Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Onions

HOWDY friends!  I know it's been a long time, but I just had to share this recipe with you before Thanksgiving gets here.  I can't imagine why I haven't posted it before, as it's been a favorite of mine for quite a few years now.  I originally found it online quite a while back at:  http://www.nyfoodgasm.com/roasted-autumn-trio-apple-onion-and/ .  Since then, I've made it more times than I can count.  It's a perfect side to go with your Thanksgiving turkey, but it's also delicious with pork roast or pork chops.  I can even make a meal out of this stuff alone!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Apples & Onions

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

5 medium sweet potatoes (or about 8 oz.), diced

1 large apple, diced (I used Granny Smith)

1 medium sweet red onion, diced (you can also use a regular sweet onion - the red ones just add a nice touch of color)

(The original recipe called for sage leaves to garnish with, but sage doesn't like me so I left those out.  Feel free to use them if that sounds good to you!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 415°F.

Whisk together the olive oil, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl.

Pour the oil/spice mixture over the fruit & veggies and toss until all are coated.

Place everything on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan, and bake for approx. 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes and apples are soft a lightly browned.

Serve warm.

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If you like sweet potatoes, but don't need all the added marshmallows and other sweet stuff every time you have them (I like that stuff too), please give this recipe a try.  You'll come back to it time and time again.

I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday, filled with the people and traditions that bring you joy.  And remember to take some time to thank God for all those things we tend to take for granted daily.  Until next time, 💓 ya bunches!

Blessings,

--Faithy

Jalapeño Pecan Brittle

Hi everyone...long time no see!  Just popping in to share a recipe for my new addiction...Jalapeño Pecan Brittle!

Like Faithy's Quick & Easy (Microwave) Peanut Brittle, it's super easy and makes a minimal mess in your kitchen.  If you have all the ingredients, you can whip up a batch in a snap!

This year, we've been making lots of Cowboy Candy to sell (along with our homemade jams & jellies) at our local farmer's market.  With each batch, there's always plenty of the yummy jalapeño syrup leftover.  We've been canning it for later use as a meat marinade, etc.  I recently saw someone online mention that they've used it to make peanut brittle before, so I decided I needed some of that in my life!  LOL!  As a true Texas girl, I decided that pecans would go better than peanuts in this delight, so my husband & I went to work, experimenting to get the ratios and timing of everything just right.

Please note:  You can easily replace the pecans with whatever nuts you prefer.  However, they'll need to be raw when you start (not pre-roasted) or they may burn.  Also - microwave times may vary depending on the strength of your microwave.

As with my peanut brittle recipe, you'll need to keep moving with this recipe, because you don't want the mixture to cool until you're finished, so be sure to READ THE RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE STARTING...so you know what's coming.  I always have my ingredients pre-measured before I start, so I can just dump and stir quickly.

Here goes...

Mix 1/2 cup jalapeño syrup, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup light Karo Syrup in a large microwaveable bowl with handle.  (I use an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup - helpful, because the mixture gets REALLY hot.)  

Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup raw pecans.

Microwave on high 3 minutes and 45 seconds or until light brown.  Stir in 1 tsp. butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.  (Be careful, as the mixture will be very hot, and may spatter when these wet ingredients go in.)   

Microwave on high 1-1/2 minutes more.  Pecans will be light brown and syrup very hot.  (As I mentioned before, no matter how tempting it may be...DO NOT lick the spoon, or attempt to wipe the mixture off with your fingers...just trust me!) 

Add 1 tsp. baking soda, and stir gently until light and foamy.  (You need to work quickly here, because the mixture will harden fast as it cools.)  Pour mixture immediately onto lightly greased cookie sheet and spread to desired thickness.  (I recommend using a flexible cookie sheet if you have one...it's much easier to remove the cooled peanut brittle once it's done by just giving the pan a little twist...and DON'T FORGET to grease the pan first!)  Let cool for about 30 minutes, or until cool to the touch.  Break into pieces & enjoy!

(Another note:  If you're making this for a gift...DO NOT take a sample taste...you may eat the entire batch and have nothing left to give away!  😂  Seriously y'all...I may never eat peanut brittle again!)

I hope you and your family will enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Merry Christmas and may God bless you abundantly in the year ahead!
Blessings,
--Faithy 

P.S.   If you don't have any jalapeño syrup handy, there are lots of Cowboy Candy recipes online.  Just pick your favorite one, and be sure to save the extra syrup when you make it!  Local friends can pick some up through Scantlin Kitchens!

Lemon-Buttermilk Tart

Hi everyone!  Boy has it been a long time since I've posted anything on this blog!  The good news is that I am just busy and blessed with life.

Anyway, after watching the Great British Baking Show (one of my favorites) this weekend, I had a craving for a tart.  I dug through my cookbooks and found a buttermilk-lemon pie recipe that sounded good, so I decided to adapt it to make it into a tart.  It was soooooo good, I had to share the recipe.

I found the original recipe in an old Time-Life cookbook (from their American Country series) titled Country Baking (page 39).  That recipe also included a pie pastry recipe, which I'll admit I didn't use.  (I didn't have much time, and I had a ready-crust in the fridge that needed to be used, so I went that route for the crust.)  It didn't take long, and we had a delicious tart.  The hardest part was making myself eat dinner before I had a piece…or two.

I've had several friends ask for the recipe, so here it is:

Ingredients:

1 stick (4 oz.) real butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

1/4 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I think I'll try lime juice next time!)

1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. nutmeg (the original recipe called for 1/2 tsp., but I think nutmeg can be pretty overpowering, so I halved the amount)

Pastry for single-crust pie (I used a refrigerated crust)

Directions:

Roll pie crust pastry to fit your tart pan.  (I used an 11" tart pan but you could make a 9" pie - like the original recipe called for if you prefer.)  Line tart pan with crust, and trim edges to fit.  Prick the pastry with a fork and place it in the freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line the tart shell with foil and fill it with pie weights or dried beans (I used some lentils I had in the pantry 😊).  Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and weights, and set the tart shell aside to cool.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs (one at a time), until creamy.  Beat in the flour, and slowly pour in the buttermilk and lemon juice, then stir in the lemon juice, zest, vanilla and nutmeg.

Pour the filling into the tart shell and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until filling is firm and lightly browned (golden).  Cool tart to room temperature before serving.

This recipe more than satisfied my tart craving!  Don't tell anyone, but I actually ate 2 pieces before it was even completely cooled!

I hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you thought.  I may play with this recipe a bit and try adding coconut in the future, what do you think?

Wishing you God's blessings until I blog again!

--Faithy

Pasta with Pumpkin-Cream Sauce

HOWDY friends!  I was home alone and hungry one night, so I just opened the fridge and prayed for ideas.  LOL!  What I came up with just so happened to be delicious, so I had to post this, in case someone out there might like it as much as I did.  (I just love it when an clean-out-the-fridge-experiment turns out so good!)  

I had some leftover pureed pumpkin in the fridge, along with some dairy products that needed to be used, so I thought I'd see what I could come up with.  (Canned pumpkin would work fine, just be sure it is NOT pumpkin pie filling!)  I didn't measure anything, so I can't give you the exact recipe.  I just added stuff to the pumpkin I had left until it looked like the consistency I wanted.  Then I tossed it with some pasta and voilà...total deliciousness!

First, I put some pasta on to boil.  (I had some rigatoni in the pantry, so that's what I used.  It went really well with the sauce.)  While the pasta was cooking, I basically just dumped the pureed pumpkin in a saucepan and added some heavy whipping cream and fat free half & half until it was the consistency I wanted.  Then I heated it over medium heat until hot, and stirred in some shredded Parmesan, crumbled bacon, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a little pasta water.

Once the pasta was done, I just had to drain it and toss it with the sauce.  Oh yeah, this is important...I tossed a few diced roasted almonds on top for garnish too.  (You don't want to leave those out...sooooo good!!)

Last, but not least, I toasted bagel (that needed to be used) and spread with some pesto (also from the fridge) on it, and I had a yummy meal in just a matter of minutes!  The only bad thing was that I just made enough for one meal, so there weren't any leftovers.  Next time, I'll make a bigger batch!

Hope all is well with you my friends.  Get out there and enjoy this lovely fall weather if you can.

Blessings,
--Faithy

Savory Pumpkin Soup

HOWDY!  I’m in the mood for fall, so I’m thinking of some of my favorite fall recipes.  Not sure why I’ve never gotten this one posted.  It’s so easy to put together and takes very little time to cook.  It’s also very healthy, so it’s a WIN/WIN!

I got the original recipe in a handout I received at a presentation given by the American Diabetes Association (through their Stop Diabetes @ Work program).  I adapted it a little by adding extra garlic (because I LOVE garlic), some whipping cream, and bacon (which probably took a little away from the healthy factor - but sooooooo worth it!), as well as substituting shredded Parmesan for grated (personal preference).

I have made this more times than I can count, and it’s never let me down.  I can come home from work exhausted, and have a yummy dinner on the table in 20 minutes, with very little effort.  Just add some crusty bread and you’re done.

The original recipe says that this makes 5 one-cup servings.  However, this stuff is so good, our servings are never just 1 cup each.  At our house, this recipe makes 2 good-sized servings - just right for hubby and me.

If you’re serving it as an appetizer or side dish with something else, I’m sure 1 cup servings would be fine.  For a meal in itself…nope.  If you want to serve more people, just double or triple the recipe.

 

Savory Pumpkin Soup

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

3 large cloves garlic, minced

2 cups pureed pumpkin (or 1-16 oz. can solid, packed pumpkin -NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (if I don’t have homemade on hand, I like to use Kitchen Accomplice Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth Concentrate)

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Garnish:

2 Tbsp. chopped, toasted almonds (the original recipe called for toasted pistachios, both are good)

chopped green onions

crumbled bacon

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion & garlic.  Sauté briefly until onions are translucent.  (Be careful not to burn the garlic.)

Add pumpkin and chicken broth.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add evaporated milk and simmer over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.  Whisk in salt, pepper, whipping cream and Parmesan cheese, and heat for about 1 minute - just until heated through.

Serve with toasted almonds, green onions and crumbled bacon on top of each serving.

I hope you’ll give this a try.  If you do, please let me know what you think.  I LOVE hearing from you!

Blessings,

--Faithy