Good Stuffing

My mom has always made the best Thanksgiving stuffing (or "dressing" if you'd rather) for as long as I can remember. But I have to say that as I've grown older and started making my own, I am thinking that mine could probably stand up to hers in a blind taste test.



Thanksgiving being just around the corner, I can't help but post my own recipe for stuffing that has been altered from my mom's original.

Good Stuffing
1 stick butter (reserve 2 Tbsp for sauteing, melt the rest)
1 loaf bread (any bread will do, even leftover hamburger/hot dog buns)
1 medium-sized yellow onion
2 ribs celery (include the green leaves too--that adds lots of flavor!)
mushrooms
ground sausage (optional)
1-2 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
1 C. milk

Night before: Using a pair of scissors, cube up the bread onto a cookie sheet, making about 1-inch cubes. (No one will be measuring though, so just eyeball it. ;o)) Spread evenly and leave to dry overnight. If you don't have overnight, you can spread the cubed bread on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes on low heat in the oven.

Cooking day: Chop onion and celery into smallish pieces. Slice mushrooms. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a skillet. Over medium-high heat, saute the chopped veggies with a pinch of salt until tender and soft, not too browned. (I like to add a little bit of poultry seasoning to the veggies for some added yumminess.) Remove veggies from pan, then add the sausage. Brown the meat, then add back the veggies and stir to combine. Set aside.

Start preheating your oven now to 350 degrees.

Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Add cubed bread. Shake poultry seasoning and pepper over the cubed bread. Pour the rest of the butter (melted) over the bread and give a light toss. Pour the veggie-meat mixture over the bread and lightly toss again.

Pour the milk evenly over the entire dish. (NOTE: You may need a little more depending on how dry your bread is. Just make sure there isn't a whole lot pooling at the bottom of the dish. A little pooling is fine.) Toss a little more.

TIP: You can toss all the prepared ingredients in a large mixing bowl to make it easier, then add it, completely tossed, into the casserole dish. But sometimes it's worth the extra effort to just be careful and toss in the casserole dish itself so you don't have to clean another bowl. ;o)

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and delicious and you can smell Thanksgiving in your house.

Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

In case you didn't catch it, my friend MamaMentor left a recipe on the comments of my breakfast casserole. Looks like a yummy one. Who doesn't like potato chips as a topping? YUM!

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MamaMentor says: Here's my favorite breakfast casserole. We have it on Christmas and Easter and other special occasions!

Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

Butter a 9x13 pan, then line it with trimmed slices of bread. Layer with ham or cooked sausage, then grated cheese, then more bread.

Mix in blender and pour over:

6 eggs
1 green pepper, chopped
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 cups milk
½ onion, chopped
Red and/or black pepper to taste

Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350˚. Meanwhile, melt 1 stick margarine and pour over casserole. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake 1 hour at 350˚. Makes 12 servings.

This casserole varies widely in character depending on your choice of meat, bread and cheese. Using good wholegrain bread makes it much heartier. You can use any kind of cheese, but we normally use sharp cheddar because we want it to taste cheesy!

Mrs. Brantley's Spice Tea Mix

My friend MamaMentor graciously emailed me this alternate recipe for Russian Tea that she uses. Her recipe and comments follow.

Mrs. Brantley's Spice Tea Mix

1 C. Tang
1 C. sugar
1 C. instant tea powder
1 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground cloves (or to taste)
1 small package lemonade mix (the kind that makes 2 quarts)

Mix together and keep in an airtight container. Add a couple of heaping spoonfuls to a cup of hot water and stir.

I often give this as a gift at Christmas time. Mrs. Brantley was my "dorm mother" in college.

Breakfast Casserole

"Refrigerator Velcro" is a term I learned from Alton Brown of Food Network's Good Eats. It refers to any recipe that is versatile enough to use up just about any leftovers in the fridge. My favorite fridge velcro recipe is Breakfast Casserole.



It's excellent for brunch potlucks because it's a hot dish with protein, and it is really easy to throw together the night before for baking in the morning.

Breakfast Casserole

Whole package of ground sausage OR bacon
8-12 oz. of a green vegetable, chopped (broccoli is best; spinach
works, but do add extra salt because the flavor can be overpowering;
red and/or green bell peppers would be good too; asparagus works if chopped)
Onion, chopped
Bread (enough to line the bottom of a casserole dish; use ANY bread item you have--fresh or stale--sliced bread is good; bagels are awesome; hot dog buns are handy; and don't be afraid to mix different kinds)
Softened butter (not melted)
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
12 eggs
2 C. milk (whole is tastiest, but anything will do)
1 spoonful Mustard (prepared; Dijon is great if you have it, but doesn't matter)
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a largeish skillet, saute onions and brown the sausage. (If using bacon, drain and crumble when crisp, then saute onions.) Add veggies to the pan and cook/heat through.

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Lightly butter the bread, then line the bottom of the pan with buttered side up. Pour meat/veggies mixture evenly over the bread. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper together until blended. Pour egg mixture evenly into the pan. Refrigerate overnight (best) or bake immediately.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake for 60 minutes or until the eggs have set. Served best at room temperature (as opposed to piping hot).

Enjoy experimenting with this!

5-minute Chocolate Cake, revised!

You may remember the 5-minute chocolate cake I posted back in September. My young friend Legossi wanted to try it for her family, but they have various food allergies, so she modified it and sent me the recipe.



So for those of you who might have gluten, dairy, or egg issues, you'll love this.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Chocolate Mug Cake

3 Tbsp. Brown Rice flour
1 Tbsp. Tapioca flour
1/4 tsp. Xanthan gum
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1-1/2 tsp egg replacer
1 Tbsp. Water
3 Tbsp. rice milk
3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips (optional if you can find dairy free chocolate chips)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add egg, and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil. Mix well. Add chocolate chips (if desired) and vanilla extract. Mix well! Since the ingredients are gluten free, it may require more mixing than the other version of this cake because tapioca flour does not like to be mixed in!

Put in microwave and microwave 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Don't overcook or it'll become very, very chewy.

If you're not allergic to egg, then use a real egg instead of egg replacer because the egg replacer makes it a bit chewier than if it had a real egg in it.

The price of allergies.

Oatmeal, Banana, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip Cookies

A mouthful of a name for a cookie, isn't it? I suppose that's what you get when an amateur baker makes up her own cookie recipe. This is a modified/combined recipe from Betty Crocker's basic peanut butter cookies and a chocolate chip banana bar recipe from a unique cookie cookbook.

Oatmeal, Banana, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C. white sugar
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. peanut butter (chunky or creamy, whatever you like)
1 egg
3-4 very ripe bananas
Splash of milk
1/2 to 1 C. quick-cooking oatmeal (or 2-3 oatmeal packets, any flavor)
1-1/4 C. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt

Combine sugars and egg til creamed (lighter in color and fluffy). Add remaining wet ingredients and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Add chocolate chips at the end in whatever amount is demanded by those eating the cookies.



Scoop onto a lightly-sprayed baking sheet (or on parchment paper). Press down ever so slightly. They will only spread a little bit. Bake at 375 for 8-12 minutes, depending on your oven. Place on a cooling rack until cool enough to handle so you can eat them faster. Store in an airtight container.

These are great for lunches because they are so wholesome with the bananas and oatmeal. You could add raisins or nuts too if you (or your little students) like them.

COOKIE TIP: Cookies will continue to cook for a short time after leaving the oven, so pull them from the oven just before they look done. If they look done in the oven, they'll likely be overdone by time you get them off the baking sheet.

Russian Tea

A few Christmases ago, my sister-in-law Kate, maker of those amazing Toasted Raviolis, gave jars of Russian Tea as a part of her goody-laden Christmas baskets.

I had never heard of Russian Tea (though apparently I was in the minority with the rest of the world), but once I tried it, I was hooked. It is particularly great for sore throats or uneasy tummies. This recipe makes a good-sized batch, so it will last for many cups of orange-spicey goodness. This is a modified version from various recipes I found on the internet.

Russian Tea

2 C. instant tea (green tea with lemon flavoring is great)
2 C. Tang
1 C. white sugar
1-2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1-2 Tbsp. cloves
Lemondrops (roughly smashed in a plastic bag with a heavy glass)

You will likely need to buy two containers of Tang, unless you can find really big ones. But two cups of a drink mix is a lot. Mix all ingredients thoroughly with a fork in a large bowl.

To serve, heat a mug of water for 2 minutes in the microwave or start with hot water. Add 2-3 Tbsp. Russian Tea mix and stir til dissolved.

If you know why this standard holiday beverage is called Russian Tea, please comment and let us know! Of course, I may be embarrassed to find out that it simply resembles a traditional Russian tea. :oP