THANKSGIVING is UPON US

Well I set my table this morning and will probably change it up again...not quite happy with it kinda of a Hodge Podge of things-meaning got the paper plates this summer, mother-in-law bought me the gold ribbon runner, and couldn't pass up a good deal on the pumpkin topiaries. We will see but onto food...

Every Wednesday before Thanksgiving Queenies is a cross between a family filled Traditional home and the "best little whore house in Texas" hey no children are reading this ;-) The same people come to have breakfast and leave with the same pie orders they have been placing since 1986...as for the latter description, towards the end of our day we are pie and cookie "slingers" and will do just about anything to empty out our deli cases. That's why this year we are relaxing and having a pot luck lunch after we close. Should be an interesting mix. One person is bringing Moroccan hand pies (i will get this recipe for us) another Italian Beef and who knows what the kitchen staff has in store for us. I am going to do some oldie but goodies.

M-M-M Mousse Made Easy-

1 cup milk

2 pkgs. German Sweet chocolate (the smaller you break it up the easier)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 large pkg. cream cheese (8 oz) Room Temp

2 large containers Cool Whip (8oz each)

Combine in small sauce pan over med heat: milk, chocolate, sugar and cocoa (if you stir the sugar and cocoa together, it will dissolve more quickly) When the chocolate is melted, combine with the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat this well and scrape bottom and sides a few times to be sure all lumps are dissolved. When looks like chocolate syrup, add the Cool Whip and mix well. Voila Mousse.

Artichoke, Spinach, and White Bean Dip

...found this awhile ago in my Cooking Light Magazine so some of the ingredients are low-fat but thinking you could use the good ole stuff and it will be good if not better

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan

1/4 cup canola mayonnaise

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

S&P

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15 oz) can organic white beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 oz) can baby artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

1 (9 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place first 7 ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. Spoon into another bowl. Stir in the artichokes and spinach. Spoon the mixture into a 1 quart glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with the mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 20 min or until bubbly and brown. Serve with Pita Chips.

BEER BREAD and BROWNIES

I have been on hyperdrive for the past few weeks and after an even longer week at work I decided to stay home Saturday night and Bake. Did we have dinner that night you ask? ...NO. We "sacrificed" our waistlines to the dessert gods and had not 1 but 2 bowls of Brownie A La Mode. These aren't your everyday brownies, but Ina's Outrageous Brownies (yes the same one's i so awkwardly told her I loved at the New York Food Show). These are so RICH you really only need 1 ... but I digress. As if the brownies weren't glutinous enough, I made my mom's beer bread Sunday afternoon to go with our Minestrone Soup. This bread is so easy. I usually use 1 can of Budweiser, but we still have some Sam Adams Oktoberfest in the kegerator so subbed that. I think I prefer the Bud, but have also made it with a honey wheat beer and that was good too.

3 Cups self-rising flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 12 oz can beer

4 Tbsp melted butter

Mix together (this dough is very dense and sticky) and bake at 350 for about 20 min then brush/pour another 3 Tbsp melted butter over the top and bake another 25-30 min.

Best warm and if you can handle it with even more butter, but good to dip in soup or in a couple of days crumble over the top of a casserole or use as the "crust" to a pot pie.

I have my Thanksgiving menu planned out and am starting to think tablescape's so I will use Michael's camera ans take a couple of pics. Let me know what you gals are making - I'm sure it will be fantastic! Love to All

Halloween Treats

Hey ladies I just wanted to share our halloween treats Tony and I made. I am not good at detail decorating but we had fun anyways. Cake pops and cake baked in glasses with spooky spiders.

and this sweet little nugget too!!! this onesie makes us laugh!!

Fall is in the air...

Fall must be the best time of year cause all my favorite comfort foods can make an appearance. First off let me tell you I have a batch of the shredded buffalo chicken sliders in the crock pot right now, they will be served alsonside some nachos and hot dogs as we cheer on the rangers to win the world series tonight. If they don't win I'm pretty sure Jon will slide into a baseball depression. Either way there will be tears...

I watched Booby Flay make this Salmon Chowder a few weeks ago and was just waiting for the weather to get a bit chilly so I could try it out. And even though the soup has bacon and cream it is somehow light which is not necessarily what you think when I say chowder. It starts like any other chowder, render bacon fat and the sweat onions, leeks, celery, and thyme until soft. Normally, this is where you add flour and I thought about it and had to hold myself back because I didnt understand how delicate this soup was going to be. Then I used a small can of good quality fish stock (of course bobby made his own) and vegetable stock. Add in diced red potatoes and allow to simmer until the potatoes are soft. Then add about a cup of heavy cream. Then while the soup was simmering I took fresh salmon and cut it into pretty large chunks. Right before I was ready to serve I tossed in the salmon and just let hang out with the lid on for about 6 or 7 minutes. Long enough for me to chop some fresh parsley and tarragon and sice some crusty bread. Obviously because it has no thickener it is really thin but still rich and the salmon was basically poached so it has this really nice texture along with the creamy potatoes. It might be my new favorite soup.

And then the next night alonside our tacos I made kale and roasted cauliflower. I love broccoli but need a break now and then and Jon will make you eat mixed veggies everyday if he's cooking. And yes even when we have tacos I try to have some sort of veggie option for dinner... Anyway stupid me I always thought kale was a garnish but this year I have seen lots of peeps cook with it and it's supposed to be super healthy. I took my standard approach anytime I make a quick cooking green - bacon, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and stock. In fact it is pretty good if you like greens I only cooked then for about 20 minutes and they were not the most tender, they maintained a bit of chew in a good way and good flavor. And the cauliflower was just roasted -my favorite way to cook cauliflower with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika. I saw a recipe for cauliflower with capers, roasted garlic and parmesan that I would like to try and I saw where smitten kitchen added pomegranites to the roasted cauliflower and I bet that is a nice contrast of flavor and texture.  If you are cooking any new veggies let me know especialy butternut squash cause thats my fave!

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

There was a Chill in the Air last night...something reminiscent of long sleeves and hot cider. Could it be...time for Chicken Paprika and Pumpkin Bread ;-)

I made the Pumpkin Bread on Sunday and it is almost gone. We will finish tonight after our smoked turkey sausage and packaged jambalaya mix dinner another easy favorite at our house.

But last night, I made Chicken Paprika. They use to serve this at Kilkenny's a Pub I use to work at around this time so I had a craving. I also think Kilkenny's uses heavy cream or something because our sauce last night was not really thick and creamy. So using skinless, boneless chicken breast halves pan fry in butter until cooked through and juices clear about 8-10 minutes then remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Then add to pan 1 medium white onion sliced thinly and cook about 5 minutes or until translucent but no brown. Not in recipe, but I then added red and yellow bell peppers thinly sliced and cooked another min or two. Season with Hungarian Paprika, S&P, and add 1 cup Chicken Stock. Nestle your chicken breasts into the onions, cover, and simmer on low about 20-25 min. Again remove the chicken and add 1/2 cup sour cream (I used non-fat) turn up heat a bit and make your sauce. Return chicken to pan and coat liberally with sauce. Serve over egg noodles. This smells so good while cooking and the egg noodles really sop up the sauce.

Hope all is well at both your homes and can't wait to see what you make for Thanksgiving!

FALL POTLUCK

Even though we have had 85 degree plus days (including today-UGH) I've still had my Pumpkins since the first of Oct. And ever since my husband built a Pergola, I've been finding reasons to eat outside...so a week or so ago I just had to have people over for a FALL POTLUCK. I did Frito Chili Pie and let the guests make there own right inside the Frito Bag (who knew? not me) with no clean up. I then made individual Mac&Cheese using Sharp Cheddar, Fontina, and Gruyere topped off with more cheese and toasted Panko Crumbs. But the game stopper was the simplest dish and I wanted to share...

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches recipe is for 6 servings:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce

1/2 (1 ounce) pkg dry ranch salad dressing mix

2 tbs butter

6 hoagie rolls ( I used Hawaiian Rolls and loved the sweetness with the Buffalo sauce)

Now are you ready for this...can you handle this... Place the Chicken into the crock-pot and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hrs.

In the words of Joey WHOA!

Once the chicken has cooked, take out of crock-pot and shred (it was easier for me this way) then add back into cooker and add the butter stir it up. Serve on your roll with a lil more sauce and I added sweet bread and butter pickles and chunky blue cheese dressing.

The Boys will Love it I Guarantee!

Corn Chowder

Well I know that technically it is still summer, but with the high today 54 degrees I decided that it was time for soup. I decided on corn chowder, or my version of corn chowder. Onions, carrots, red pepper, red potatoes, bacon, corn and whole milk. I would have taken a picture, but I have to say it really didn't look great. But it did taste pretty good.

Steph I was inspired by your pie, but a bit lazy, so I made an apple crostata. I used Granny Smith and Fuji apples. I wish I could have taken a picture of that, but Jonah is the only one who enjoyed it. Someday I will call you both crying because he is gone, but tonight I was crying because my dessert was gone!!!

Oh well, there is always tomorrow.