Twas the night before the monday before Thanksgiving...

and all thru the house not a turkey was stirring...not even a ...? cant find a witty to way to end it. Anyway I have called to order an emergency meeting for my sister and I tomorrow after Shane is done with school. I feel totally disorganized but certainly not panicked as I work well under pressure it seems. O and its going to be just me and Chris and my kids. No one to really impress there, but I do still want to make an amazing meal. So Im going to go to my sisters tomorrow to talk out all the ingredients I need. Nothing major just double checking that I will have everything on my list. I may add another vegetable dish like this apple squash bake I just found. I want to make cream of pumpkin soup but I think Im going to wait until my dad comes on Saturday until I make that but I havent totally decided on that yet. I must admit I was at Shop Rite yesterday in total amusement over the people desperately filling their carts with Thanksgiving Day supplies... the store was filled with shouts of "wheres the fat-free gravy?" people on cell phones exclaiming... " I cant find sodium free chicken broth... will heart healthy do???" packages of stuffing and cans of cranberry sauce overflowed. People huddled by the turkey section claiming their FREE frozen turkey...how would you EVER know if it was defrosted and are we willing to take that chance on the big day???? way to risky for a no-risk taker such as myself. The sheer panic and stress over gravy and potatoes is entertaining if nothing else. I sat back and double checked my coupons as people fought it out over the last few remaining jars of fat free gravy (I shutter at the thought I must admit) Promise to have much more interesting blogging this week. Enjoy your turkey day prep week!!!!

Less Than Two Weeks Until Thanksgiving..... WHHHAATTTT???

How did this HAPPEN?? Two weeks from now we will be waking up with a turkey hangover and the weight of Christmas shopping bearing down on us. WHO HAS THE BEST DEALS??? WHERE ARE THE BEST PRICES?? FREE SHIPPING!!! ALMOST FREE SHIPPING!!! .......sigh...
anyway I digress. This Thanksgiving is just going to be the four of us in our house. Quiet and just staying home. A first for us. Ever.
Im excited for the parade and the cooking to be honest. I dont usually do anything too fancy. Just the basics.... (and all from scratch)
*Turkey
*mashed potatoes
*sweet potatoes
*green beans (just plain, no casserole..sorry crunchy onion things)
*stuffing..now my brother in law makes this amazing stuffing. My sister jokingly refers to it as the five hour stuffing because in the time it takes him to cut one celery stalk she has made five other dishes... but it is good so I will make that
*cranberry sauce
*creamed onions...yuuummmmmm
*o and of corse GRAVY
Well its ALL yumm to be honest. The night before Thanksgiving my mom and I go to my sisters and make pies for hours. We have done this for a long long time. We will make pumpkin and apple. All homemade crusts. Its so soo good.
This week Im going to try to concentrate on my table. Im going to try to get some new place settings and silverwear. Im thinking cream, white and  cranberry for colors. Like for my candles and tableclothes. I would love a garland down the middle of my table. Oh no. looks like I have some shopping to do...Im sure my 4 year old will appreciate my color scheme and attention to detail.... O and the chocolate shop near me sells choc turkeys. That will be a part of the decor too (and dessert!)

**Nerd Alert**Nerd Alert**Nerd Alert**Nerd Alert**

Ok so I think I may have mentioned a time or two that I have tons of cookbooks. Tons. And I love to try new recipes. I was always reading thru my books and putting post its on my favorite recipes or wrting them down only for them to get lost in the shuffle. So I came up with this nerdy yet effective system. It helps me when I need ideas for dinners and any kind of dish...

I basically take a recipe card write down just the ingredients on it, the title of the recipe, and what cookbook I got it from. Then I put it in my recipe box. Here are some pics....

This was the recipe I just posted about. Its just a list of the ingredients...

On the back I write what cookbook and page number...

Grab my cookbook (and chik out of the freezer)

And Im ready to cook. I feel like this saves me from re-writing all the recipes I love that it makes it easy to go grocery shopping. I can pick out the meals I want and figure out what I need to get. I seem to come off very organized with this  but again its hit or miss with me. I really like what I started and want to continue to do this. It really does help with trying out new recipes and not get stuck in the same old food rut. Hope you enjoyed this NERD ALERT...!!!

Winner Winner (parmesan) Chicken Dinner

This is what I made the other night and it was really good. Very very simple. Actually it was meant to be made in a slow cooker w uncooked rice but I just baked it and made the rice on the stove. Heres the recipe followed by some pics (I forgot a picture of the finished product)
Parmesan Chicken and Rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 envelope of onion soup mix
6 boneless chick breasts (I only used 4)
6 T butter
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
1 cup long cooking rice uncooked

*mix together soup mix onion soup mix and uncooked rice in a bowl and set aside
*place chicken in a lightly greased slow cooker place one tablespoon of butter on each piece of chicken. pour soup mix over top. sprinkle w salt pepper and parm cheese
*cover and cook on low for 8-10 or high 4-6 hours
*Again I just put this in a glass dish and baked it at 350 for maybe 30 min till chick was done and made rice on stove...

Here it is ready for the oven. It made a delicious gravy to put on the rice. This was super easy and very very tasty. Enjoy!

Last nights dinner, ham and scalloped potatoes...

My sister had left over ham that I gladly took off her hands and I made scalloped potatoes. They were PURE comfort food. Especially on a windy cold day like yesterday...

Start with some plain old white potatoes

Peel and cut into chunks...no very accurate but I think the pic helps

Bring to a boil till fork tender... meanwhile.. the sauce magic begins...

Start with a stick of butter (Paula Deen would be proud) and add one cup flour..

Cook till it forms a paste, sort of the texture of mashed potatoes. This helps cook out the floury taste...

Shred up some cheddar cheese, I ended up using the whole block. Add two cups of milk...at least to start

This is where you just have to use your judgement as to how thick you want it. It was very thick for me so I added more milk and the rest of the block of cheese. Cook till the cheese is mostly melted. Trust me you cant mess it up...

Mix with potatoes and put in oven proof bowl. Bake at 350 till it looks like this...

Its about 30-45 minutes...

Enjoy! I love that I got the steam coming off of it. This was really really delicious last nite... and leftovers for another day!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had this recipe on Facebook and it is truly one of my favorites. I made it Sunday afternoon.
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag of semi sweet choc chips

In a mixer combine butter, sugar, pumpkin and eggs. Beat well. In a seperate bowl mix dry ingredients (its nice to have a curly haired cutie to help)

Beat wet ingredients well

mix together dry ingredients. Add to wet and beat well. add choc chips. bake 350 for about 10 minutes...

Delish!

Time to enjoy!!

Pictures Pictures Pictures

I didnt realize how long its been since I blogged last. Drawing a blank I guess! But I took a ton of pictures of my Halloween decorating and some things I have baked the last day or two...

This is one of my dressers in my dining room. It was actually my dresser in my bedroom growing up

This is a table in my living room!

My dining room table!

This is a jelly cupboard on the other side of my dining room table. I have cancles and table clothes in it. It used to be my sisters. The door doesnt always stay shut but im dont want to part with it yet!

Random Recipe

To go along with my scattered mood I picked up a random cookbook and decided to post the first (ok third because i didnt like the first two i saw) recipe I came across. its called...
Pecan Butternut Squash Bake
1/3 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
5 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups butternut squash cooked and mashed
-In a large bowl blend together butter and sugar beat in eggs evaporated milk cinnamon and vanilla.
-Pour into lightly greased 11x8 pan. bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until set. sprinkle with crunchy topping:
1/2 cup rice krispie cereal
1/4 c sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons melted butter.
-mix all in ingredients well top squash bake and cook for 5-10 more minutes. This sounds more like a dessert than a side dish.. either way enjoy! didnt mention cooking temp. im guessing standard 350 oven. hope to try this soon!

Scattered

Ok so today is  known as one of my scattered days. Im all over the place.  Probably because Im still tired from Halloween and just cant get focused. What I SHOULD be doing is cleaning our den/family room. This is where alot of the kids toys go and where our wii is. Theres alot of...stuff down there. alot. alot. Yesterday I decided to sit and re-organize my coupons...Now Im sitting here moving cookbooks around. I have had my caffeine and it isnt helping with my focus. Maybe a snickers will... anyway. I want to get the den organized because in a month it will be filled, ok bursting with more toys and games and it needs to be weeded out asap. The couponing stuff I did was because I want to try to donate some food or household products in the coming months as well as saving money- I hope to get a post up about couponing asap....maybe  after I decide what im baking today, and redoing the den, and doing the laundry and reading my cookbooks. Lets see if I can accomplish ONE task totally today. It wont be easy as my scattered days are more frequent that I would like. In the end it all gets (sorta) done it just may take a very strange and winding path to get there. Will let you know tonite what I accomplished, if anything!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween Hangover

Did anyone else wake up with a snickers wrapper stuck to their face, m and m's in their bed and a mary jane in their shoe? Or was that just me. Had to drag kids (ok one kid, my oldest) out of bed by his toes, hes happy but tired. Halloween has come and gone and all thats left is too much chocolate for me to be legally allowed to be home with. I woke up thinking... NOVEMBER 1st? HOW did that happen? I feel like I say that way to often. The swiftness with which time passes scares me as I see the kids growing daily and waking up to another milestone. Birthdays....done. Back to school... done. HALLOWEEN??... done. So sad. To make matters more crazy, and as if my kids werent hyped up enough yesterday they discovered the BIG CHRISTMAS TOY BOOK for toys-r-us. Christmas in toys in October...why not.
That being said I decided this year since I am not working to try and get some Christmas shopping done each week. Not necessarily to be DONE, but to spread out the spending that happens. Everything from gifts to extra groceries, wrapping paper and tape and extra nights of ordering food out. Anyway I need to literally and figuratively clear out the cobwebs from Halloween and get started on Thanksgiving prep. Am headed to one of my favorite stores today in hopes of some thanksgiving goodies. I KNOW! Im getting excited over buying a turkey roaster! Anyway- enjoy your day of stealing your favorite candy out of your kids trick or treat loot!!

Finally A Picture!

Holy Cow I did it! I feel like a technological genius. This is a dresser in my dining room. It was just a quick test picture to try everything out. More to come as soon as possible.

New Camera

So I gave the money tree out back a really good shake and went and bought a new camera. Just a small digital camera (its the size of my phone basically) Its a Canon Power Shot. Anyway Im charging the battery as we speak and will get some pics on as soon as I can figure it all out. Im getting ready to head to Shop Rite and get what I need for that Taco Dip for a party we are going to tonite. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Pumpkin Fudge

I have been making this recipe for a few years now and its outstanding. Its extremely easy and I love to wrap it in wax paper and put it in white candy boxes wrap it all up and give it to my kids teachers.

CREAMY PUMPKIN FUDGE
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
12 oz package white choc chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

-butter all sides of a heavy medium saucepan. combine sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 12 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add marshmallows choc chips walnuts and vanilla. stir until melted. Pour into aluminum foil lines buttered 8x8 baking pan. Chill until firm. Cut into pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. This is such an easy recipe I got it right on my first try. I dont toast the walnuts as the recipe calls for but you could. Remember its evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed. Be sure to bring to a hard boil for the full 12 minutes and even a few minutes more to be sure. Enjoy!!

Halloween Treats

I have a few minutes while my two favorite soldiers are outside playing so I thought I would post some Halloween and fall snacks and stuff for the weekend...
This recipe was just given to me by a FB friend. Its such an easy recipe...

Easy Pumpkin Cake
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 can of pumpkin -15 ounce. the small size
3/4 cup choc chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
-Mix together cake mix and pumpkin. Batter will be thick and lumpy
-sprinkle chips on top. bake 350 for 30 min or so. I cant remember and its in the oven now. Will correct if needed. I add some pumpkin pie spice but its fine without it. You could also make it with a spice cake mix or even chocolate mix. So easy and a fun recipe for beginning cooks.

I have yet to try this next one but it sounds so good and indulgent. Its called Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip... I KNOW whats not to love about that? here it is....
8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup semisweet choc chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
- beat together cream cheese butter and vanilla. Add sugars. beat til well mixed. Stir in chips and walnuts. Serve with graham crackers (you could also serve w vanilla wafer cookies )
May have to break this one out this weekend.....
The next recipe is a similar idea... just with pumpkin pie...

PUMPKIN PIE CHEESECAKE SPREAD
8 oz package cream cheese
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t maple flavoring (i havent made this but im sure it would be fine without it or with vanilla instead)
vanilla wafers
-beat cream cheese till light and fluffy. set aside. combine brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and stir into cream cheese till well blended. Serve w the vanilla wafers or even gingersnap cookies...so delish

** Now for some savory snacks....**
Artichoke Garlic Dip
14 oz can artichokes drained and chopped
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
2 cloves garlic minced
-combine all ingredients in an ungreased 10 inch pie plate. sprinkle w extra parm cheese if desired. bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
*I have made this before. Its delicious!!

Taco Joe Dip- I just read this one for the first time sounds so good. And great for a party
16 oz can kidney bean drained and rinsed
15 oz can corn drained
15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
14 oz can stewed tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce
4 oz can chopped green chiles
one package taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup chopped onion
-combine all ingredients in a slow cooker combine and cook low setting for up to 5 - 7 hours. serve w tortilla chips... how great would this be to come home to after trick or treating? add some browned chop meat and it would be an amazing chili...
**ok thats it for now but hope to post more as soon as possible!!

Halloween is here!

Well given the twenty degree temp drop today it finally feels like Halloween. Not Memorial day (but i did love it so warm) Anyway. My kids were as sweet as could be getting ready to wear their costumes today. Jack was so excited to wear his camouflage outfit and Shane was dressed an hour and a half before he needed to be. They were so cute hugging on the sidewalk before Jack walked to school. We are headed to friends tonite for pumpkin carving and hanging out. Jack was so cute because I told him I will repaint his face for tonight and he said "o wow its a costume party?!" i love that the little things still make him happy. He is growing but still so young in many ways. We have another "adult" party Saturday. Im not sure what Im going to make. Possibly chili or those jalapeno poppers i posted about. Then Sunday we will have to find a way to keep them occupied before finally going trick or treating. I will probably have soup or chili or something easy so we can spend the day having fun!
I guess because of Halloween prep I have been stalled on my thanksgiving day plans. Am hoping to be re-energized and start serious planning and cleaning. Im going to get a camera tomorrow to show pics of my Halloween decorations before I switch to turkey day.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Spice, Rice and all things Nice

So after my huge Sunday dinner and leftovers last nite, I decided to go back to my crock pot. Today is mexican chicken. This is such an easy recipe that I just made up. Very little mess and clean up and so easy to fix.

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts
one package of taco seasoning
one can of beans- kidney or cannelini. really anything.( or leave this out and add refried to the end when making the tacos)
one small onion sliced
one can of diced tomatoes
one small can of diced green chilies to taste
-place all ingredients in slow cooker. cook on high for two hrs or till chicken is finished. shred chicken and fix w soft tacos, rice cheese and sour cream. you could even pile it on top of tortilla chips and make nachos. enjoy!!

Dishes, a neccesary evil in cooking

About a half an hour ago I stood in my kitchen totally bewildered at the amount of dishes in my sink. Didn't I just do them? Do the multiply in there?  I had just cleaned out the fridge which of corse added quite a few miscellaneous pots and dishes. Anyway I grabbed my dish washing gloves and got started. Now you have to know that I am not quirky about a lot of things but I am about touching wet food; I hate it. And I hate the way my hands smell after using those yellow dish gloves. So I have disposable ones. I know. Not very eco friendly. But I will plant some extra trees this spring to offset the plastic. Ok I know I'm reaching on that one... so in walks my sweet faced 9 year old. "Can I help you mom?" the mere suggestion of it nearly knocks me out of my pink slippers. Im standing with my hands in scalding hot water. Not much to do I tell him, but i find a few little things to help me with. Soon he grabs a notebook and asks if he can sit and draw with me. In no time he has a whole page of little stick figures in battle. I suggested adding a bow and arrow. The look he gave me was priceless.I felt like super-mom. Needless to say I washed the sink for a few extra minutes. Made sure that the stove was sparkling clean. If standing there meant a few more precious moments with my ever growing son I was willing to scrub every corner of that kitchen. Moments that are becoming fewer and farther in between. Between play dates HOMEWORK (ugh) and sports I find time alone with him far to infrequent. My heart was warm with love and affection as he sat in that chair; he didnt go in to watch tv. Or downstairs to play wii. He came to draw with his mother.  So I guess from now on maybe I wont think of the dishes as some dreaded chore but rather a golden opportunity to  be with him alone and to freeze that memory of  my sweet son whom  I adore and is growing more quickly than I had ever imagined possible. Me with my dish gloves and him with his stick figures carrying bow and arrows. I love you babyjack.

Sunday Night and settling in for the week...

Well the roast beef is in the oven and the apple and potato bake is waiting for a hot oven. I added the wild rice I made the other day. The fruit compote is in the slow cooker. Smells like fall family and home to me in my house right now. Another section I would like to start at some point is weekend snacks. My cookbooks have the most delicious snacks for football games or appetizers for company or just hanging out. Some have Halloween themes to them which I will try to post the remainder of this week and we are heading into the big trick or treat holiday!
ok so this was literally the first recipe I just turned to. I love jalapeno poppers. This recipe sounds outstanding.
TIME OUT FOR JALAPENOS
8 oz package of softened cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon crisply cooked and crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 LB of jalapeno peppers halved
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
-combine cheeses bacon salt and seasonings, fill each jalapeno half w mixture. Roll in bread crumbs. Arrange on greased baking sheet. bake at 300 for 30 -35 minutes. makes about 2 dozen
*I think this sounds like an extremely easy and delicious snack. I hope to try it out soon!

Tonights Dinnner, Sunday Dinner and Dinners for the week

I dont think I have ever written "dinner" as much as I did above. I wont totally focus on food all the time but until I get a camera and some pictures up I dont think it makes a lot of sense to write about my decorating until I can show you what Im doing.
Tonites Dinner
This was the crock pot chicken cacciatore. It was good, really good but I would do a few things different next time. I would add more sugar, more mushrooms and some more garlic. It was a very thick sauce which was fine. But I think it needed a little more...something. So thats my changes for next time.
Sunday Dinner
Tomorrows dinner is going to be roast beef. I am going to shop rite in the morning for it. I am going to serve it with the Apple and Sweet Potato bake I posted about the other day and may add the rice to it to make one big casserole. I think all the flavors will really mix well together. I am also going to make
Slow Cooker Warm Fruit Compote, you probably dont need a slow cooker for this and could bake it but I have been on such a slow cooker kick I thought why not. Especially since I can put it in throw all the ingredients in and let it go. heres the recipe:
21 oz can cherry pie filling (im leaving this out)
20 oz jar chunky applesauce
8 oz can pineapple chunks
15 oz can sliced peaches drained
11 oz can mandarin oranges drained
1/2 c brown sugar packed
1 t cinnamon
1 can sliced pears (I added this)
-I may add some extra cinnamon and brown sugar to this and maybe even a little butter. Even though it says to drain I will probably add a little of the juice from each can in for extra flavor.
Dinners this week.-
Im not usually this planned ahead but this Monday I sat w my cookbooks and planned out dinners thru till next week. Then I shopped for the ingredients that I didnt have for most of them but will still need some other stuff for next week. Here is my tentative menu!
Monday- slow cooker mexican chicken
Tuesday- baked potato soup and some type of sandwich or salad
Wednesday - chicken ranch jack- This is a new recipe
Thursday- Thai chicken w pineapples. This is something I made up based on a dinner we had with Chris' aunt and uncle in vermont.
*Will probably grab just a few things in the morning and then monday or tuesday get whatever is missing for the Thai food. I bought two huge packages of boneless chicken at wegmans on monday. This should last a while.. I HOPE!!

Catching Up

I never made that chicken that night. Between homework chaos getting kids to grandmas and attending conferences we ended up eating Surf Taco. So good. I did make the recipe for the rice and it made a HUGE amount. I ended up making all of it. It would be great for a big crowd or Thanksgiving dinner. Last nite (poor yankees we tried to cheer them on in our dinner choices) we had a baseball themed dinner. Hot dogs, fries, cracker jax (ok it was crunch n munch but close enough) and Yankee ice cream for dessert. Unfortunately it wasnt enough to help with a win but I had fun making it.
Today we had a long baseball game far away and I decided to make this slow cooker chicken cacciatore recipe. I cant tell you how great it was to walk into a house smelling great and a hot meal waiting for us. Its still sitting here beckoning to be devoured. But I wanted to get the recipe up first. It says to have it over pasta but for whatever reasons Im feeling white rice. My mom used to make this tomato and chicken recipe and we ate it over rice. This reminds me of it
Chicken Cacciatore
1 onion thinly sliced
3 lbs chicken (i used three boneless chicken breasts)
2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
can of mushrooms (i think i mentioned i dont like these so i used fresh)
salt
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 t or dried oregano
1/2 t celery seed
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
-place onion in crock pot and chicken on top. mix remaining ingredients and pour over. cook on low for 7-9 hours or high for 3-4.
I dont have oregano, celery seed or bay leaf so i left it out and added dried basil and parsley. I also threw in some sugar as I always do when making any type of tomato sauce. Serve over spaghetti or as I said rice would be great too.
...stay tuned for Sunday Dinner. will be posting that after the dinner tonite. Will let you know how tonites dinner turns out!

Whats For Dinner Tonite??

As I figure out how to organize my posts better I would like to have a section all its own called "whats for dinner" I run hot and cold with my dinners. Sometimes they are well planned out for the week and creative and different. Sometimes its the same boring stuff. But like I said I want to try to make at least one or two new recipes a week. I made this one maybe last year and it was good!
CRANBERRY CHICKEN (from Autumn in the Country cookbook)
2 T oil
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
1 onion sliced
1/2 cup ketchup (i remember last time i didnt like this taste so I'm leaving it out this time)
8oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
2T brown sugar packed
1 T worcestershire sauce
-Heat oil in skillet cook chicken till golden on both sides. remove chicken and place in lightly greased baking dish. Add onion to skillet cook 3-5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and heat thru. Pour mixture on top of chicken and bake 20-25 minutes.

Wild Rice and Mushrooms (this serves 10-12 i will cut it down maybe by half)
10 1/2 oz can beef consomme
10 1/2 oz can french onion soup
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup melted butter
It calls for a can of sliced mushrooms, I'm not a fan so i will use fresh
1 cup long cooking wild rice uncooked
1 cup long cooking brown rice uncooked
-combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, stir well. cook on low 7-8 hrs until rice is tender.

Apple and Sweet Potato Bake
4 cups apples peeled and sliced
4 cups sweet potatoes peeled and sliced (i will probably use two large ones)
2 t onions (really? who chops two teaspoons of onions?- may use like a quarter of an onion)
3/4 cup apple juice
3/4 cup maple syrup (may leave that out)
1/2 cup melted butter
12 brown and serve pork breakfast sausage (I just bought a regular package of it, and will use have i didn't buy the links or patties- you could leave it out if needed)
-layer apples sweet potatoes and onion in a casserole dish and set aside. combine juice syrup and butter and pour over layered mixture. cover and bake 350 oven for an hour. arrange sausages on top and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until sausage is browned. serves 6.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. I don't know what I will fix tonite. Possibly even both. Enjoy!

Good Morning Oatmeal!

I woke up this morning to my kitchen smelling like a combination of oatmeal cookies and apple pie. Not a bad way to start the day! I just sat down with a bowl of it and it is delicious. I had to turn the setting down to just "warm" last night because it was cooking very quickly. But it turned out great this morning. Am going to start to post what I'm making for dinner early in the day. Today is going to be cranberry chicken (or something like that) and wild rice as a side. Again more Gooseberry Patch recipes. Am trying to make one or two new ones a week. Be back later!

Overnight oatmeal and my love of Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks

Wow! Two posts in one day I'm off to a good start! So once upon a time in an apartment far far away I received a catalog called Gooseberry Patch. It was love at first sight. Lots of cute vintage bowls table linens and accents for the kitchen etc. They also had adorable planners calendars and of course COOKBOOKS. I don't really remember my first one. But I knew  I had to have more. and more. and more. Well my collection has grown to over....over more than most normal people but I love them. They always have a little story to go w the recipe and lots of cozy tips and ideas on the bottom. Sometimes they are somewhat repetitive (I'm sure there 20 different versions of chicken noodle casserole among them) but I still love all of them. They seem to inspire me to do something. Not necessarily cook or bake. But it inspires me to do something. So you will see me posting a lot of recipes from there. As soon as I get my camera situated I will post pics of them and of course what I'm making. Now to the recipe I made tonite. Its for breakfast tomorrow. Its called Overnight Oatmeal from their cookbook called Autumn In The Country... who wouldn't want a cookbook called that?
OVERNIGHT OATMEAL
2 cups milk
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup apple (I used a small to medium size one. I dont think you can  mess this up)
1/2 cup raisins (didnt have so i left this out)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (jack doesnt like this so i left it out)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter (ok almost 2 for me )
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-Mix all ingredients in a slow cooker sprayed w non stick spray. cover and cook low 8-9 hours. serves 4 to 6...
I will let you know tomorrow morning how it comes out (and how wonderful it will smell in the morning!!)

My first blogging day

Well today is my first day to try a blog. I set it up. And now I have no idea whats next. Im looking foward to learning how to make it fun and pretty so to speak. I guess the main reason I started is because for the first time ever I am hosting Thanksgiving and I have lots to do in my house to prepare. I am perpetually disorganized and have the attention span of a housefly. So I thought this was a great way to help me keep on task so to speak. Cant wait to start posting recipes and pictures of all kinds. My plan is to focus on cooking, baking and decorating. Im excited to keep myself inspired and spread it to my readers. Hope you enjoy your time Around the Kitchen Table!