Thankful Week.

Isn't Thanksgiving great? Don't you love how this time of year practically forces you to think about all that you have? It's such a great feeling to realize that no matter how difficult our circumstances, we have A LOT. Just being able to live on this earth is an incredibly special gift. I'll be spending my Thanksgiving day with my parents (Burke is working all day :( ) and children. As for the rest of the week, today is day #1 of potty training. We'll see if I end up getting dinner on the table each night...

*Monday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas (thanks to my sister)
*Tuesday: We didn't end up having Lasagna last Sunday, so tonight we'll have Butternut Squash Lasagna...YUM!

*Wednesday: Leftovers & baking pies! I'll be making Apple Pie with THIS crust (with apple cider vinegar??!! Can't wait to try!) & Coconut Cream Pie

*Thursday: The Big Day! My menu today was sort of inspired by an episode of "Throwdown" that I happened to watch. Bobby Flay battled Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman), and SHE won! The food all looked amazing, so we'll see how it tastes. We'll be eating:

-Simple Turkey (I don't even do anything to mine. Maybe a little salt & pepper. I've had brined/seasoned/plain turkeys before, and they all taste equally as yummy to me! So I'm sticking with simple this year)
-Stuffing-I'll use a classic recipe similar to THIS one.
-Mashed Potatoes & gravy (I just make this up with the turkey drippings, flour, salt & pepper)
-Sweet Potatoes (simple again. I roast mine in the oven with a little butter & brown sugar until they are soft & golden)
-Brussels Sprouts (I have to have something green! And we don't do green bean casserole around here...)
-Cornbread Pudding
-Rolls
-2 pies (see yesterday's post)
-Pumpkin Bread Pudding (I know it's crazy, we're not having pumpkin pie. But this looks DELICIOUS, and I'm using the excuse that when I do my big turkey dinner on Christmas Eve, I'll make pumpkin pie then.)

*Friday: Are you kidding? Leftovers for the rest of the weekend..... ;)

And finally, a weekly menu:

...and some pie. You want a good Peanut Butter pie? This is the one.

I've been cooking away, without telling you what I'm cooking, and feeling the need to share. Here is what we had last week/are having this week:

*Monday: Hogi night. We passed a Subway the other day and Ryder really wanted to go there. He listed all the ingredients he would want on a Subway sandwich, and was quite amazed when I told him we had all those things at home! So tonight we're eating his favorite--"Subway bread" (store-bought sandwich buns), turkey, bacon, pickles, cucumbers, cheese and mustard. ;) I'm adding lots of other veggies like, tomatoes, lettuce, avocados, sprouts, etc. to mine. We also have lots of veggies for a veggie/dip plate & apples with caramel dip.

*Tuesday: Parmesan Squash Wedges & Wild Rice (from Trader Joe's)

*Wednesday: I've never made Pumpkin Soup, and decided now is as good a time as any. Doesn't it sound so cozy and delicious to be eating warm Pumpkin soup for dinner on a chilly night in October?

*Thursday: Leftovers

*Friday: Tonight is the Trunk-or-Treat! I'll be contributing Chili, Cornbread muffins (To be honest, I LOVE the 39 cent Jiffy mix. For sake of time, I'll probably use a few of those), cupcakes (for the cake walk) and THIS pie (If this pie doesn't win, the judges are crazy...)

*Saturday: Burke day! Burke is on an incredibly busy rotation right now. In fact, he's only had 4 days off the entire month. And the days he works, he works ALL DAY LONG. Today we're having our family fall celebration. We'll be carving pumpkins, making doughnuts and decorating caramel apples.

*Sunday: Simple Salmon (broil for 5-10 mins. with a little salt & Pepper) and Loaded Sweet-Potato Skins

I also made some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, White Chicken Chili, "Pizza Pockets", Homemade Macaroni & Cheese and Pretzel m&m Cookies last week while entertaining guests.

Birthday Pie

Last weekend was an exciting one. It was General Conference, my parents and my mother-in-law were in town, my brother ran the St. George marathon, and my husband took the LSAT. Perhaps the most exciting part of the weekend was that I got to be with my mom on her birthday, which hasn't happened for a few years.

When I asked her what her favorite dessert is, apple pie was the answer. Isn't that a great choice? I also know she loves all things lemon and had been itching to make a cheesecake, so we had two desserts:

Apple pie using this crust again, and a lemon raspberry cheesecake.

And when I say two desserts what I really mean is four. Two is what we planned for and what I was expecting, but we had extra pie filling (and crust) so we made an apple crisp, and had extra cheesecake filling so we made little cheesecake cupcakes. So if you happen to try these recipes on the same day, just be prepared to feed a sugar-hungry army. (Not to mention my dad bought a couple cartons of Creamery ice cream.)

Over at the Vera's

A few good recipes I've used this week:

I tried my hand at Minny's chocolate pie which may have been more fun than it was tasty. (It was a little too rich for my taste.) Though I must say, the sliver of a piece that was left over the next morning really hit the spot. I used this recipe for the crust.

Sunday we had broccoli cheese soup with homemade bread (I used the recipe at the bottom of this post.)

Monday I made this salad, roasted vegetables, and a green salad. It was kind of a random meal, but we were craving something light and this hit the spot; I definitely recommend it. If you want to make it heartier you could add some grilled chicken, orzo pasta, or anything really. And can I just say, roasting red peppers is probably the most fun I've had in the kitchen in a long time. I felt like I was doing a science experiment. If you try this recipe, definitely roast your own peppers.

THANKSGIVING!

This week is going to be all about Thanksgiving. Lots of nights we'll be having leftovers or super easy dinners (saving budget and time for the big day!). Here you go!

*Monday: Leftovers-our Missionaries left us with lots of leftovers last night...makes it easy on me tonight!

*Tuesday: Bruschetta

*Wednesday: Making pies today! I'll be making a pumpkin pie (my requirement is that I make a recipe that includes Sweetened Condensed Milk ;) as well as a Butterscotch Pecan Pie. I've tried several pie crust recipes, and found this one is my favorite. We'll eat something easy for dinner like baked potatoes.

*Thursday: For our meal, I will be contributing stuffing, cornbread pudding the Turkey and gravy.

*Friday: Duh--leftovers!

*Saturday: And more leftovers!

*Sunday: Greek salad (requested by my husband, who is already anticipating needing a "cleansing meal" :)

Halloween week!!!

Here's the plan for our eats this week:

*Monday: Trader Joe's Surprise! I'll let you know if it's good. And, caramel apples (we're having a pumpkin carving/caramel apple party! Yay!)

*Tuesday: Pizza Pockets--use your favorite dough & sauce, and any toppings you like. Wrap the sauce, cheese and toppings inside of the dough (making sure to seal the edges tightly), and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until cooked through.

*Wednesday: Black Beans & Rice

*Thursday: Leftovers

*Friday: White Chili & Cornbread Pudding (being taken to our church Halloween party!) + Caramel Pecan Pie & Pumpkin Cheesecake (see recipes below)

*Saturday: HALLOWEEN PARTY! Not exactly sure what I'm contributing, but I hear there is real Kahlua Pork involved...

*Sunday: Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables & apple-cider doughnuts

CARAMEL PECAN PIE

-1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust (this is my go-to pie crust recipe)
-36 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped (or you can make your own)
-1/4 c. butter
-1/4 c. milk
-3/4 c. sugar
-3 eggs
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 c. pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350*. In saucepan over low heat, combine caramels, butter and milk. Cook, stirring frequently, until smooth. Remove from heat. Set aside.
In large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Gradually mix in melted caramel mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool until filling is firm.

DOUBLE LAYER PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

-2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
-1/2 c. white sugar
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-2 eggs
-1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
-1/2 c. pumpkin puree
-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
-1 pinch ground cloves
-1 pinch ground nutmeg
-1/2 c. whipped topping/whipping cream

Preheat oven to 325*.
In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 c. of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to remaining batter an stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over batter in the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Peanut Butter Pie

Here's a super easy peanut butter pie recipe. It was yummy. I think next time I would definitely make a graham cracker crust instead of the chocolate wafer crust (a little weird since I love chocolate so much). And the texture was interesting. The gelatin definitely gives the pie some "bounce" as Burke put it. But the flavor was yummy and with the crunchy peanuts on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, it was a delight.


CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER PIE

-30 chocolate wafer cookies
-4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
-1/4 c. cold water
-1 envelope (1/4 oz.) unflavored gelatin
-1/4 c. packed light-brown sugar
-1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
-1 c. heavy cream
-1/4 c. chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350*. Process cookies in a food processor until finely ground (to yield 1 3/4 cups). Add butter, and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened.
Transfer crumb mixture to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake crust until set, 15 to 20 minutes; let cool completely.
Meanwhile, place the water in a small saucepan (off heat); sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
In a food processor, combine brown sugar and peanut butter; process until smooth. Add cream; process until mixture is light and holds soft peaks, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Place softened gelatin over very low heat, stirring, just until dissolved. Add to peanut-butter mixture in food processor; blend to combine. Transfer filling to cooled crust, and smooth top with a flexible or offset spatula. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, and chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

*next time I think I'll give this recipe a try...

Another weekly menu...

Here's what we're eating this week for dinner:

*Monday: Leftovers

*Tuesday: Salmon with Hoisin Sauce and Spring Vegetables

*Wednesday: Baked Shells with Winter Squash & steamed Cabbage

*Thursday: Tomato-Basil Bisque (see recipe below) with homemade white bread (best recipe--see below), spinach salad and apple pie (I'm taking dinner to a family--and I get to meet the cute new little Bella! So excited!)

*Friday: Fast Chicken Fajitas with a little guacamole...it's been way too long. ;)

*Saturday: Leftovers

*Sunday: Spinach & Prosciutto Lasagna (didn't get to try this last week, and Ryder really wants to...)


TOMATO-BASIL BISQUE

-6 celery ribs, choped
-1 large onion, chopped
-1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
-1/4 c. butter, cubed
-3 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
-1 TBSP tomato paste
-3/4 c. loosely packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped
-3 tsp sugar
-2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

In a a large saucepan, saute celery, onion and red pepper in butter for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil, sugar, salt and pepper; cool slightly. Transfer half of he soup mixture into a blender/food processor. While processing, gradually add cream; process until pureed. Return to the pan; heat through (do not boil).


LOTTIE ROBERT'S BREAD (my Mom got this from Relief Society probably 30 years ago!)

-2 pkgs. dry yeast
-1/2 c. warm water
-1/4 c. sugar
-1/4 c. shortening
-1 TBSP salt
-1 c. warm milk
-3/4 c. warm water
-6-7 c. flour

Soften yeast in 1/2 c. warm water. Measure flour by lightly spooning into cup and leveling off. In large bowl (or mixer) blend sugar, softened shortening, salt, milk, 3/4 c. water. Add 2-3 c. flour and beat with mixer until smooth. Add yeast. Gradually add remaining flour to form a moderately stiff dough; working it in first with spoon and finishing on a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8-10 mins). Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover to keep air out; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough; cover and let rise until nearly double again. Knead to remove air bubbles. Dived into 2 portions and let rest 10 mins. Place in well-greased loaf pans, seam side down and covered. Let rise until dough is nearly doubled. Bake in 350* oven until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 mins. Remove from pans immediately; cool on wire racks.