Sausage Pumpkin Cornbread Stuffing

The ingredients are a little bizarre, but this is really, really good. I look forward to making it each Thanksgiving. It's sweet. It's spicy. And very savory. I love it!

3/4 Beef Smoked Sausage

1-2 jalapeño peppers, minced (check the hotness first, each pepper varies in spice.)

2- 8oz cornbread mixes

1- 15 oz can of pumpkin

1 -14oz can of chicken broth

1 cup of dried cranberries

1 tbsp tablespoon sage

Prepare the cornbread as directed on the box. You can make it the night before and then have it ready the next day.

Chop the sausage into small-medium sized chunks. Remove seeds from the jalapeño pepper and mince in a food processor (or manually mince it with a knife). In a large skillet cook the sausage and pepper over medium heat. Slowly add the cornbread, followed by the pumpkin, broth, sage and cranberries. Stir gently until combined. For dryer stuffing, omit all or part of the broth. (I like my stuffing on the moist side, so I usually add more broth until it reaches my desired consistency.)

Thanksgiving Recipes

With Thanksgiving coming up in a few weeks, I thought it would be great to share some of our favorite holiday recipes. I have a great stuffing recipe that everyone has to try. I hope to post that recipe soon....

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

These cookies are very soft, especially if you store them in a sealed container; they get softer after a day. I actually found it in a box of my stuff that my mom had stored for me.

2 1/2 c flour 1 tsp baking soda
1 cup margarine 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 brown sugar 1 pkg (4 oz) chocolate or vanilla instant pudding
1 tsp vanilla 1 pkg (12 oz) chocolate chips
2 eggs

Preheat oven 375. Mix flour and baking soda. In separate bowl combine butter, sugars, pudding mix and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in egss. Gradually mix flour mixture in. Stir in chips {we actually only used like 1/2 bag}. (Batter will be stiff). Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-10.

Veggie Pita Pockets

Perhaps one of my favorite ways to eat my vegetables.

Pita bread

tomato

spinach

onion

green pepper

hummus

(of course you can add anything else you like, such as ham, turkey, or cheese)

Slice Pita bread in half and spread hummus inside the pita. Slice tomato, onion, and green pepper and stuff into pocket. Add spinach. Eat and enjoy.

Lemon Basil Pasta

I've made this a couple times and Michael loves it! He says that it's one of his favorite meals of all time. I think it's pretty good too. I should warn you that the lemon flavor comes out VERY strong. I was a little taken back when I first tried it. It's best when served with chicken (or some other meat) to help balance the strong lemon-y taste.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced
• 1 pound Penne Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente
• ½ sticks Butter
• 3 whole Lemons, Juiced
• ¾ cups Heavy Cream
• ¼ cups Half-and-half
• 1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• 20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

Tomato Soup

As I sit here and eat my leftover Hearty Tomato Soup, I feel the need to share the recipe with you.
Its kind of tangy, but a fun twist on the basic condensed version. Its from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

2 TBSP butter or margarine
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 c)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 c milk
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed tomato soup
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) whole tomatoes, undrained

1. Melt butter in 3-qt saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender; remove from heat.
2. Stir in paprika, basil, and cream cheese. Gradually stir in milk and soup. Beat with hand beater or wire whisk until cheese is melted and soup is smooth.
3. Stir in tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with a fork or snipping with kitchen scissors. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot.

We served ours with french bread. Mmm!

Fluff?

Bonnie, I still want the "fluff" recipe! ;)