"Turkey" Day

I'm doing nearly all of my cooking tonight, and I'm wondering....what's cooking in your kitchen this Thanksgiving Holiday?

We are having Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws this year, and they've decided to have ham instead of turkey. I'm not a huge turkey lover so that's ok with me.

Ever since the first holiday meal I had with my in-laws, I learned to bring several dishes to supplement the dinner that they cook.

I am, obviously, from the South.

They are from England. The food is different, and so is the quantity.

The first time I had a holiday meal with them, I looked around and literally thought, "where's the rest of the food?" It just looked like any ordinary dinner for a small family. The food was okay....some of it anyway (ok, the mashed parsnips were freaking nauseating). But I was glad we were going to my parents' afterward! I couldn't wait to dig in to the real food! I don't know how John survived all these years without me; the man LOVES food.

Anyway, this year I am bringing:

chicken & dumplings
peanut butter cookies w/ hershey kisses on top
mashed potatoes & gravy (John's request, I don't think it really 'goes' with ham, but whatever)
Fordhook lima beans
deviled eggs
sweet tea
and our traditional turkey bread that I get from Publix every year. We may not have turkey, but we will have turkey bread!!

And Shelbie is making Monkey Bread.

So, I'm making sure our Thanksgiving Dinner is Off the Chain!

Hope yours is too.....what's cooking at your house?

Monkey Bread

I mentioned on my main blog, Putting the Fun in DysFUNctional, that my daughter Shelbie made Monkey Bread for our church potluck lunch this past Sunday.
My friend Unknown Mami was alarmed, and said she refused to eat bread made with monkeys!
To which I replied, Don't knock it till ya try it!
So I thought I'd share the recipe here on my regretfully neglected food blog.
{I'm on a mission to get all of my blogs going strong again!}

Now I promise, no monkeys are harmed in the making of this monkey bread. In fact, I have no earthly idea how they came up with the name Monkey Bread, but who am I to question?
I first learned about monkey bread from my late-ex-MIL. That is, my ex-husband's late mother. She used to make it for her kids, and she passed the instructions on to me. I haven't made it in ages, but they make it at the ex's house often, and my teenage daughter has learned how to make it. The recipe is actually on the back of the Pillsbury biscuit package, and that's the one I'm going to share here, because we don't really use a recipe.

Monkey Bread

3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup LIGHT brown sugar

NOTE: The recipe calls for this to be made in a Bundt cake pan. However, I don't have one and have never made it that way. We just bake them on cookie sheets individually (not piled up). This also reduces the cook time a lot, you just bake them for about 10 minutes like you would bake biscuits normally.

1. Grease or spray 12 cup Bundt cake pan (or cookie sheets).
2. Mix sugar & cinnamon in 1-gallon bag. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Shake quarters in bag to coat; place in pan. Mix butter & brown sugar; pour over biscuit pieces (we just spoon it over them).
3. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes (if using Bundt pan); 10 minutes if using cookie sheets, or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. If using Bundt pan, turn upside down. Cookie sheets, just remove with a spatula & pile them up on a plate.

Serve warm. It's great for breakfast or a dessert. YUM!

Southwestern Pasta

I snagged this recipe from One Starry Night last week (one of the most beautiful blogs in the blogosphere, truly). I made it for dinner tonight. As promised, it was easy and delicious!
I did add chicken since it was our main dish, however it will definitely be a new Meatless Monday dish as well! I also eliminated avocado because I no likee. It's a nice flexible recipe, you can alter it to your tastes.
Its rating: Off the Chain!

Southwestern Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet onion, large dice
• 1 large red bell pepper, large dice
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained (15oz generally)
• 3 ripe avocados, diced
• 1 bag of frozen corn (1lb)
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 TBSP cumin
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, (28oz)
• 1 box of dried penne (1lb)
• 1 block of sharp cheddar cheese (8oz, eliminate this to make the dish vegan!), cubed
• 4 limes
• 1 TBSP oil (I personally use olive but vegetable is fine)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Start by boiling the water for the pasta, make sure you salt your water VERY well as this is your only chance to really season the pasta. Once your water is boiling like crazy, drop your pasta in, give it a stir, and cook for 8-10min until it’s done but not mushy, still has some texture to it.

In a separate skillet, add the oil, cumin, and the frozen corn. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until the corn is soft and slightly caramelized.

In a large pot, add the beans, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, avocado, garlic, corn/cumin mixture, and diced tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 5-10 minutes, just to heat through.

Dump the cooked pasta and vegetable mixture into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cubed cheese, the juice of the 4 limes, and any additional salt/pepper that it may need.