This Week's Dinner Menu

This is kind of a boring week. The husband is headed out on a business trip and, currently, there is no food in the house. Yeah, we've been skating by since we returned home. So, here it is . . .

Sunday - second Thanksgiving dinner with my family - Rosemary turkey, Mashed potatoes & Gravy, Roasted yams, Green beans, Wheat rolls, Artichoke & Sourdough Stuffing, and (of course) Banana Cream Pie
Monday - Mom's Taco Soup
Tuesday - Sweet & Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken served as taco in corn tortillas
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza (the toddler's request, we'll see what he decides to put on it)
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - Office Christmas Party
Saturday - Southwest Shredded Chicken and 3 Bean Chili, Tortilla strips, fruit

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving week. We sure are enjoying our vacation time in Utah! Our Thanksgiving plan is to have a late breakfast and, then, an early dinner. I am making our traditional Banana Cream Pie and Roasted Asparagus for one of the sides.

Mom's Banana Cream Pie
¼ C corn starch
2/3 C sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 C scalded milk
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 Tbsp butter
½ tsp vanilla
Sliced bananas
Pie Crust
Whipped cream

Cook pie crust. Line bottom of pie shell with sliced bananas. (This can also be done while the custard cools.)

Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Scald milk. Gradually add milk to corn starch mixture. Cook over moderate heat stirring constantly, until thickened and boiling. Cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Add small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks, temper. Stir back in. Cook 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla. Stir. Cool slightly and pour into cooked pie shell. Press wax paper onto custard filling to prevent "skin" from forming.

Chill. Spread top with whipped cream prior to serving. Or, top each slice with a dollop of cream and a sliced banana.

Here are some ideas to keep your kiddos busy, while you're working away:
Cute Turkey Cookies
Indian Corn
Mayflower Picture
And, here are TWO great turkeys to preserve just how your little ones were this Thanksgiving.

And, I'm sure this is what we will be singing at the end of the night.
The Turkey Dinner Song (sung to Frere Jacques "Are You Sleeping?")
Turkey Dinner, Turkey Dinner, Gather Round, Gather Round
Who will get the drumstick? Yummy Yummy Yum-stick
All sit down, All sit down

Cornbread muffins, chestnut stuffin’, pudding pie ten feet high
All of us were thinner until we came to dinner
Me-o my, Me-o my!

Beef Taco Bake

1 lb. ground beef
1 can Tomato Soup
1 cup Salsa
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas, torn
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Drain. Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes.

This Week's Dinner Menu

Sunday - A-1 Pot Roast, Aunt Terri's Salad, Grandma's Rice, and Buttermilk-Onion Pull-Apart Rolls (yummm!)
Monday - Homemade pizza and fruit
Tuesday - Beef Taco Bake, zucchini
Wednesday - looking for new recipes to try out
Thursday - ditto
Friday - "Clean Out the Fridge Night"

By Saturday, we'll be in Utah starting our Thanksgiving celebration. So, I won't have a menu for next week. Enjoy the holiday!

{Applesauce Cookies}

This recipe comes from my great grandmother. We first had them this summer at a family reunion, and my toddler inhaled them.

½ c shortening
1 c sugar
1 egg
½ c applesauce
2 c flour
1 t soda
½ t cloves
½ t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
½ t salt
Raisins or chocolate chips (opt.)

Preheat oven to 400°. Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and applesauce. Stir in dry ingredients and raisins or chocolate chips if desired. Drop by tablespoons onto greased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2-3 dozen.

This Week's Dinner Menu

This week, my husband is out of town for a few days on business. I think that I'll take the opportunity not to cook quite as much, but rather, to make meals to stock the freezer.

Sunday - Pasta Puttanesca, Ceasar salad, Foccacia, Brownie-bottom Sundaes
Monday - Navajo Tacos
Tuesday - Mexican-filled Calzones (using the recipe from my freezer meal group, and twisting it to be mexican)
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - Chicken Taco Pie (hoping that we love this as much as we love Taco Bake)
Friday - Church Potluck: taking Lasagna for my dish
Saturday - A-1 Pot Roast, Aunt Terri's Salad, Grandma's Rice, and Buttermilk-Onion Pull-Apart Rolls (yummm!)

Election Day

Well, it is finally Election Day. And, I for one, will be glad to see it go. I am tired of the bad-mouthing tv ads, and ready to move on. I am hoping that the end of the election will signal a positive change for the direction of our country. (And, keeping my fingers crossed behind my back.)

So, rather than focusing on the craziness and remaining glued to my tv all night long, I am planning on making some fun food and celebrating the country that I am proud to live in - where I have the opportunity to vote and "make my voice heard".

Chocolate and Vanilla Election Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, preferably European-style, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
Vanilla Frosting (recipe below)
1 (24-ounce) package fondant
Red or blue paste food coloring
Silver edible glitter
Red, white, and blue nonpareils

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, add milk and vanilla extract; stir to combine and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk mixture; beat until just combined. Add cocoa powder and beat until just combined. Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in pans for two minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large 5/8-inch round tip (such as Ateco No. 808). Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and set aside. Meanwhile, press your thumb into the center of the fondant to make a well. Place a small amount of food coloring (red for Republican, blue for Democrat) in the well and knead fondant until color is well blended. Continue to add more food coloring to fondant until desired color is achieved. Roll out into a 1/16-inch-thick sheet.

To make Republican elephants, cut out 12 elephant shapes using 2-inch elephant cutters. Sprinkle with edible glitter. To make Democrat donkeys, cut out 12 bear shapes using a 2-inch bear cutter. Using a 2-inch daisy cutter, cut out enough daisy shapes so that you have 36 petals; sprinkle bear shaped and daisy petal fondant with edible glitter. Top each cupcake with a fondant elephant or bear, using two daisy petals to make donkey ears on each bear and one petal to make the tail. Sprinkle cupcakes with nonpareils and serve.

Vanilla Frosting
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until well combined.

Elephants and Donkeys too much for you? Here are some other ideas:
*Top your cupcakes with an American flag design. Use shoestring licorice for the stripes of the flag and blue frosting piped stars.
*Make star-shaped sugar cookies and frost in red, white and blue. Or, frost with white frosting and sprinkle with red and blue sugar.
*Make one sheet cake and decorate as an American flag. (Think 4th of July.)

This Week's Dinner Menu

Sunday - Dinner at Mom's
Monday - Chicken Enchiladas, zucchini, rice & beans
Tuesday - Shepherd's Pie, rolls, salad
Wednesday - White Chicken Chili topped with avocados and diced tomatoes
Thursday - Potstickers, Chicken Lo Mein
Friday - Lasagna, broccoli, rolls, salad, pears
Saturday -leftovers or pizza (maybe a new tradition - Homemade Pizza on Saturday night)

Still wanting to try the Thai Chicken Pizza listed last week. It got vetoed in favor of "Oh that Smell" pizza, I'll post a recipe later.