Is it Fall yet??

Fall happens to be my most favorite time of year when it comes to cooking, baking and eating. The chill in the air, the smells from my Grandma’s kitchen used to intoxicate me. Those warm, homey kitchen smells come from my house now!  I have learned a lot about preparing food from my Gram, she at one time worked 40 plus hours a week as a budget analyst for Weber Aircraft and would come home, start the laundry and cook a full course meal for the family.  She was wonder woman I swear! These days I don’t get to do much cooking because of my crazy work/school schedule and I miss it!  I will however be MAKING time to cook/bake once the temperatures drop and I can run the oven without cooking my roomies!

I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving lately, seeing as I have so much to be thankful for these days.  I thought this would be a good time to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and turkey tips!

The Best Stuffing Ever!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 pound mushrooms, rinsed, ends trimmed, and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 onions (3/4 lb. total), chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• About 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 loaf (1 lb.) sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-in. cubes
• 2 jars (6 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves or 3/4 tsp. crumbled dried rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg

Preparation

• 1. In a 12-in. frying pan over high heat, cook mushrooms, butter, onions, celery, and garlic, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Pour into a large bowl. Add a bit of broth to pan and stir to scrape up browned bits. Add to bowl.
• 2. Pour 2 cups broth into bowl and add bread, artichoke hearts, parmesan, poultry seasoning, and rosemary; mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make a well in stuffing. Add egg and beat with a fork to blend; mix egg with stuffing.
• 3. Preheat oven to 325° to 350° (use temperature turkey requires; see Note below). Spoon stuffing into a shallow 3-qt. (9- by 13-in.) casserole. For moist stuffing, cover with foil; for crusty stuffing, do not cover. Bake until hot (at least 150° in center) or lightly browned, about 50 minutes.
• Make ahead: Up to 1 day ahead, make stuffing, put in casserole, cover, and chill. Allow about 1 hour to bake.
• Note: For turkeys 10-13 lbs., oven/bbq temperature should be 350°; for turkeys 14 lbs. and over, oven/bbq temperature should be 325°.

My Gram’s Persimmon Cookie Recipe

I’ve never shared this, enjoy! I do every year.

Ingredients

·         1 cup Pulp (persimmon)

·         1 egg beaten

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 tsp. Baking soda

·         1 cup nuts (gram uses walnuts, I use pecans)

·         1 cup raisins (or not, if you don’t dig  em)

·         1 cup choc. Chips

·         ½ cup spry (lol Crisco)

·         2 cups flour

·         ½ tsp. Cloves

·         ½ tsp. Cinnamon

·         ½ tsp. Nutmeg

Prep:

Cream (blend with pastry cutter) sugar and spry, add soda in beaten egg. Mix in pulp. Add sifted flour with spices-little at a time.  Mix in nuts, raisins and choc chips. Drop on cookie sheet.

Bake:

350 15-17 minutes

Seasonal, persimmons are available oct-dec         

I will definitely be sharing more recipes as the fall season approaches and I’ll share any new recipes I try that work out well ;) 

Now, for the turkey tips…

Use a turkey bag, it will be the moistest turkey ever!

Use lots and lots of butter, hey its thanksgiving, live a little! Garlic, onion, poultry seasonings (fresh), salt, pepper