Sweet Tato Pie

Trying this for T-day-

Coconut-Sweet Potato Pie With Spiced Crust

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs, made from one package graham crackers, which has 9 full cracker sheets

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

Large pinch salt

1 cup coconut milk.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan, add water to cover by about an inch, and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the potatoes are very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain, then rice the potatoes or run them through a food mill.

2. While the potatoes cook, put the graham crackers in a food processor and pulse several times until they are finely ground. Add the shredded coconut, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon each of the ginger and cinnamon, and pulse once or twice; add the melted butter and pulse just to combine. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie dish and bake for about 7 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and cool.

3. In a food processor, combine the eggs with the remaining sugar, ginger and cinnamon, along with the nutmeg, cloves and salt; pulse until well combined. Add the coconut milk and pulse to combine, then add the sweet potatoes and pulse until just smooth.

4. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the crust and bake until the mixture is set on top but still quite moist, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Mmmmmmm, Soup!

I know for a fact the female readers of this blog love soup. This one I got from Sarah, who got it from Lisa, I think. It is super yummy. You can use rice or chopped up noodles if you dont have orzo.


Quick Avgolemono, Orzo, and Chicken Soup

Avgolemono (ahv-goh-LEH-moh-noh) is a tangy Greek soup that combines chicken broth, eggs, and lemon juice. Traditional versions include rice; our interpretation uses orzo. Total time: 35 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)


6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
4 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

Bring broth and dill to a boil in a large saucepan. Add orzo. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until orzo is slightly tender. Remove from heat.

Place eggs and juice in a blender; process until smooth. Remove 1 cup broth from pan with a ladle, making sure to leave out orzo. With blender on, slowly add broth; process until smooth.

Add carrot, salt, pepper, and chicken to pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook 5 minutes or until chicken and orzo are done. Reduce heat to low. Slowly stir in egg mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly (do not boil).

CALORIES 228 (25% from fat); FAT 6.3g (sat 1.9g,mono 2.2g,poly 1g); IRON 2.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 244mg; CALCIUM 68mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.6g; SODIUM 855mg; PROTEIN 25.3g; FIBER 2.9g

Verbal development

She is really talking up a storm lately, and saying words I didn't know she even knew, and even some sentences- example " I hit MoiMoi" ( her friend that she does in fact hit all the time )

Moment on the lips....

I had this the other night and it was SO bad but SO good. I think I have an additional taste besides sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami. My sixth taste is buffalo wing.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
• 1 (8 ounce) box chicken-flavored crackers

Directions

1. Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

Meganisms

When Jason, Zach and I were with the girls at the apple orchard in the pics below, Megan said "I am so happy to be with all three of my parents".

The girls were debating whether they loved Mommy or Daddy better, Megan said, " I love God the most, then Mommy and Daddy" There are some brownie points for her with the church goers of this blog.

When the cat's away....

The mice will have some joe random lawn guys deliver 10 bags of leaves so I can mow them into mulch for my garden. And hopefully all the evidence will be appropriated before he comes back.

Halloween part 1

Yeah, the pumpkin is THAT big. And they give out full sized candy bars. And there is another pumpkin that big on the other side of the house.

Two Yummy Recipes

Lamb Shepherd's Pie

Pasta with Sausage and Greens

Wait, do I have to post the recipes? I dont really cook that way.

Lamb Shepherd's Pie

First make delicious mashed tatos.

Next dredge lamb stew meat in seasoned flour and then brown it. Eat a few chunks since they are delish. Deglaze pan with red wine.

Next saute any decent stuff you want in the pie. I used turnips, carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Add lamb and deglazed pan drippings. Sprinkle some of the seasoned flour over the veggies when they are done and add more vino tinto so you create a thickened mixture.

Put the thickened mixture on the bottom of a pie pan, cover with mashed pertaters, sprinkle with garlic salt and top with some kind of cheese.

Bake til bubbly. I served with baked delicata squash but a salad would be nice too.

Pasta with Sausage and Greens

Brown Sausage and boil you up some noodles, preferably penne ( not penis).

Combine sausage and noodles in a baking dish. Add a butt ton of pesto. I guess in layman's terms that would be 1/3 to 1/2 cup. Add two cans of mostly but not all the way drained diced tomatoes. Add several large handfuls of a leafy green. I first had it with spinach but I used beet greens next time ( and J never even knew!). I blanched the greens in the micro first. Stir it up little darlin. Cover and bake for awhile. Top with parmesean cheese ( not shaky cheese Sarah), uncover and take out when the cheese is lightly browned. Ummm yummy ( even better than the greek honey baked beans!)

For my iphone readers

http://damnyouautocorrect.com/

Hilarious.

The kitchen ceiling

When we took down the ceiling, we found newspaper from 1949 that held what little insulation was in there. Look at the pics- there is a ad from Kroger, and an ad for polio insurance, and an article talking about the atom bomb.