-7 minutes.
2. Add in paprika, basil, salt, cinnamon, cayenne, mustard, bay leaf, chicken broth, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat. Simmer on low heat 15 minutes
4. Add black beans and tomato. Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender (about 5 more minutes).