[chocomouse]

Dinner was a great hit even if the baking today was a disaster! I tried a new recipe "Pepperoni Pizza Spaghetti Squash (can't remember where I got it). I cut the spaghetti squash in half, scooped out the seeds, and baked for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I browned ground hot Italian sausage (subbed for the pepperoni), drained and then added chopped onions, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, half a small jar of pizza sauce. I scraped the squash halves to separate the strings, filled them with the sausage mixture, and topped with shredded cheddar and mozzarella. Then back into the over til the cheese melted. Delicious! It was the last of the spaghetti squash from the garden.... And it was the first recipe I've tried with spaghetti squash that I have liked!

[chocomouse]

My recent baking experiences have been a disaster!! The Pecan Pie Bars look terrible; the shortbread type crust is too hard and the filling too soft and they don't cut neatly. But they taste good. The lemon coffee cake with lemon streusel fell in the middle and is very crumbly - this never happened previously; but it tastes delicious. Even the no-bake Buckeye Bars are a failure - the peanut butter-graham cracker base is runny and not setting up even when chilled in the refrigerator. But they do taste like a Reese's! Normally, I'm just baking for my husband and me, so looks don't matter, as long as it tastes good. But I'm trying to make gifts and cookie trays! Oh well. So the two double batches of Chex Mix, also gifts, turned out great! How can you go wrong with Chex Mix??!!

[chocomouse]

I also critique a recipe in the margins, and write "DO NOT MAKE AGAIN" on quite a few. I sometimes add the name of a similar recipe and say "TRY THIS: " I file the recipes to avoid with the ones I do like, just so I'll not "find" that recipe again and decide to try it again. Since I retired, about 18 months ago, I've been working on actually making a lot of recipes, like Baker Aunt, but my stacks of recipes to try don't seem to be getting any shorter.

[chocomouse]

I made chewy molasses cookies - again. I made them a few weeks ago and put them in the freezer for our Christmas cookie tray, but somebody ate them! So today I just scooped them onto a rimmed baking sheet and put them into the freezer for a few hours, then bagged them in a zip lock. I don't know anyone who eats frozen cookie dough!!

[chocomouse]

Last night we had ribs and potatoes roasted on the grill, with asparagus frozen from our garden last spring. Tonight, we have 2 inches (so far) of snow on our deck -- no grilling here. So we had turkey soup with lots of veggies added and Deli Rye Rolls.

[chocomouse]

My very favorite roasted veggie pan includes: sweet potato, white potato, winter squash (any kind), carrots, parsnips, onions (and I may be missing something; turnip anyone? not at my house!). They are all cut into about the same size pieces, about 1/2" to 1", and in about equal proportions. Some veggies may be a bit softer than others, but not much, hardly noticeable. I just drizzle with olive oil and toss with sea salt. I generally don't use any seasonings, perhaps a fresh rosemary or thyme sprig, preferring to let the flavor of each vegetable shine. I have frozen the leftovers and reheated briefly in a hot oven - not as good as fresh, but quick and easy.

[chocomouse]

Thank you for letting us know Jan, and I am so sorry. I'm hoping she will be able to return to our kitchen soon.

[chocomouse]

Earlier this week I made Apple Cinnamon Buns which were excellent. Next time I will shape it into 20 buns instead of 12; they were just too big. Yesterday I made the "Everything-Cheddar Filled Braid" from KAF's latest catalogue. If I make them again, I will make significant modifications. The cheese filling is excellent, but there is not enough of it in proportion to the amount of dough. You can see that in their photograph that accompanies the recipe. The dough was very easy to work with, but not especially tasty. It needs to have garlic, or onion, or both added during the mixing. It might work out best to use the filling as a spreadable butter that you put on a bun or biscuit. Today I made two loaves of our everyday sandwich bread, a Buttermilk Oatmeal made with half AP and half WW flour. Next up, I need to start mixing a variety of refrigerator cookie doughs, which will take me through the holidays and hopefully into the new year.

[chocomouse]

It's just the two of us this year, too, after 30 years of serving about 30 guests! I'm roasting a turkey breast, and have Pepperidge Farm dressing (in the blue bag!! Herbed!! the ONLY kind to have!) and added celery and onion. We have mashed buttercup squash and baked potatoes from the garden. I've never done a breast before, and don't know if I'll get enough drippings for gravy, but will try, so I've also bought a jar of Heinze gravy. I'll have cranberry sauce out of a can, and my husband will have pecan pie. This is about half the items I usually make No cheeseball, rolls, cole slaw, fruit salad, yams, apple or raspberry pie, or cream pie and it feels wonderful, so relaxed. I had major surgery last Thursday and am so thankful to be home with my husband! Life is good.

[chocomouse]

I have a celery vase too! I remember my mother putting celery in her's for special meals, but I've never used mine. Every summer I visit Michigan, west of Kalamazoo, and I've seen and smelled the celery fields there. I've tried growing it in my garden, but I don't have "wetlands" and didn't water it nearly enough, so it was tough and stringy. But it was a fun experiment. Thanks for sharing that article, Baker Aunt.

[chocomouse]

This morning I made another batch of Deli Rye Rolls, and tried my seed experiment. I found that an egg wash is the most effective way to make the seeds stick to the buns. I suspected that, and Kid Pizza confirmed it a while back. I'm about to make a pie crust now, and I'll probably run out of energy and just refrigerate the dough overnight and fill it tomorrow.

[chocomouse]

Rascals, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. I shall be thinking of you!

[chocomouse]

That's very interesting navlys, and yes, you do hear me thinking about not adding corn syrup to hamburgers! But, maybe, for a fresh, juicy burger. I have a pot of creamy tomato soup on the stove for tonight, recipe is from the Watts Team Room, via jej on the old old BC. It has been my favorite tomato soup for years. I've been away, and then had a rotten cold which still lingers, so I've not done much cooking lately. We've mostly been eating soups and casseroles from the freezer. We've enjoyed a new recipe, a macaroni-hamburger soup that is OK. Last night we had salmon on the grill, a spring greens salad, and herbed rice, which was a nice change. No grilling for a few days - the temp is supposed to drop drastically overnight.

[chocomouse]

I used five-gallon pails 3/4 filled with water, and tossed in some sunflower seeds to tempt the chipmunks. My grand-daughter, about eight at the time, said, "Oh, I didn't know chipmunks could swim." They can't! Nor can they climb up the slippery sides of the pail. For mice, we've been baiting the traps with peanut butter mixed with bird seed, and it still seems to be working. But most effective on all those little critters is the cat.

[chocomouse]

I made a cheesecake with a layer of fresh raspberries and chocolate drizzle between the two layers of cheesecake. It was delicious, although next time I will use more raspberries. Best of all -- the top did not crack!! Today I baked two loaves of spelt sandwich bread and a tea loaf pan of lemon zuchinni bread. I forgot to put the lemon streusel on the top, but that's OK, it's in the freezer for next time. Tomorrow I'm planning to make the Deli Rye rolls with seeds and will report back here with the results of the seeding trials.

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