Basic Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
Dough:

* 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), diced
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* Flour for rolling the dough

Filling:

* One 15-ounce can unsweetened pure pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)
* 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
* 3 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions

Make the dough by hand. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles yellow corn meal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter. (If the flour/butter mixture gets warm, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before proceeding.) Add the egg and stir the doughtogether with a fork or by hand in the bowl. If the dough is dry, sprinkle up to a tablespoon more of cold water over the mixture.

Alternatively, make the dough in a food processor. With the machine fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles yellow corn meal mixed with bean-sized bits of butter, about 10 times. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times; don't let the dough form into a ball in the machine. (If the dough is very dry add up to a tablespoon more of cold water.) Remove the bowl from the machine, remove the blade, and bring the dough together by hand.

Form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges, leaving about an extra inch hanging over the edge. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath itself to form a thick edge that is even with the rim. Flute the edge as desired. Freeze the pie shell for 30 minutes.

Set separate racks in the center and lower third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Put a piece of parchment paper or foil over the pie shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake on a baking sheet on the center rack until the dough is set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and lift sides of the parchment paper to remove the beans. Continue baking until the pie shell is lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Cool on a rack.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

While the pie shell is cooling make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, half-and-half, spices, and salt until smooth. Return the pie shell to the baking sheet and pour in the filling.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the edges of the filling are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 50 to 60 minutes. (If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil.) Cool on a rack. Serve room temperature or slightly warm.

* Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, GP. All rights reserved

Reference: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/pumpkin-pie-recipe/index.html

Chocolate Chip Cookies

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
* 1 cup chopped nuts

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Thanks to: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTLE-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx

Meatless Lasagna

MEATLESS LASAGNA adapted from ( Recipes for a Small Planet)

lasagna noodles, cooked

1 med onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 28oz canned tomatoes

1+ lb. mushrooms, chopped (I use a variety. Recipe calls for white button)

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup ricotta

1 cup cottage cheese (I have used 2 cups of cottage cheese & no ricotta before)

1 egg

1/2 cup parm cheese

3/4 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded

any herbs you may have on hand (Recipe calls for dried oregano, basil, & parsley)

Pre-cook noodles, set aside. Saute' onions & garlic. Add tomatoes, herbs, mushrooms and kidney beans. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese and egg. (I also add some Locatelli or parm to the mixture, your choice.) Layer lasagna. A tiny bit of sauce, noodles, 1/3 of remaining sauce,1/3 of the ricotta/cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 mozz.cheese, 1/3 parm. cheese, noodles. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending with parm cheese. Bake @ 375* for 30 minutes.

The "Hearty Vegetable Lasagna w/ Mushrooms" can be found on: justveggingout.com. I did make a few changes. I added a ricotta layer when layering, although it's not necessary. Used a variety of mushrooms...shitake, portabellas, white button, etc. Changed out the yellow squash layer, using zucchini slices instead. Used 2 eggplants, not just one. I have a mandoline, so I used long slices of all of the veggies, instead of small slices as pictured on the site. Another big change with the veggies is I did not saute' them in a pan. I baked the slices in the oven til they were soft, about 10 minutes. This is my new favorite. Enjoy!!! (thanks Nathalie)

CHRISTMAS TREATS

Cookie sticks surprise!

1 pack of cookie sticks, plain or flavored
chocolate bar for melting
candy sprinkles
mug or tall glass
plastic wrapper
ribbons

Melt chocolate over low heat. Dip in the cookie stick and sprinkle with candy. When all sticks are done, put in a mug or tall glass. Wrap in the plastic wrapper and tie with nice ribbons. Ready fro gift-giving!.

BEEF AND VEGE SALAD WITH ASIAN DRESSING

BEEF AND VEGE SALAD WITH ASIAN DRESSING



Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 4 minutes

Dressing:
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs water
1 tbs oil
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 small clove garlic, crushed
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger

Salad:
1 tbs oil
500g beef scotch fillet steaks
1 small carrot, cut into thin straws
1 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced
11⁄2 cups snow peas
1⁄2 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup finely sliced Spanish onions
1 avocado, sliced
11⁄2 cups snow pea sprouts
2 cups baby English spinach
1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped macadamias
1/3 cup chopped mint
1/3 cup chopped coriander

1. For the dressing: Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well.
2. For the salad: Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the steaks and cook on high for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked the way you like it.
Remove the steaks, allow to cool then slice thinly.
3. Combine the beef strips in a large bowl with the carrot, cucumber, peas, capsicum, onion, avocado, sprouts and spinach. Add the dressing and toss to combine.
3. Served sprinkled with the nuts, mint and coriander

THANKS TO: http://onmangrovemountain.blogspot.com/2009/11/local-food-recipes.html

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

1 3oz package orange flavored gelatin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon or nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
1 18-0z can sweet potatoes, drained

In skillet, mix gelatin, spice, 1/3 cup water, and dash salt. Add butter. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Add potatoes. Cook covered till potatoes are glazed, about 15 minutes. Serves 4

Chicken Steak

1 kilo chicken breast, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2-3/4 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 can cream of mushroom soup

1. Brush each slice of chicken breast with olive oil. Dredge in the bread crumbs. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes so the bread crumbs can coat the chicken better.
2. Season remaining bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken again in the bread crumbs. Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and fry the chicken batches, about 1-2 minutes each side.
3. remove from skillet and keep warm while prepareing the sauce. Reserve oil inskillet.
4. For the gravy. reheat oil, add butter. When butter melts, stir in flour. Over low heat continue stirring until mixture is smooth and no lumps appear. Slowly stir in cream of mushroom soup. Let simmer, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and thick.
5. Plate the chicken. Pour gravy on the chicken.