Friday, November 18, 2016

Food for Thought

Food is on my mind at the moment.  Searching for recipes, or at least one or two, that are new that I can add to our Thanksgiving meal.

I'll have plenty of time this weekend to round out Thursday's meal.  Hubby and the 18 y.o. boy are headed to the east coast to tour a couple of the military academies that our son is hoping to attend.  He's had his interviews with our Senators, his paperwork (I expect) is complete.  I think we are at the "wait and see" portion of the application process.  The 16 y.o. is working, as is the 19 y.o.  Even the 8 y.o. has weekend plans - a birthday party, followed by a sleep over.  Dang, it's almost like having the house to myself.

If you're looking for meals for the coming week - after the big day that don't involve leftovers, check out these, or my I Cooked That board.


None of my kids do Birthday Cakes.  They all have their version of a Birthday Dessert.  The 18 y.o. likes cheesecake, or almost anything with pumpkin.  So I dug out these Oreo Pumpkin Mini Cheesecakes for him on his actual birthday.  They were good.  Next time I'll either make more Oreo base (I could have gone for a slightly thicker base) or cook them for half the time (they smelled burned, but it's hard to tell given that they are already black.)


This Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole was a huge hit.  It's probably on the opposite side of healthy, but it's probably healthier than the cheeseburger I was craving when I picked the recipe.  I opted to not mix in the entire bag of tots, and put some on top.  After the initial bake time, I sprinkled a bit more cheese and the bacon over the top and put it under the broiler for a couple minutes.  The crunchy tots were perfect.


The kids were amazed at how filling these Easy Pizza Sliders were.  I made the recipe as is, which meant they'd get two each, but I had two leftover.  I cooked it for 10 minutes more than stated because the cheese hadn't melted much.  I also pulled the foil off with two minutes left, so the tops toasted up - a good call.


On an In-Law Dinner night we had hockey, so I needed something I could throw together ahead of time.  Maple Bourbon BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Apple Slaw was that something.  The chicken was done in the slow cooker and the slaw needed a couple hours to meld flavors.  I liked the flavor of the BBQ, but the bourbon was lost in the long cook time.  Next time I may add it about half way through.  The slaw was a great touch, and bonus, nobody knew it was broccoli!  I also toasted the buns because I'm not a fan of soggy buns.


This White Chicken Enchilada Pasta has been pinned for a while.  It was a quick weeknight fix, that held up well for those not at home at dinner time.  The only disappointment was that the title is Enchilada - the flavor, not so much.  It had nice seasoning and heat from the Cajun spice, but next time I'll do a taco seasoning.


I wanted something quick for dessert, but didn't need it necessarily for school lunches.  Pumpkin Crumb Cake seemed to fit the bill.  Plus I had pumpkin in the 'fridge that needed using.  It's a nice moist cake, and the seasoning isn't over-powering, which is nice.  The crumb top adds a nice crunch and buttery flavor.

Happy Friday,

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