My Thanksgiving Recipes - Pumpkin Cream Pie

Pumpkin Cream Pie

• This one is too easy and it is great for those guests who don't really care for the texture of custard, but really want the traditional Thanksgiving flavor.  Be sure to give this one a try.  It's too easy not to!  If you feel like this little recipe is just too far from scratch, feel free to make homemade whipped cream in place of the whipped topping.  You'll feel much more like Martha that way!
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1 1/2 cups cold milk
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

• Combine milk, pie filling mix, pumpkin, spices, and whipped topping in a deep, narrow-bottom bowl. Beat at lowest speed of an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Pour filling into cooled pie shell
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• Chill until set, about 3 hours.

My Thanksgiving Recipes - Sausage & Apple Stuffing

Sausage Apple Mushroom Stuffing
This recipe came out of desperation.  My mother made the most perfect traditional turkey stuffing with Rainbow brand bread crumbs, onion, and celery.  When she died I tried several time to recreate the magic... to no avail.  So, one Thanksgiving when I was cooking for my wife's family and knew there was nothing to compare it to, I tried to concoct my own recipe with the help of my mother-in-law.  This is what we discovered together and just LOVE.

2 lb. sausage meat (Don't be afraid to use your favorite specialty sausage - not Italian or any that includes cheese.  I'm using apple artichoke this year!)
2 c. minced onion
2 c. pared, cored, diced apples (I like tart apples)

1 cup of chunked mushrooms (I like baby bella for more presence in the final product)
6 cups of stale sourdough bread cubes.  (Overnight on a tray is enough. Once I toasted them in the broiler for just a few minutes after being out all night.  Yummmmm!)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. marjoram

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. curry powder (yes really!)

Rub cavity of turkey with salt.
Break sausage into small pieces and fry in large skillet over moderate heat about 5 minutes. Then, before the sausage is fully cooked, add onion and cook until tender, about 10 minutes on low medium heat. Add apples, and mushrooms turning over the mix for a few minutes as you add all the remaining seasonings. After 5 minutes, remove from heat and stir into your bread crumbs.   I like to let these ingredients sit together and meld for a couple of hours before I stuff and roast my turkey.

(Resist the temptation to add more liquid to this mixture.  The apples and mushrooms will continue to release their moisture as they cook.)

If you would like you can stir in a 1/2 cup of melted butter (only to the portion you are going to stuff into the bird) for a richer flavor.  Stuff turkey loosely and sew or skewer neck and body cavity.  (Oh, make sure one of the bay leaves makes it into the turkey.)

Rub skin of your turkey with fat, butter, or oil. Place in oven. Roast at 320 degrees uncovered 4 to 4 1/2 hours for a 12-14 lb. turkey, basting occasionally. Makes 10-12 servings.

To cook the remaining stuffing, bring about 1/2 cup of chicken broth to a brisk boil in a large pan.  Add 2 T. butter.  Then, remove from heat and pour in the remaining stuffing and stir constantly until all moisture is evenly distributed.  Cover and let sit for about 30 minutes before serving.

Remove both bay leaves before you serve this dressing.

My Thanksgiving Recipes - Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes with Pineapple

3 lg. fresh sweet potatoes
6 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 c. pineapple, crushed and drained
1/2 cup candied pecans, broken into small pieces
2-3 cups marshmallows (optional)

Bake sweet potatoes the night before your meal and allow to cool completely.  (I bake at 375 for a couple of hours.  (Be careful not to over bake.  I like to put my fork in all the way to the center but not have it slide out quite so easily.  I bake the potatoes on the rack with a rimmed cookie sheet on the rack below to keep my oven clean.)

After potatoes are cool, peel them and cut into halves the long way.  Layer into a greased 9x13 casserole and sprinkle with brown sugar. (If you like, you can sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon on top at this point.  You may want to do this if you are going to opt not to use candied nuts.) Dot with butter and sprinkle with candied pecans.  Bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 30 minutes. Last 10 minutes of baking, top with  marshmallows, also pecan halves and pineapple spears if desired. Bake until marshmallows are melted and golden. Makes 8-10 servings.

If you don't have time to cool potatoes completely, you could partially cool them, peel and slice, layer into pan, sprikle with sugar and then marshmallows.  Then put the pinapple and nuts on top and bake the whole thing for only 10 minutes in a hot oven (375 degrees) on the lower rack. 

Foot-In-Mouth Disease

Man I hate it when words come out of my mouth and say something that I don't mean.  This usually happens when I am nervous.  And I am usually nervous when I'm trying to impress someone.  I think that is the real sting of foot-in-mouth.  It materializes causing embarrassment at just the moment when you want the polar opposite to happen.

A couple of weeks ago I had a HUGE foot in mouth moment.  I was sharing the epic story in San Bernardino at the missions banquet of the church that I once pastored.  The current pastor gave me the place of honor in the speaking line-up (which I was not expecting).  He then introduced with incredible grace and generosity (which is always embarrassing to me - it's very difficult for me to receive thanks or compliments publicly).  Following the introduction, embarrassment rose up to completely cloud my mind and coincidentally my children entered the room from the childcare facility causing me to wonder if they had been misbehaving.  Then out of my mouth slipped a coy response to one of the pastor's comments that instead of sounding light and encouraging, sounded slight and critical.  I wanted to shrink back into my chair and disappear.  However, I had to make my presentation and do it clearly within 3-5 minutes.

Well, I think I took about 23 minutes to talk my way into lucid thought again and then finally resorted to telling the 3 stories of epic members that most clearly represented the epic mission.  Those stories restored order and foundation to the moment, and when they were done I made a quick exit.  On Sunday morning I had the chance to redeem myself with another brief presentation and I think I managed to avoid a relapse.

Thanks to San Bernardino Community Church for 4 1/2 years of faithful financial support of the epic mission.  We are so thankful for your investment and will continue to guard that investment by fervently pursuing the mission God called us here for.  Thank you pastor Sam for your kindness and love.  Thank you for your faithful shepherding of a flock that continues to mean a great deal to me.  I honor and respect you for your faithful service to God in San Bernardino for the world-wide cause of Christ.

(Why didn't those words come out of my mouth under pressure?)

This Thanksgiving, Don't Say It!

"Remember that Thanksgiving when we all got food poisoning?"

"I'm not texting, I'm looking up the symptoms for botchulism."

"Instead of Football, lets just watch the "Amadeus" marathon.

"I've thoughtfully provided each of you with a list of my finest attributes, for which you can be thankful this year."

"I think we ought to consider serving corn dogs as a main course at future holiday gatherings."

"Let's join hands and sing a few stanzas of "Like a G6."

"If you want this piece of pie, you're gonna have to arm wrestle me for it Grandma."



It has been my experience that planning ahead is the best way to avoid embarrassing yourself.

Molly-isms

Yesterday at our worship gathering I picked up Molly when she arrived and said, "are you my princess?"
She quickly responded, "I'm the queen of the world."

I found out that she later told one of her friends mom, that she (Molly) and her friend Mia were the princess and that the mom is the witch.  Stinkin' Dora dressed up as a witch in her Halloween special.


As Molly grows, she continues to figure out how to say things correctly.  Being the third of our children, we correct her less than we did the others, wanting to savor the baby talk.  She still calls chocolate 'shlockate.'

Weigh In #2

After 2 more weeks, only 1 more pound.

Today's weight 219.

Had to change up my morning routine a bit.  New routine may be building more muscle...  What to do, what to do.  I want the number to decrease more quickly, but am wanting to build a better me along the way now too.

2 weeks of vacation coming up.  Can I stay the course.  I'm sure gonna try.

My Kids' Favorite Pancakes

Yes, I make them from scratch.  I used to think that I didn't have the time, but really it doesn't take any more time than the just-add-water mix.

Here's the recipe.

In a large mixing bowl, add:
1/2 cup      100% Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup      all Natural White Flour
1/2 cup      quick Oats
4 tsp          baking powder
2 T            sugar  (We actually use Splenda, any dry sweetener will do.)
1 dash       salt
                 Mix these dry ingredients together.

In a large measuring cup, add
1 1/2 cup  milk
2               eggs
1 T           vanilla
2 T           cooking oil
                 Stir this until the eggs are broken up and mixed in a bit.

Pour liquid ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix.

We scoop 1/3 cup of batter onto a hot griddle (325-350 degrees) to make medium sized cakes.  flip the pancakes when the center of the cake bubble and bubbles break.  Cook the second side for about 1-2 minute.


BETTER THAN SYRUP
Now, on special occasions, and to make this a truly delightful experience we make a homemade topping that I learned on my first visit to Rhonda's Colorado family.  I forget what they call it, but I call it "Syrup of the gods."  Not really.  It's delicious and I don't have a name.  And since it is not fat free, or low in calories, you would need to immortal to enjoy it on a regular basis.  It's so fantastic though, that you really should have it on special occasions.

Add 1 cup of brown sugar to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream.
In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
After the mixture bubbles, add 2 teaspoons of vanilla and stir for about 2 minutes until the sugar granules mostly disappear.

Use this sauce warm instead of syrup...  And you really don't need any butter!

Enjoy!

My Weigh In - Week 4

OK, not for your benefit but for mine, I'm going to record my weekly weigh in here on my blog, as well as a weekly journal of my health-preservation activities.

For the past 4 weeks, I have been working out daily.  And if you know me, you know I hate working out.  So, this is a genuine accomplishment.  I have been to the gym every day, 6 days/week, missing only one of those days in the span of the 4-week period.

When I have friends there, I play racquetball for about an hour.  When no comrades are present, I spend an hour doing cardio on the machines and about 20 minutes with light, free weights, performing multiple reps. I have been minding my diet, but not counting calories with any measurable accuracy.  This week, with friends in town, I did consume several spoons full of ice cream (with hot fudge... duh).  Otherwise not indulging in treats outside of a couple of grande toffee-nut mochas over the 4-weeks.  And when I had those mochas, they replaced my regular, high fiber breakfast cereal.  My goal is a generally low calorie, low fat, high fiber diet.  I have not measured those things systematically because I am hoping to accomplish a new lifestyle that I can live by long term.  If I measure them, I'm afraid I will think of it more as a diet and go back to my old ways when I reach my optimum weight/size.

Today's weigh in:
220 lbs.  A loss of 5 lbs. in 4 weeks.
(I wish I had lost 10...)

Bachelor Father Weekend

Rhonda is going to SoCal to help host a baby shower for our sister-in-law, Stephanie this weekend.  Stephanie is expecting her first child after living in fear of labor and delivery for a decade or so.  Pretty exciting stuff.  It is a baby girl and they have chosen the name Holland in honor of Stephanie's Dutch heritage.

All that to say, that I am a bachelor father for the next couple of days.  Rhonda in her infinite grace has made the trip as short as possible and will return in time for our epic worship gathering on Sunday.  But guess what has transpired since Rhonda's plans were put in place.

A friend of my family passed away this week after a full and good life at the age of 80.  The memorial service will be held this Friday while I am Molly's primary care-giver and during the time that both Merritt and Mason will get out of school on the last day of school.  Then on Saturday morning, we have closing day ceremonies for both of the boys' baseball teams, followed in the afternoon by a little BBQ for 22 people at our house - to host our super cool missionaries from Uganda... And oh yeah, I'm baking dessert on Saturday for 30 people at Merritt's baseball team party to be held on Sunday afternoon.

Now, I am not one of those guys who looks to avoid time with the kids alone, or who won't allow mom to leave town without the young one, or who can't get anything done while I have a kid or kids in tow.  But I have to admit, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed in preparation for this weekend.  So, I have assembled for myself a Bachelor Father Survival Kit.

Bachelor Father Survival Kit Contents:
1. an extensive supply of starburst for a burst of sugar energy whenever needed;
2. a voice recorder prerecorded with the message, "I'm not mom and I don't have to do things her way."
3. either a GPS homing devise with transponders for each child OR 15 inch neon yellow cone hats glued to their heads so that they cannot get lost an the large crowds of closing day ceremonies;
4. a bag full of marbles for all of my marbles that I will undoubtably lose during the weekend;
5. McDonalds gift cards for each child, so that they can be dropped off at playland when I need some alone time and I won't have to feel guilty for not getting them some food first.

Well, I figure that will get me through Friday...  Maybe you have some suggestions for my Saturday.

Life IS a musical!

We watched the re-run of the Madonna episode of Glee recently...  After we stopped laughing... the next day, Mason (who obviously was NOT allowed to watch that show) started singing to me out of the blue.  I picked up on it and began to sing my conversations with him and the other kids, explaining to them (in song of course) that some people lived in song instead of speaking.  I reasoned that I could show them movies to prove it.

Well, they laughed for a while (like 2 minutes) and then they got annoyed.  After about 30 minutes (probably less, but that sounds better for the story) Mason was so annoyed that he yelled at me, "Will you please stop singing!  I don't know how to think like that!"  And so came the conclusion of Les Kanerables.

Happy Spring!

So we missed the whole Christmas card thing.  But here we are in Spring still thinking of all of you and thankful that you are our friends.  Happy Spring!

New Family Tradition

On Easter morning, during our family egg hunt, Mason noted that his basket was less full than his older brother's basket.  He was a little disappointed, but he is a kid who shakes things off quickly.  A few transfers from Merritt's basket to Mason's and all was well.  (Meanwhile, Molly was ecstatic about the whole experience and quite satisfied with finding her handful.)

When we got in the house and Mason began to open all of his plastic eggs, he came across one that was completely empty.  After the previous egg-hunt setback, this was quite discouraging for him.  I tried to be brilliant and rescue the situation by explaining that since Easter was really about Jesus' empty tomb, the empty egg was really the best egg of the day.  It was REAL Easter egg.

Well, that do too much to make Mason feel better at the moment, but ever since then, I have been thinking about that and about how to make the empty egg the best egg to find.

I think we'll make some kind of special party hat for the person who finds the empty egg, or let them eat off of the "special person of the day" plate at lunch, or something else special to help the message of the Easter "empty" stick...