Yummy Twist on Lemon Poppyseed

Ok, so I needed to make a dessert last night at the last minute. We had been invited to some friends for dinner. I wanted to make a Lemon Poppyseed cake, but I did not have lemon pudding. So I tried white chocolate pudding and I added almond and orange extract to the glaze for flavor. It was yumm-o. I am so excited that I was able to experiment and have it turn out so great. Try it, its yummy.

1 pkg yellow cake mix (golden butter recipe from Duncan Hines)
1 pkg instant white chocolate pudding
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
4 Tbsp. poppyseed

Glaze:
milk
powder sugar
almond extract
orange extract

Thanksgiving Recipes

Mom's Stuffing
Saute in a cube of butter:
1 onion
4-5 celery stalks
one container of sliced mushrooms (optional)
In another frying pan, cook up one package of sausage

In a large bowl mix 1 large bag pre-made stuffing breadcrumbs (no flavor added)
Add celery and onions and sausage. Stir together with 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans or pecan halves (I like them in bigger pieces)
Pour one can of chicken stock and more melted butter if it looks dry Season with salt and pepper and sage. Stir all together, taste it to make sure the seasoning is correct.
Bake it at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
(Call me if you have questions)

Apple Pie
You need 2 pie crusts (I use Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe)
In a bowl mix about 8-10 peeled and sliced apples ( I like to use Granny Smith)
add 1/4 cup flour 1/2 -3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1/2 cube melted butter, mix it well so everything is combined. Dump it into the pie shell and cover it with second pie crust. Make sure you vent it. Brush the top crust with 1 beaten egg and 2 Tbs, milk. Bake for about 45 minutes at 375 or until crust is golden brown. Check on it throughout the baking time, you may need to cover the edges with foil.

There are also some good recipes on foodtv.com that may explain things better. I don't really follow a recipe for apple pie so I am kind of guessing on this.

Cranberry Sauce
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 whole orange peel and all
1 whole apple (take out the seeds)
1 cup sugar
Blend in a food processor until it is the right consistency

Gaucamole

3-4 ripe avocados
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream

Mash the avocados with a fork pour juice over them and add the rest of the ingredients. I do a lot of add a little, taste it and add what I think it is missing, so play around with it. The best way to tell is to taste.

Recipe Help!

I know, its a stretch for me to ask for help here, since I never contribute. But that's why I ask for help, I really don't have much to contribute when it comes to cooking. I am looking for really great recipes for stuffing and apple pie. That is my job for Thanksgiving. We are going over to our friends house. I will miss you all. Is everyone going to mom's?

Chicken Taco Rice

1 lb. chicken- I like to use chicken tenders, they are the easiest to work with
2 Tb. oil
1 can chicken broth
1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning- mild
1- 12 oz. can drained corn
1 med. red pepper- sliced in strips
1 1/2 cup minute rice
1 cup shredded cheese
1 bag tortilla chips
some sour cream
Some guacamole

Sautee chicken in oil in a big skillet (big enough to hold all of these ingredients). When chicken is done, in skillet, just break into bite-ish size pieces with forks. Add broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 5 minutes. Add drained corn and sliced pepper. Bring to a full boil. Stir in uncooked rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover again and let stand for just a little while. Serve with chips, sour cream and guacamole. This is even better hours after you make it so you can make it one night have it the next day or make it in the morning and have it that night. Obviously heat it up if you don't eat it right away. Yummy!!!

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

-1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
-4 eggs
-1 cup vegetable oil
-2/3 cup water
-3 cups white sugar
-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 loaf pans
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in preheated oven.

I found this recipe on another blog and decided to make it today for some friends. Wow! It's good. Definitely a crowd-pleaser.

Pumpkin Cookies

Rachel asked me for a good pumpkin cookie recipe and so I gave her one that I had, but since then I found this one on a recipe blog.
They are pretty good. Here is the recipe.