Miscellaneous
Don’t even think for a second about using canned pumpkin puree for your pumpkin pies this Thanksgiving! Here is a super easy way to have fresh pumpkin puree.
Ingredients:
1 Pie Pumpkin
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut the very top of the pumpkin off to remove the stem. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. I like to use a grapefruit spoon for seed removal. Don’t throw out 
the seeds! Keep them for roasting!
Cut the pumpkin halves into smaller wedges and place on a baking sheet.
Roast for 45 minutes, or until the pumpkin in tender.
Once they are done roasting, let cool until you can handle them. Peel off the skin and puree in a food processor until smooth. You might need to add a couple Tablespoons of water.
Chloe and I had a fun time making homemade tortillas. They were pretty easy to make and tasty too! This recipe was found on the Taste of Home website.
Ingredients:
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, plus more for cooking
Combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the water and oil. Knead 10-12 times on a floured surface until a smooth dough forms. Add more water or flour as needed.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and roll them out to a 7 inch circle (or as close to a circle as you can).
Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Cook the tortillas until browned on both sides, about 1 minute per side.
Yield: 8 Tortillas
Chloe Quote: “I need to roll it, OK”
Tags: Dairy Free, Tortillas
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This is what Robbie wanted for his birthday dinner this year. It’s a remake of something he had in Las Vegas at Hash House a go go. It’s actually a breakfast item on their menu, but I couldn’t imagine eating this for breakfast. Starting at the bottom of the stack, it’s mashed potatoes, biscuits, lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, sage fried chicken, eggs, mozzarella cheese, and a chipotle cream sauce. Click here to see the recipe.
And it’s not a birthday without cake! If you know Robbie you know he loves root beer. So I made him a Root Beer Cake. Click here to see the recipe.
Happy Birthday Robbie!
Tags: Birthday
Here are directions for turning chicken breasts into chicken cutlets. It’s super easy!
Cut your chicken breast in half lengthwise as shown in the above picture. Place in a zip top bag and pound it out with a skillet (cast iron works best since it’s heavier).
Tags: Chicken, Chicken Breasts, chicken breasts to chicken cutlets, How to make chicken cutlets, make chicken cutlets
I made this spinach dip for a potluck lunch that I went to recently. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and there was even enough left over to make something yummy for dinner. Check back tomorrow to see what I made with the leftover spinach dip!
Ingredients:
1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 (16 ounce) Tub Sour Cream
1 (1.8 ounce) Package Dry Onion Soup Mix (Click here for homemade version)
1 (4 ounce) Can Water Chestnuts, drained and chopped
10 Ounce Package Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and drained
4 Green Onions, sliced
Combine all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
Serve with sliced bread or crackers.
Tags: dry onion soup mix, Gluten Free, Spinach, Spinach Dip
We ran out of peanut butter yesterday and Chloe wanted a peanut butter & jelly sandwich today for lunch. So I decided to make my own. I used dry roasted peanuts, which ended up tasting a little funny and way to salty. Good quality, unsalted peanuts are definitely the way to go for making your own peanut butter. Optional ingredients would include salt, honey, and a little peanut oil (to make it extra creamy and smooth).
Ingredients:
Peanuts
Grind peanuts in a food processor until creamy. This takes only a couple minutes.
If using any of the optional ingredients, add them with the peanuts and grind together.
Tags: Gluten Free, Peanut Butter, Peanuts
I made this guacamole for a potluck lunch I went to for Cinco De Mayo today. This recipe comes from Alton Brown.
Ingredients:
3 avocados
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, finely grated
Scoop the avocados out of their skin and place in a large bowl. Add the lime juice and toss to coat. Drain out the extra lime juice from the bowl and reserve.
Add the salt, cumin and cayenne pepper and mash with a potato masher. Mash to desired consistency. I like to leave it a little chunky.
Fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic and 1 Tablespoon of the reserved lime juice.
Enjoy!
Tags: Avocado, Dip, Gluten Free, Guacamole, Red Onion, Tomatoes
This salsa is amazing! I brought it to my Tuesday night Bible study instead of a salad last week. Everyone loved it and ate every last bite! This recipe came from a Sandra Lee magazine, but I did made a couple small changes.
Ingredients:
4 Avocados, chopped
3 Small Tomatoes, chopped
Juice of 1 Lemon
Handful of Cilantro, chopped
Salt & Pepper, to taste
2 Bacon Sliced, cooked and crumbled
Tortilla Chips, for serving
Gently stir together all ingredients, except for the tortilla chips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
Serve with tortilla chips.
Tags: Avocado, Bacon, Cilantro, Gluten Free, Paleo, Salsa, Tomato
Don’t have dry onion soup mix? Here is a way to make your own! I’m always using it in dinners that I make, but I don’t always have a packet on hand.
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons Beef Bouillon Granules
8 teaspoons Dried Onion Flakes
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Yield: 1 packet of dry onion soup mix
Tags: dry onion soup mix, Gluten Free