Pumpkin Pie Bars

This is a big deviation from the past few relatively good for you meals. This is total indulgence with eggs, sugar, cake mix, the whole deal. I always loved "dump cake" when my grandma made it, and this is similar in concept but with pumpkin! Again, made for school, and all the kids really enjoyed them. They decided to put them on our "Turkey Treats" list for this year. (we make baked goods and package them up for teachers and community to order and then pass them off as their own over Thanksgiving break:)
This makes quite a few--about 26 bars.

Pumpkin Pie bars

Bottom layer:
1 can (29 oz) pumpkin
1 c milk
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
½ t ginger
½ t salt

Top layer:
1 yellow cake mix
¾ c walnuts, chopped
1 ½ sticks butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In large bowl, mix together all ingredients for the bottom layer. Spread mixture into a glass 9x13 pan.
Pat yellow cake mix over bottom layer. Spread walnuts over dry mix. Cover dry mix with melted butter.

Bake 45-55 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chili Burgers..veggie style

You probably won't believe me, but I fed veggie burgers to teenagers and they LIKED them! Some even REALLY liked them! (as in, they are planning on making them for their friends at home!) I have had them saved for a long time after seeing them on A Year in the Kitchen and finally got a chance to make them for my students during our trial of healthy recipes. The smell even drew in the pottery teacher next door, who really liked them and he even asked for the recipe later...I'd say they were a hit!

Try these if you're looking for something a little different. We put slices of pepper jack cheese, ketchup, pickle, and mustard on a whole wheat bun. I used the food processor for the onion and carrot, and had to use a little more of the oats to be able to actually form a patty, so do that if it's too mushy to form a patty.

Chili Burgers

slightly adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites
Makes 3-4 patties (hmm...I got 5 good sized patties plus one small one)

1/2 yellow onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, shredded
1 tsp. dark mexican chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 tbsp. dark brown mustard
2 tbsp. worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp. ketchup
1/2 c. quick cooking oats

Hamburger buns (light whole wheat)
Ketchup
Mustard
Pickles
Sprinkle of monterey jack cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium low. Spray with nonstick spray, saute onion, garlic and carrots for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
While veggies cook, drain beans, and add to a bowl. Mash with a potato masher.
Add mustard, worchestershire, ketchup, chili powder, cumin and oats.
Scrape veggies out of pan, add to bean mixture.
Mix burgers thoroughly, form into 3-4 patties.
Heat same skillet over medium-high. Spray with nonstick spray.
Drop patties into skillet, cook for 5-6 minutes per side.
After flipping, add cheese, cover to melt.
Serve on a bun with condiments.

OCD Thanksgiving

This (which of course is supposed to be from a friend of a coworker, etc., who knows...) is hilarious! This really sounds like the type of Thanksgiving I want to attend, how about you? See you for turkey!

**The Lisa Byron Chesterford family one is especially funny to me...contribute at an adult level!

(an email sent to family)

Re: Happy Thanksgiving!

---From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully.
If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options.
Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don't feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don't care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel - please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!
Marney

Macaroni and Cheese...with Cauliflower!

Before you click right out of this or gag, let me tell you--this is teenager approved! We are looking for some good recipes to use for our upcoming first taping of our little show (little, as in, it will only be aired on our local cable channel!! whew!). Our theme is "Fit, Fast, on a Dime" and we are supposed to make healthy spins of recipes. The kids, even the ones who claim to not like cauliflower, really enjoyed this. I really didn't even notice or see the caulfilower because we chopped it up to be as small or smaller than the elbows.

No pictures--imagine hungry teenagers devouring. That's what it would be!

Macaroni and Cheese With Cauliflower

Serves 10 generous side dishes
Hands-on Time: 15m
Total Time: 45m
Ingredients
· 12 ounces multigrain elbow macaroni
· 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
· 4 slices multigrain bread, torn
· 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
· 3 tablespoons olive oil
· kosher salt and black pepper
· 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
· 2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 ounces)
· 1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
· 1/2 cup 1 percent milk
· 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Directions
1. Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.
2. Meanwhile, pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and pulse to combine; set aside.
3. Return the pasta pot to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, just until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, milk, and mustard.
4. Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
Tip
Using extra-sharp Cheddar lets you use less cheese without giving up flavor. Tender cauliflower adds fiber and vitamin C.

I am not sure where this recipe came from, except a random piece of paper in my recipe files.

The men in my life..

are awesome!

I love getting emails like this:

Hi Cara,
I made your mexican casserole. It was great. Even better warmed up.

And that's the end of the e-mail I received from my dad. I am still holding on to a note he wrote me and put into my lunchbox in elementary on my birthday. It says:

"Hope you like your lunch. I liked it so much I ate the first one and made you another one."

(I was laughing out loud just typing that!)

And as I was walking out the door last night (to go see Wicked, which was AWESOME!! Shelby, you were right--Elphaba was amazing!)-- Norris sees the chocolate chips and decides to make chocolate chip cookies. I have never seen him make anything from scratch before, so I SO wanted to stay home and watch, but I had to get out the door. He made a batch from scratch, and even put the rest of the dough in the fridge for fresh cookies every night. Way to go!!

And can't forget this guy:

And I have lovely grandpas, and a soon to be brother in law and good guys for in laws on Norris' side. Blessed to be surrounded by good men who always make me laugh!!

Weeknight Pizza

I should call this "weekLY" pizza instead of weeknight pizza, because I have made it every week for at least the last four weeks! Norris loves it, and I feel better about it since I know what I put in it. I can put it together in less than thirty minutes, most of which are just waiting time, and bake it in 20. Put a salad on the side and you're good to go--quick weeknight dinner, a lot cheaper than take out!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 package fast rising yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (bread flour is best)
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

toppings I pretty much always use:
2% shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup or so?)
turkey pepperonis (I can normally get three pizza's worth out of the little bag)
pasta sauce (yep, the cheap stuff straight from the jar!)
mushrooms (I buy 5 from the bulk bin and it covers the whole pizza perfectly)

Dissolve yeast and sugar into water in a medium bowl. Let it stand for about 10 minutes, or until it's creamy.
Stir in flour, olive oil, and salt until smooth. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes (depending on TV commercial breaks... :) Preheat oven to 450.
Sprinkle a little cornmeal on your pizza pan and then roll out your dough. I always use a little extra flour at this point too so it doesn't stick to me. I have to press it out from the middle to get it to cover the whole pan.
Top it with whatever you want--I need to branch out here!!--and bake in the 450 oven for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Sproles Show

We had a great weekend in KC and going to the Chargers game! We got to watch Sproles, which is always fun and brought me back to college days for a minute. We tailgated with a group of 40 or so, and had a really good view from our seats, even though they were pretty far up there!

Our view (above) during the game. My view (below) during the game. My brother in law, who I almost reported via text to the rowdy fan police :)

This was pretty cool. It was military appreciation day and they actually had a group of people take their oath to start their careers in the military. I have never seen that before, and it was moving. Then a bunch of soldiers went out on the field with the flag. There were a couple of cool flyovers too.

And while we were on our looooong trek back home, my family was in Topeka celebrating Granddad's 80th birthday! Happy Birthday Granddad! (oops, sorry I outed your age..nobody would have ever guessed it though that's for sure!! :)