It’s a beautiful Fall day out there, high predicted of 71 degrees F. YAY! Sun is shining, light breeze – later this afternoon I will be knitting in a park with my ladies. We’re all trying to squeeze out the last of the warm weather. I did visit Panera Bread Tuesday and now we are going BACK there on a weekly basis (instead of Zoom meetings – YES!!!). Come cold weather we will only have Tues. night Panera and Weds. morning Library knit – that’s it. (Kinda got spoiled with the 4-day knit schedule we have now!)
This past two days found me kind of ‘out of my normal’ – I was needed to monitor my 4 yr old grandson’s VIRTUAL pre-school class. Apparently one of the kids ended up with Covid so the teachers quickly got Zoom together & they did virtual school Mon-Thurs. My son & his girlfriend work, the other grandparents are kind of ‘computer lacking’ so that left me. I had forgotten how LOUD 14 little kids can be! Even with the teacher on line, it was very hard to hear what the teacher was saying! CRAZY! We survived (luckily Mom is off today so I’m off the hook). Can I say they actually got some ‘learning’ done? Well – sort of: they drew, played with Playdoh & blunt scissors, will be making a collage today, played with little plastic ‘counting bears’ and heard 2 books read each day. Hopefully – if all goes well, they will be back at real school come Monday! (WHEW! You don’t know how far you’ll be ‘pulled out of your norm’ until you are faced with that kind of a challenge.)
Apple Cider Donut Cake
Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix (poster used
Betty Crocker Yellow Super Moist)
3/4 C. apple cider (not apple juice)
1/4 C. water, room temp.*
1/2 C. apple sauce
3 large eggs, room temp.
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (more if you want)
1 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
2 t. cinnamon (or more, if you want)
1/4 C. sugar
—-
1/4 C. melted butter
Dipping Glaze:
1 C. powdered sugar
1/4 C. apple cider (not juice)
=
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
Spray & flour a Bundt pan
In large bowl using elec. mixer, eat
dry cake mix, apple cider, apple sauce,
water & eggs. Add cinnamon, brown sugar
& vanilla – pour into prepared pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes (test using a toothpick)
Remove from oven & cool on wire rack for
20 minutes. (prepare glaze while cake cooks)
Dipping Glaze:
While cake is cooking, prepare glaze. In
small bowl whisk sugar & apple cider.
Cinnamon Topping:
In a small bowl mix cinnamon & sugar. When
cake has cooled, brush entire surface of cake
with melted butter & let it stand 1 minute.
(you want it slightly wet so it holds the sugar
but not so much that it absorbs it into the
cake.) Rub cinn/sugar mixture
on cake until evenly coated.
Serve with Apple Cider Glaze for dipping (OR)
drizzle glaze on top of cake.
Serves 12
*If you want a stronger apple cider taste, omit
the water & use 1 C. apple cider
(recipe: princesspinkygirl.com)
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Spicy Velveeta Spinach Dip
1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1 lb (16 oz) Velveeta cheese, cut into
1/2-inch cubes
1 (10 oz) can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes &
green chiles, drained
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, cubed
=
Dippers:
cut up fresh vegetables
tortilla chips
=
Place frozen spinach in a large microwaveable
bowl – microwave on High 5 minutes.
Drain any liquid; add remaining ingredients
& mix well.
Microwave 5 minutes until Velveeta is completely
melted & mixture is well blended, stirring after
3 minutes. Makes 38 servings
NOTE: If you would like a bit more heat, use
Ro*Tel Hot diced tomatoes & green chiles
and Jalapeno Velveeta
Hot dips should be discarded after sitting
at room temperature for 2 hours or longer
(recipe: myfoodandfamily.com)
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Garlicky Parmesan Zucchini Bake
4 medium zucchini, chopped into
1-inch pieces
1.5 T. olive (or avocado) oil
1 1/2 C. mixed cherry tomatoes, whole
3-4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C. fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded
1.5 tsp. dry Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp. sea salt (to taste)
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 C. fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
=
Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
In large bowl stir chopped zucchini with
tomatoes, oil, garlic, Parm. & Ital. seasonings.
Season with salt/pepper then stir to combine.
Transfer to a baking dish & bake 25 minutes.
Garnish with fresh parsley. Serves 4
(recipe: cleanfoodcrush.com)
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Bacon Cornbread Salad
1 pan pre-made cornbread (with about
1/2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese added to
mixture). Cooled & torn into bite-sized pieces
1 C. Cheddar cheese, shredded (reserve
a little for garnish)
1/2 C. red onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, seeded/diced
2 C. tomatoes, chopped
1 C. mayonnaise*
4 slices cooked/crumbled bacon (reserve
a little bacon for garnish)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 C. celery, diced
=
In a large bowl combine cooked/cooled
cornbread pieces with remaining ingredients –
mix well. Top with reserved cheese & bacon.
Cover & refrigerate. Serves 12
*You can substitute a little less than 1 C.
plain Greek yogurt & 1 T. mayonnaise
to lighten dressing
(recipe: thebutteredhome.com)
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Tomato-Basil Baked Chicken
(marinade: 30 minutes or overnight,
if preparing ahead)
Chicken:
3 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts,
(4 regular or 3 large – cut in half
lengthwise)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Tomatoes:
about 4 C. (24 oz)cherry tomatoes (can
also use larger tomatoes – just quarter
them roughly the same size as cherry)*
2 T. olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. chopped fresh basil
1 T. honey
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
Topping:
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
2-3 T. chopped fresh basil
salt/black pepper, to taste
=
In a large ziplock bag (or bowl) mix chicken &
chicken ingredients. Marinate in fridge at
least 30 minutes (or overnight if preparing
ahead).
Preheat oven 425 degrees F.
Pour 2 T. olive oil in bottom of a 9 X 13″ baking
pan. Place cherry tomato ingredients in bottom
of dish & toss to combine. Lay chicken across
the bed of tomatoes.
Top chicken with shredded mozz. cheese &
season with salt/black pepper. Top cheese with
thyme sprigs.
Bake 35-38 minutes (until the internal temp.
of chicken reaches 165 degrees F.)
Once chicken is cooked through, remove from oven
& top with fresh sliced basil before serving.
Serves 6
*You can use canned tomatoes – simply substitute
an equal amount of diced or even crushed tomatoes.
Stir tomato ingredients in with canned tomatoes (olive
oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, basil, garlic powder & thyme).
Spread on bottom of baking dish before continuing on
to next step.
(recipe: momontimeout.com)
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Crockpot Pork Chops & Stuffing
1 1/2 lb. pork chops
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (6 oz) box Stove Top stuffing mix
2 C. chicken broth (if you like drier
stuffing, reduce broth to 1 1/2 C.)
=
In a bowl mix stuffing & broth. Place
chops in crockpot & pour soup over top-
spread evenly. Once stuffing has
absorbed all the broth, pour evenly
on top of chops. Cover & cook on
Low 4-6 hours.
Serves 4
(recipe: recipesthatcrock.com)
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Black Beans & Butternut Squash
5 C. butternut squash, cubed
2 T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
Vegetable Mixture:
1/2 onion, chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded/chopped
into cubes
1 red bell pepper, seeded/chopped
into cubes
1 tsp. cumin (or more, if desired)
1 tsp. chili powder (or more, if desired)
1 (8 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained/
rinsed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained/rinsed
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste
=
Other ingredients for casserole:
1 C. salsa
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 1/2 C. sour cream
1 C. enchilada sauce
1 3/4 C. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
=
How to roast butternut squash:
Preheat oven 375 degrees
Line a rimmed baking sheet with
foil & grease with 1 T. olive oil.
Peel squash & sliced into 3/4 inch
cubes. (you will only need about half
of a medium sized squash). Place cubes
in a large bowl & toss with 2 T. olive oil –
generously sprinkle with salt & place
on prepared pan. Roast about 30
minutes, until soft. Flip cubes over
midway through baking. Let cool
slightly. (see note below on how to roast
vegetables on stove top).
(poster used casserole dish 11″ long X
8 1/2 ” wide/3 inches deep)
=
Place 1 C. salsa in bottom of dish – spread
to coat bottom evenly.
Top with 4 tortillas, overlapping to cover the
bottom of the dish. Spread 1/3rd of vegetable
mixture over tortillas & top with 1/2 C. sour
cream, dropping in small dollops all over then
carefully spreading evenly over veggies. Pour 1/3
C. enchilada sauce evenly all over, spreading
sour cream evenly over all – sprinkle with 1/2 C.
Mozz. cheese. Repeat layer 2 more times (total
3 layers). On final layer add extra cheese.
Cover with foil &
Bake 25 minutes, covered. Remove foil, bake
another 10 minutes, uncovered.
Serves 8
How to Roast Vegetables on Stove Top:
In large skillet over medium-high heat,
heat 1 T. olive oil. Add chopped onion,
chopped green & red bell peppers,
1 tsp. cumin & 1 tsp. chili powder –
roast about 1 minute until charred just
a bit. Add corn, black beans & butternut
squash. Season with 1/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp
salt – taste & add more salt, if desired.
Add more chili powder or cumin, if
desired.
(recipe: juliasalbum.com)
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No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake
(overnight recipe)
1 (3.4 oz) box vanilla instant pudding
& pie filling
2 C. milk
8 oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed
1 (14 oz) box chocolate graham crackers
Chocolate Frosting
1/4 C. milk
1/2 C. sugar
1/3 C. cocoa (sifted)
2 T. butter, softened
(optional: kosher salt – garnish)
–
In bowl whisk pudding mix & milk
until smooth; let set 5 minutes then
gently fold in Cool Whip. In food
processor pulse 1 sleeve graham
crackers into crumbs (reserve 2 T.
for garnish). In a 10.5 X 7″ baking
dish line bottom with a single layer
of graham crackers. Pour half of
filling over crackers & spread evenly.
Make a second layer using graham
crackers & pour remaining filling
on top & smooth. Sprinkle crumbled
graham cracker crumbs over entire
surface & refrigerate while preparing
frosting.
Frosting:
In small saucepan over medium heat,
whisk milk until warmed through; add
sugar & cocoa – heat & whisk until a
gentle boil occurs; remove from heat.
Whisk in butter until smooth then
gently pour over cake & spread evenly
to cover surface. Garnish surface with
either graham cracker crumbs or kosher
salt. Cover & refrigerate overnight. Serve
chilled. Serves 8
(recipe: amandascookin.com)
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Managed to get our grocery shopping done and the laundry is
slowly being ‘tackled’. It’s been a really crazy/unpredictable week –
I’m SO glad that (so far) I only have the laundry to finish then go
knit in the park 4-7 p.m. with my ladies! This Saturday is our group’s
Yarn Swap – what that means is: you bring any knit/crochet related
items you don’t want (yarn/needles/hooks/books, etc.) and then we
put all of it on a big table – If you see something you want, you take it!
Everyone usually says: “I don’t really NEED this, but . . . ” to which we
all usually yell: “TAKE IT!!! You KNOW you want it!” Whatever is left
over afterwards will be divided up between a few places that either
knit/crochet for charity or teach young people to knit/crochet so none
of it is wasted. The ladies LOVE this project (so do I) and I usually come
home with more yarn than I need BUT will probably find some purpose
for. Right now I’m working on just ONE knit baby blanket (white with
a pink/green/white kind of ruffle between white sections), a scarf to be
donated to the needy, a mans hat (needy) and more baby booties. I
messaged the lady in charge of the organization that collects booties to
go with their handmade baby burial packages, to see exactly where she
wants me to mail them this time. I should have about 30 pairs (a friend
also has some to add to the package). This week has been so mixed up –
I was going to drive the other baby blankets to the pregnancy center on
Tuesday UNTIL getting the call to do Zoom preschool with my grandson.
Oh well – there’s always next Tuesday . . .
Hope your week is going well for you;
Hugs;
Pammie