Category: Recipe of the Week

Reader Terry kindly sent us this recipe of home-made pumpkin pie. Ingredients A 9-inch diameter (or larger) pumpkin Enough pastry dough for a single-crust pie (9 inch diameter) 2 large eggs 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 cup milk Whipped cream (optional) Directions Thorough wash exterior of pumpkin, and rinse. Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds and “strings”. Place in a large microwave-safe dish with the cut side facing down. Add water, 1 inch deep. Cover and cook in …

Reader R.R.. kindly sent us this recipe for iced pumpkin cake bars with a cream cheese icing. Cake Bar Ingredients 4 large eggs, warmed to room temperature 1-2/3 cups granulated white sugar 1 cup of vegetable oil 16 ounces (one can) of solid-pack cooked pumpkin 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon of baking soda Icing Ingredients 6 ounces of cream cheese, softened 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup butter, room temperature softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk Cake Bar Making Directions Pre-heat oven to 350° …

Reader K.M. kindly sent us a recipe for a Thanksgiving sausage-apple-walnut stuffing. This can be cooked entirely as a side dish, or stuffed in your turkey, or both.  If cooked inside the turkey, then the sausage and onions must be sautéed, first. Note: If baked as a side dish, then this should be started just 90 to 120 minutes before the expected serving time for your turkey. Ingredients 3/4 lb. mild ground sausage. 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and chopped 2 medium apples, cored and chopped 1 c. celery, chopped. 2 large garlic cloves, minced. (More or less, to taste) …

Jim X. kindly sent us his Asian Broccoli Beef recipe. Ingredients 1 pound of trimmed beef steak, sliced very thin across the grain.  (Note: Nearly any beef cut will do–even inexpensive flank steak, as long as it is thinly-sliced.) 1 pound of raw broccoli crowns 1/2 cup of soy sauce 1/4 cup of cornstarch 1 to 2 cloves of minced garlic (to suit your taste) 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 2 to 3 tablespoons of cooking sherry (depending on taste) 2 to tablespoons light brown sugar (depending on taste) 3 tablespoons of peanut oil or olive oil 1/4 cup of …

Reader “Amy in Militigan”  kindly sent us her recipe for Baked Chicken and Rice. You may substitute the same volume of turkey, in place of the chicken. This recipe makes seven servings. Ingredients 2 C regular white rice (not the instant type) 1-3/4 C milk 1/2 cube of butter, melted (optional) 2 cans of cream of chicken soup 2 Cups of boiled-down chicken soup broth (or, substitute 2 C hot water and 3 or 4 dissolved bullion cubes) 4 or 5 raw chicken (or turkey) breasts, cut chunked to large bite-size 1 C grated Parmesan cheese 1 C mushrooms, sliced …

Here is a new variation of Almanzo Wilder’s favorite side-dish of fried Apples ‘n Onions which is great for fall breakfasts.  Almanzo Wilder is the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series.  In the book “Farmer Boy”  Laura mentions how much Almanzo loved Fried Apples ‘n Onions. This week, for breakfast I started to fry up potatoes and onions and thought of Almanzo’s Fried Apples and Onions and thought, “Why not add Apples?”  I had never tried Fried Apples and Onions. So I did.  It was a hit with the family, and very …

Reader K.D. kindly sent us this recipe for a simple and quick black bean hummus. Ingredients 1 cup well-cooked black beans (can be cooked a day in advance, if kept refrigerated) 1 of clove of minced garlic (use less or omit, to taste.) 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons of lemon juice — fresh-squeezed juice is best Salt, to taste Ground black pepper (preferably freshly-ground), to taste 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional, depending on your like or dislike of cumin) Directions Blend all the above-listed ingredients in a food processor or blender, until nearly …

Reader “Cord” kindly sent us this recipe for baked Spaghetti Squash: Directions Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Wash one or more spaghetti squash. Trim the ends. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Clean out and discard the seeds Place upside down in pan with 1/2in water Bake on center rack at 375 dregreees F for 40 minute or until tender. (Usually the outside of shell will indent easily.) While the squash bakes: Cook up ground sausage in a frying pan – enough to top the amount of squash We like to spice it up with salt, pepper, onion, green pepper, garlic …

Reader L.M. kindly sent us her Sweet Potato Soup recipe, one of her fall favorites. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 1 cup roughly chopped carrots 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (can be reduced for low-salt diets) 1 teaspoon black pepper (or less, to taste) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, to taste) 7 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons salted butter Toppings 1 cup …

Looking for a use for some of your baskets of recently-harvested apples? Reader Newell in Northern California kindly sent us his recipe for skillet-baked apple crisp. Yum! Filling Ingredients 6 large (or 8-to-10 small) baking apples, cored and sliced 1/4 cup brown sugar (either light or dark) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1 tablespoon corn starch Topping Ingredients 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup brown sugar (either light or dark) 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 full stick) unsalted butter Directions Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium …

Reader Alicia J. kindly sent us her recipe for some tasty fruit leather rolls. She included several variations for different types of fruits. Take special note of the use of lemon juice to prevent browning, for any fruit leather than includes bananas or apples. Ingredients 1 1/4 pounds (about 5 cups) of chopped fruit. A few of of these should be first peeled. (See below.) 3/4 cup granulated white sugar 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice Directions Pre-heat oven or dehydrator to 200 degrees F. Combine the fruit and sugar in a blender. Add the lemon juice to …

Reader Sue H. kindly sent us her recipe for tomato catsup. Because tomatoes are fairly high acid and this is sweetened with sugar, this recipe may be canned with a water bath canner. Ingredients 5 lbs tomatoes – cored and de-seeded. 1 large diced onion 3 cloves garlic ⅓ cup sugar ¾ cup white vinegar ¾ tablespoon salt ¼ tsp celery seed ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp paprika ¼ tsp cloves Optional: A bit of black pepper   Catsup Cooking Directions Prepare your tomatoes. Sauce variety tomatoes have less water content per pound, so you won’t have to cook the …

Reader Phil in Utah kindly sent us his recipe for his dry pancake mix. Each batch of the dry mix makes enough for about four meals of five pancakes each. To use, just measure out one cup of the dry mix and add the moist ingredients. Presto! Dry Pancake Mix Ingredients 4 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon salt To Prepare Pancakes Combine and mix briefly: 1 cup of the above-described dry pancake mix 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon cooking oil or melted butter Bake these on …

Reader Karen D. kindly sent us her recipe for a Carrot Bread that is a great use for your stored hard red winter wheat, if you have a grinder available to make whole wheat flour. This recipe can be baked three different ways: In loaves, in a Bundt pan, or as muffins. Ingredients 2 C. Packed Brown Sugar 1 C. Cooking Oil 3 Eggs (or substitute 3 T. powdered eggs and 1/3 C. Water) 2 C. Carrots, Finely Grated (or substitute 1 C. dehydrated carrots. Chop them in a blender before re-hydrating to reduce their size.) 1 C. Crushed Pineapple, …

Reader Pete S. kindly sent us his recipe for a summer garden pasta sauce. Pete says:  “I like a lot of garlic, but you might want to tone down the garlic and garlic pepper, if you aren’t garlic fans.” Ingredients 1 pound pasta — preferably small diameter tubular pasta, but larger diameter or spaghetti can be substituted 1 cup sliced yellow summer squash 1-1/4 cup sliced zucchini squash 3/4 cup sliced green onions 1 cup julienned bell peppers (green or yellow) 1 cup julienned sweet red pepper 1/4 cup butter 4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly (depending …