{ Key Lime Pie }

My husband believes that there should be AT LEAST two pies for every person at the Thanksgiving holiday. I don't want to cook four pies so I said we could each make one. This is his favorite kind. I am having him make it, all by himself, from scratch, crust and all. He surprisingly has been talking about how excited he is to try it all week. Wish him luck with the hand juicer and the itty-bitty limes. I think I will make myself a cherry pie.

Ingredients

Filling
3 C sweetened condensed milk
1/2 C sour cream
3/4 C fresh key lime juice
1 Tbsp grated lime zest
Crust
1 1/2 C crushed graham crackers
1/4 C sugar
1/3 C melted butter


Directions 
1. Pre-heat oven to 350.  Start by making the crust. In a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar; add butter and blend well. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. pie plate.
2. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling, or bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool while assembling filling.
3.  In a medium bowl combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and lime zest. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust. Bake for 5-8 minutes until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of the pie. Do not brown!  Chill thoroughly before serving. Serve with whip cream and lime slices for a garnish.

{ Sweet Potato Souffle }

This is one of the most delicious Thanksgiving recipes I have ever had. As with all of the most delicious recipes it is loaded with butter and sugar. Two of my very favorite cooking items. But that's what the Thanksgiving holiday is for right? Gluttony. Yum.

Ingredients

Souffle

3 C sugar or honey
3 C mashed sweet potatoes or yams (Boil yams until tender, not mushy, then mash)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb margarine
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla

Topping

1/3 C flour

1 C chopped pecans or walnuts

3/4 C brown sugar

1/3 stick of margarine

1 C marshmallows (optional)
 
Directions

1) Pre-heat oven to350°. Mix souffle ingredients with a beater. Put mixture in a greased 9/13 baking dish.

2) Mix all topping ingredients, except marshmallows together into little balls or a crumbly mixture. Spoon the topping on top of sweet potato mixture. Top with marshmallows if desired.

3) Bake for 35 minutes.

{ Frozen Cranberry Salad }

I am thankful for this Thanksgiving treat and my beautiful Mother who makes it especially for me every year (no one else in the family craves it like I do). This year however I will not be seeing her so I have to make it myself. I'll post a new Thanksgiving recipe on here every day until Turkey day so stay tuned. 

Mix together:
     2-3 oz pkg cream cheese
     2 Tbsp sugar
     2 Tbsp salad dressing (like Mayo)
Add:
     1-9 oz can crushed pineapple
     1-1 lb can jellied cranberry sauce
     1/2 c nuts (I have usually used walnuts)
Fold in 1/2 pint whipped whip cream

Put in a 9x13 pan and freeze overnight...yes it is that simple.

Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is such a yummy time of year. The smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves permeate my house, mixing with pumpkin, squash, apples and more to make so many flavors that are distinctly autumn.  Today we enjoyed a soul warming Butternut Squash soup for our Sunday dinner. This recipe is thanks to my mother-in-law. Served with little bit of toasted wheat bread and some blackberry jam, we were in heaven!

Ingredients

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 large brown onion, chopped coarsely
3 bacon strips, chopped coarsely
1 large butternut squash (you may substitute or combine in pumpkin), peeled and chopped coarsley
2 large potatoes, chopped coarsely (you may substitute one cup dry potatoe flakes)
6 cups chicken stock

Melt butter in large saucepan. Cook onion and bacon, stirring until onion softens. Stir in pumpkin and potato. Stir in stock; bring to boil. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Blend or process until pureed. Serve with nutmeg for seasoning.

I took a few liberty's with this recipe and added a parsnip, some salt and pepper and substituted cream for 1/2 of the butter. I imagine you could add a variety of extra vegetables and spices to it to enhance the flavor.

25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes

This is a handy article that Cooking Light magazine put on the web. Please check it out. It addresses many mistakes I've already made, and hopefully will prevent some future mistakes, now that I know.

Cooking Tips and Cooking Questions Answered - Photos - CookingLight.com

Crock Pot Thai Chicken Yum

Thai chicken

Add to the crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours:

8 chicken thighs (about 2 lbs)- I usually use breasts- no bones
1/4 cup peanut butter (I usually add more, just because I love peanut butter)
3/4 cup hot salsa
(*usually add 1/2 tbsp fish sauce- gives it a little more Thai flavor)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

After it's done cooking, I usually add one can coconut milk to make it creamier and to give it some more Thai flavor.

Garnish with:
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Serve with rice (I prefer jasmine rice- more authentic)

Feeds 5-6 people.

Cornbread Casserole

This recipe is like cornbread on steroids. It's so delicious AND fast! It's thicker heartier and just as delicious with or without honey. I got this from a friend who was so kind to share his delicious Mississippi recipes with me. Man do those Southerners know how to utilize butter in some of it finest ways!

1 stick of butter
1 can whole kernal corn
1 can creamed corn
8 oz. sour cream
1 box of Jif Corn Muffin Mix

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a medium large bowl. Once liquified add all other ingredients and mix until combined.  Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan or large casserole dish. The deeper and smaller the dish the longer it will take to solidify in the oven. I always cook it in an oval corningware dish and have never had to grease the pan.  Place in oven, uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the top turns golden brown. When fully cooked, this dish won't quite be bread, but it won't be mush.  Serve warm.

Seasonal Vegetables; APRIL

Seasonal menus are delightful. They are cheaper, fresher and more than welcome on my table. In the most recent edition of Cooking Light magazine there was a list of spring seasonal vegetables. They may vary location to location but overall here's what you should be able to find freshest and most beautiful at the local grocer or farmers market right now:

Artichokes                           GreenPeas                               Mushrooms                                    Rhubarb      Asparagus                            Herbs                                      Onions                                           Turnips

Cabbage                              Lettuce                                    Potatoes                                      Watercress

Welcome

Dear inner fat kid in me,

I can keep you inside no more! I must share with the world all the delicious things you think about all day long.

Now we're not Julie and Julia but we are Annie and Anna, and WE LOVE FOOD! We get so excited about food that we feel it's necessary to show you how to stop eating boring and dive into a palatal sensory overload. We are you friends in this journey and we are those friends that are going to encourage you to go to the gym more so you can eat more! Heck we don't even care if you go to the gym as long as you love yourself while eating all of this food. We are embracing our inner fat kid when it must come out and come out it must!

YUM!