Quick Flatbread

Super quick and simple, this flatbread recipe will be one of those recipes you make and say WHY have I not made these before??

There are tons of uses for these – just think this:

  1. A leafy vegetable
  2. A tomato of some kind
  3. A protein of some kind
  4. Cheese of some kind
  5. Put on a flatbread, and eat!!

LOL — But really, flatbread is really incredibly versatile.  You’ll find all sorts of good uses for it.

flatbread

Quick Flatbread

3 cups flour
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all the ingredients, cutting in the shortening, and mix until combined and doughy.

Now, there are a couple of ways to do this:

  • Cut the dough into 5 equal pieces, and roll each piece into 6-8 inch circles

Or

  • Roll out the whole batch into a large rectangle.  Make a slice directly across the middle, so you have a top and bottom piece, and then cut those in 3rds, so you end up with 6 smaller squares.

Once you’ve gotten these rolled out and sized, prick the pieces with a fork — at least 7-8 times on each piece.

To cook, lightly oil a non-stick pan (Spray with Pam very lightly).  Cook over medium-high heat, and turn once.  These cook fast, so watch them carefully.  Be fully prepared to ruin the first ;)

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Happy Thanksgiving

thanksgiving06

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

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Creamy Chilled Clam Dip

I don’t really make many appetizers on Thanksgiving — whats the point with all the amazing food that is served?  But back in the “married” days, the ex’s family would pretty much eat from sunup, to sundown.

Everything you can think of was served — all sorts of pickles – sweet, and extra sour; 10-15 different types of olives; all sorts of hard aged meats, and cheeses; breads; and all sorts of savory dips.. you name it, and it was on the table.

One thing that everyone always seemed to like was a basic cream cheese based clam dip – simple and easy to put together.  You can make this up to 2 days ahead without a problem.

Doxsee Minced Clams - 6.5oz can

Doxsee Minced Clams - 6.5oz can

There are several different types of minced clams on the market, and depending upon where you live, the availability will differ.  I tend to use the brand pictured on the right – Doxsee Minced Clams, from the The Doxsee Sea Clam Co., but use what you have around.

Creamy Chilled Clam Dip

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 cans (6-1/2 ounces each) minced clams, drained
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoon chili sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese until smooth.  Add in all the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate for 4-6 hours before serving, though it tastes even better if allowed to refrigerate at least overnight.  You can, if necessary serve this right away.

Serve with crackers, or small, thin sliced breads.

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No Bake Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust

Yet another chilled recipe from me for Thanksgiving Day.  Yes.. I love chilled desserts!!!

nuts-pecans-halves-rawThis recipe is a slight adaptation from a recipe that’s been going around for years.  The traditional recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, but I always felt that was lacking something.  So, one year, I tried it with toasted pecans, and wahhlaaalaaa – it was great.  If you don’t want to use the pecan crust, try a Gingersnap or Graham cracker crust instead.

Enjoy!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust

Pecan Pie Crust (recipe below)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoons water
1 16-ounce can pumpkin

Combine the milk, egg, spices and salt.  Set aside.

In a sauce pan, sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over the water and let stand for 1 minute, then begin stiring over low heat, until the gelatin is totally dissolved – about 2-3 minutes.

Keeping the heat on low, and using a whisk, blend in the milk/spice mixture into the gelatine.  Stir until the mix is slightly thick, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat, stir in the pumpkin, mixing well.  Pour into the pecan crust and chill at least 6 hours, but overnight is best.

Garnish with extra pecans, if you haven’t eaten them all ;)

Toasted Pecan Pie Crust

2 Cups toasted pecans
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon water

Lay the pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for about 2-3 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Watch them carefully

Remove and place the pecans in a food processor and grind until fine.  Add the remaining ingredients and continue to process until the mix starts forming a ball and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

Press into a 9 inch pie pan, pressing the mix evenly across the bottom and up the sides.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

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Frozen Cranberry Cream Pie

bowl-of-cranberriesMmmmm

Dessert on Thanksgivng!!

The traditional thing is Pumpkin Pie, and I’m all for that (there’ll be an upcoming recipe for it, too), but one thing that I think always hits the spot after Thanksgiving dinner is a nice cool dessert.  The house has been heated up all day, your tummy is full of hot turkey, potatoes, yams, stuffing, and corn — and to round out dinner, a chilled dessert always seems to fit the best.  Last year I made Roosamanna Semolina Pudding, and this year it will be Cranberry Cream Pie.

You can use canned whole cranberries if that is your preference, though I usually use a homemade cranberry sauce (as is linked below).  Use what you like, and what you have though.

Enjoy!

Frozen Cranberry Cream Pie

Graham Cracker Crust (see below) (No need to bake, just refrigerate before filling)
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup Orange Cranberry Sauce (Or one can of whole berry cranberry sauce)

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.

In a second bowl, combine the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla.  Whip until thick, but not stiff peaks.  Gradually add in the cream cheese, beat until smooth and creamy.  Fold in the cranberry sauce. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the cranberry sauce for garnish.  Spoon the mixture into the graham cracker crust and freeze at least 4 hours.  Overnight is best.

To serve, remove from the freezer about 10 minutes before hand.  Top with the remaining cranberry sauce and any left over whipped cream.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until well-combined. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate or tin. For baked pies, preheat oven to 350 F and pre-bake crust for 7 to 9 minutes. Cool before filling. For no-bake refrigerator or freezer pies, no baking is necessary.

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Sausage, Mushroom & Sage Dressing

Thanksgiving dinner with Turkey just isn’t quite complete without “stuffing”, or dressing.  This recipe is one I kind of made up really quick when I was told I was making the dressing about an hour before Thanksgiving dinner was to start.  I thought about what my mother had done, and then the flavors of dressings that I have always liked.  Sausage stuffing has always been something I just loved, and it was always liked by everyone, so, I went to the refrigerator, grabbed what I had, and started in. 

I have my notes from the day here beside me now – the only thing that is “exact” measurement was the sausage – everything else was an estimate.  I later made this recipe again, being much more careful about measurements, and the note taking. 

One thing I will say about this recipe —  it goes fast, and I do mean that.  Super fast.  Make extra if you want leftovers.  This recipe should serve 6-8 easily.

 

Sage

Sausage, Mushroom & Sage Dressing

1/2 pound Italian sausage
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 pound mushrooms – sliced
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 medium onion – chopped
salt and pepper to taste
6-7 cups dry bread, cubed
1/2 teaspoon dried sage or 1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced fine
2 1/2 –3 cups chicken stock
drippings from the turkey

In a frying pan, brown the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.  Once the sausage has cooked, remove the sausage and set aside. Drain away the grease from the frying pan, leaving a bit left in the pan.  Add the butter, and melt it.  Add in the onion, celery and mushrooms and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is clear. Add in the sage, and then salt and pepper.  Add the sausage back in, add the cubed bread, and enough of the stock to moisten the bread. 

Place in a greased baking dish.  2 quart casserole dish is best, but a 9×13 cake pan will work fine, too. Cover and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.  Add in a few teaspoons of drippings from the turkey once or twice, just to give that extra depth of flavor.  Uncover and bake about 10 more minutes.

Notes:

  • If the Italian sausage you get is in casings, just remove it and break it up as much as possible.  Well.. cut it into tiny pieces, as it is impossible to actually “break” up.
  • Mix up the sausage – use sage sausage, or your favorite sausage
  • I don’t really like poultry seasoning, which is why you see drippings from the turkey added into this recipe, but if you do, add in about 1 teaspoon when you mix in the sausage to the onion-mushroom-celery mixture.
  • Try other additions:  raisins, currents, any kind of good fresh mushrooms, water chestnuts
  • One final note – you can easily double the amount of sausage in this recipe, and it’ll be just as fantastic (if not better – but then again, you all know I love sausage!! :D )
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