Cornbread Dressing

Stuffing and dressing are the same basic thing.  Stuffing is actually stuffed into the bird.  Dressing is baked off in a casserole dish and served as a side.  There are a million and one different recipes out there for the best dressing/stuffing in the world.  I'm not going to say that this is "The World's Best Cornbread Dressing!!!" but it's good and it's what I make every year for Thanksgiving.

Cornbread Dressing:

Cornbread Ingredients:

2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs beaten
1-2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons bacon drippings, melted

Dressing Ingredients:

3 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
12 slices day old bread, crumbled
2 1/2 cups turkey or chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

To make the cornbread:

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk, and melted bacon drippings and stir into a batter.

Heat a well-greased 10-inch cast iron skillet in a 450 degree oven for 4 minutes or until hot.  Remove skillet from oven and pour batter into skillet. Bake at 450 for 35 minutes or until cornbread is lightly browned.

To make dressing:

Cool cornbread then crumble into a large bowl.

Place celery and onion in a large frying pan with a spoon of cooking oil and cook until tender.  Transfer cooked celery and onion, with all remaining ingredients, to crumbled cornbread, stirring well.  Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan or casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Cake Mix Cookies

Cake mix cookies have been seen all over the place.  A quick google search will give you a million different recipes.  I decided to make some the other night, because I could.

Pumpkin Cake Mix Cookies:

1 can of pumpkin
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix everything together.  Spoon batter onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I love sweet potatoes and Thanksgiving and fall are the perfect time to make them.  This is a basic recipe for sweet potato casserole, which is perfect for all of the holiday get-togethers that happen during this time of the year.

Sweet Potato Casserole:

5 sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, divided (1/4 cup softened)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray (or rub butter on it).

Bake the sweet potatoes for 35 minutes.  Once they're out of the oven and cool mash the potatoes.  Put them in a bowl and add the salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, sugar, and heavy cream.  Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.

In another bowl combine the rest of the butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans.  Mix together with a fork and spread over the sweet potato mash.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the topping in crisp and lightly browned.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

This is the sauce that was served with the chipotle steak with gorgonzola cream sauce.  I wanted to go ahead and post it in another section alone so that it was easy to find.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce:
(Queen of Points)

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2/3 cup 2% milk
1 oz. (1/4 cup) gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon unsalted butter


Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute for a minute. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the milk and bring to a low boil.

Cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese and butter. Keep warm, but don’t let it boil.

Meal Plan: Week of December 4

It's December in Florida... it's also around 80 degrees right now.  I think it might drop down to 60 at some point this week.  Who knows.  I want to start making come chili and different soups so I can stock my freezer, but I don't really want to have soup/chili when it's hot outside.

It looks like I'm keeping the poultry industry going this week.  :)

1) Pizza Night- I have some dough in my freezer that's calling to be used.

2) Pasta with Turkey Meatballs

3) Chicken Soft Tacos

4) Honey Chicken with vegetables and brown rice

5) Chicken and Mushrooms with roasted broccoli

6) Chicken Rollatini with Spinach

Dry Pancake Mix

I think it's always a good idea to keep pancake mix in the house.  You never know when you're going to have an overnight guest or just want to have breakfast for dinner.  This is easy to make and keeps in the pantry for up to 6 months.

Dry Pancake Mix:
(all recipes)

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda


To make the pancakes:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk


Directions:

In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

To prepare pancakes:
In a bowl, combine egg and milk. Whisk in 1 cup pancake mix. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown.

Butter Pecan Pound Cake

I hope the person that invented pound cake was given a medal.  It's really good and can be changed around to suit any flavor need.  This recipe was given to me by my mom, who got it from a friend.

This recipe takes the basic pound cake and adds pecans (awesome) and rum (more awesome!).  The flavors work really well together and the cake just tastes awesome.  You can feel free to stop with the cake, but the glaze adds a lot and doesn't take much time.

Butter Pecan Pound Cake:
(My mom's friend Nan)

3 cups flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2  sticks butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rum
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped     

GLAZE:    

1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 1/2  cups of sugar
1/3  cup of water
3/4 cup of rum

In a bowl measure the flour and sift it together with the baking soda.  Set the bowl aside.

In the bowl of a mixer cream together the butter and the sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in the flour and sour cream, alternating between each.  Add the vanilla, rum, and toasted pecans.

Bake in a greased and floured bundt pan at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

For the glaze:
In a sauce pan mix together the butter, sugar, and water.  Melt and stir, then add the rum.  Let the mixture come to a light boil and continue stirring for about 5 minutes.

Poke holes in the bottom of the cake while it is still in the pan, about 1 inch apart.  Loosen the cake from the side of the pan.  Pour all but 3/4 cup of the glaze on the cake.  Let it sit for 1 hour then turn the cake out onto a plate and drizzle with the rest on the cake.