Thanksgiving Staples

So we all know it isn't Thanksgiving without the turkey, but that goes for pecan pie and green bean casserole too!!!

Pecan Pie, Karo Syrup
1 cup Karo Light corn syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsbp. butter, melted
1tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350. Stir the first 5 ingredients thoroughly using a spoon. Mix in pecans. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, cool for 2 hours. Pie is done with center springs back when tapped.

Green Bean Casserole, Campbells Soup

2 cans Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
8 cups cooked green beans ( I used french cut)
2 2/3 cups French's fried onions

Stir soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, beans, and 1 1/3 cups onions in 3 qt. casserole.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, stir. Top with remaining onions. Bake for 5 minutes more.

White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

I had just enough pumpkin leftover for these cookies!! Pretty much the same idea as the bars, but in a yummy cookie!!!

From jennyscooking.blogspot.com

1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup white chocolate chips

Cream the margarine and sugar together with a hand mixer until light and fluffly.
Beat in the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Add teh dry ingredients to the wet ones an dmixt togher well. Fold in the chips.
Drop teaspoons of the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned

Pumpkin Spice Bars

Just in time for Thanksgiving!! These bars turned out so moist! The only problem was the white chocolate, it would not squeeze out properly and ended up becoming globs, as seen above. Luckily the taste is wonderful!

Pumpkin Spice Bars from 52 Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons crystallized ginger (finely chopped)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)

1/2 cup cooking oil

1/2 cup white chocolate ( I used morsels)

1 teaspoon shortening

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs sllightly. Stir in the pumpkin and oil. Stir into the flour mixture.

Spread the batter into an ungreased baking pan. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 15-20 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack.

For the topping, in a small, heavy duty plastic bag combine the white chocolate and shortening. Seal the bag just above the ingredients, then set the sealed bag in a bowl of warm water utnil the contents are melted. Gently knead them together. Snip 1/4 inch from one corner of the bag. Squeeze from teh bag over the bars in a crisscross design. Cut before the topping is completely set.

Crunchy herbed chicken

This wasn't as crunchy as the name would suggest, but it was still pretty good!

From Real Simple

4 slices white bread, toasted ( I ony used 3 and still had leftover bread crumbs)

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (I had dried and didn't use that much, just dumped some in until it looked right)

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup Dijon mustand

4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I used tenders because that's what we like)

Heat oven to 400. In a food processor, pulse the bread, parsley, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper until coarse crumbs form. Add the oil and pulse to combine. Transfer to a plate

Spread the mustard over the chicken and dip the pieces in the bread crumb mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere

Place on a baking sheet and bake until golden and cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes

My helpers!!!

Thanksgiving/Fall Cake

The only cake decorating class I have ever taken is staring up at the counter while my mom make my birthday cake. I am just one of those people that decides to do something and I do it. So I did some research online, watched cake shows and voila I made a cake from scratch!!!

Madeira Sponge Cake From Debbie Brown's Hot Cakes

1 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cup Caster sugar

7 large eggs

3 1/2 cup self-raising flour

1 2/3 cup plain flour

Preheat oven to 325

Sift the self-raising and plain flours together in a bowl

Soften the butter and place in a bowl with the caster sugar, beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy

Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time with a sponnful of the flour, beating well after each addition. Add a few drops of vanilla

Using a spatula, fold the remaining flour into the mixture

Spoon the mixture into the tine, then make a dip in the top with the back of a spoon

Bake for an hour and a half or until a skewer intered in the center comes out clean

I used the Wilton Buttercream to do the crum coat

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cupsconfectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons milk

In a large bowl cream shortening and butter with electric mixer

add vanilla

Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beathing well on medium speed, scrape sides and bottom of bowl often

When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry, add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy

For my first time using fondant, I think I did pretty well. I liked using it, it is really easy, but it smells and does not taste good. I added some vanilla to it to help with that, but store bought fondant is not for taste. Next time I will try using marshmellow fondant to see if the taste is any better. So here it is the debut of my first cake...drum roll please....(hey I think it at least looks better than some of those store bought cakes...)