Golden Toffee Blondies

1 C unsalted butter, plus extra for pan

1 3/4 C light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet choco chips

1 C toffee bits (like Heath)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Position rack to upper third of oven. Line a 9x13 glass baking dish with large sheets of foil, pressing foil so that it fits snugly into corners of the pan and overhanging edges serve a handles. Lightly butter foil.

2. Melt butter. In a large mixing bowl beat melted butter with sugar about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined and light in color. Add flour and salt and beat until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and toffee bits.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes. Blondies will be golden brown on the edges yet still soft in the middle Do not overbake. (I probably over bake mine because I have a hard time knowing if it is soft and cooked or soft and raw. I probably add at least 10 minutes to the baking time.) Transfer to wire rack to cool. When completely cool, use foil edges to lift blondies out of pan and cut into squares.

Copy cat chicken lasagna

So, I'm interested in knowing what recipes some of you passed along to Becca. Tell you what, I'll start. The following is a Giles family classic. Chad's mom whips this one up pretty much any time we visit, and I know we've had it at any and every holiday feast; I think a few providence saints have also partaken. Anyway, this is a wonderful any-time-of-year dish.


1 box lasagna noodles (I usually get pre-cooked, but anything goes here)
1 whole chicken (I actually only use half if it's just my family, whole if we're sharing)
16 oz sour cream

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 family sized can cream of chicken soup (I have made this from scratch before, and I have to admit, it's way better.)
reserve 2 cups chicken broth after cooking chicken, OR 2 cups boxed broth/bouillon/whatever makes you happy

-Preheat oven to 350*
-Cook and dice up chicken
- If you decide to use noodles that require boiling, do that here.
-Mix sour cream and cream cheese
-Mix 2 Cups broth and soup
-Grease casserole pan (9x11)

-Layer ; Noodles, cheese mixture, and chicken, finishing with noodles (If using boil-free noodles, I spread the cheese mixture on them before laying them in the pan)
-Pour soup mixture over all

-Here, you can refrigerate overnight, for optimal setting or you can cook right away for optimal eating.
-Bake for about an hour.
-Eat, and be the happiest people alive. (Bonus! This step not included in Becca's card)

Serves 6

Pear Crisp

This is so much better than any apple crisp I have ever made, I don't know if I could ever go back.

Filling:

6 C peeled, cored, and sliced ripe pears (about 6)

1/3 C sugar

1 T chopped candied ginger

1 T lemon juice

1 T flour

Topping:

1 C flour

3/4 C packed light brown sugar

1/2 C rolled oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temp, cut in 1/4 inch slices

1.) Heat oven to 400. Butter a 9x13.

2.) Combine the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss well. Spread fruit in bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes.

3.) Combine flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter, with your fingers rub the ingredients together until well blended.

4.) Remove casserole from oven and top with topping. Bake about 20-25 minutes more. Let cool about 15 minutes.

Delicious with a bit of whipped cream!

Pumpkin Sage Penne

This is simply delicious. It is hard to stop eating.

2 lbs. fresh pumpkin

5 T butter

1 big bunch of fresh sage, chopped (don't buy this from the store, grow it in your yard! It will stick around for many years and save you lots of money. In the meantime, come get some from my garden.)

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

white pepper

1 C heavy cream

1 1/2 C freshly grated Reggiano Parmesan cheese

1 lb. penne pasta

1.) Trim all the flesh off the pumpkin, cup in small pieces and steam for 15 minutes.

2.) Melt 2 T butter in a small skillet over low. Add half of your chopped sage to the butter and increase heat to med-low. Fry until butter begins to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

3.) Bring a big pot of water to a boil, add 1 T salt, bring back to a boil. (Don't add the pasta until you finish set 4 so the pasta will be piping hot when the sauce is done). Cook pasta about 9 minutes. Reserve 3/4 C of the pasta water!!!

4.) Melt 3 T butter in a really large skillet. Add pumpkin. Saute in butter, mashing about half (or more) of the pumpkin. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper. Add 2 T water and cover for 5 minutes.

5.) Remove lid from pumpkin and cook over med-high for 3 minutes. Add 1 C heavy cream, simmer 5 minutes.

6.) When pasta is done, reserve 3/4 C water before draining. Then combine pasta, butter sage mixture, and pumpkin mixture in a large bowl. Toss well, add the grated Reggiano cheese and chopped fresh sage. Add some pasta water to get the desired consistency. Save pasta water to reheat any leftovers (as if there will be any!)

Oh, my mouth is watering!!

Chicken in Cream Sauce over Happy Rice

This is a recipe from my Susan Branch Autumn cookbook. I love this cookbook! If you love the fall this is a great cookbook to have.

Chicken in Cream Sauce

Serves 4-6

2 lbs. chicken breasts

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. cayenne

s&p to taste

4 T butter

3 C sliced mushrooms (don't even think about using canned!)

1/3 C minced shallots

1 1/4 C chicken broth

1 C dry white wine

1 C heavy cream

1/3 C chopped parsley

Happy Rice (below)

3 red pears, diced (opt)

1.) Chop chicken into 1 inch pieces, sprinkle with thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper.

2.) Melt 2 T butter in a large skillet; cook chicken over med-high for 3 minutes(or until chicken is just about done).

3.) Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Remove chicken and mushrooms from skillet and set aside.

4.) Melt remaining 2 T butter and cook shallots for 2 min.

5.) Add broth and wine to pan, bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from bottom of pan. Simmer 5 minutes.

6.)Add cream, simmer 5 minutes more.

7.)Put chicken and mushrooms back in skillet, add parsley and heat through. Spoon chicken over happy rice, top with red pears.

Happy Rice

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 C uncooked rice

1/2 C sliced almonds

1/3 C golden raisins

seeds from a pomegranate (opt.)

1.) Cook rice according to pkg. instructions

2.) When done, stir in all additional ingredients

Sunday Morning Granola Bars

Hey ya'll! I went and joined this blog, and then went and took forever to post. Well, hopefully I can make up for that soon enough. Starting with this!

So, about Sunday mornings- still a bit of a challenge for us Giles folk. And just when I feel like we are getting better at them, we go and have a morning like this past Sunday where we showed up right on time... for confession. Well, Since I missed it in church, there it is. In writing. At any rate, the following recipe whips up pretty quickly the night before, (or, sometimes, if you're really on top of things, EARLY the morning of), and gets eaten pretty quickly by all of those sluggish toddlers, with crazy hair, stumbling around.

My mom's original recipe was:

Chewy granola bars

1 1/2 Cups of Bisquick (I know, I know. But if that absolutely turns your stomach, here is a bisquick substitute that I use from time to time.)

1 1/2 Cups quick oats

1/2 Cup butter, softened

1 Cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 Cup Chocolate chips, or raisins (with cinnamon and/or apples), or nuts, or whatever!

Mix everything, and spread it in a cookie sheet (about 1/2 an inch thick). Bake at 350* for 15-18 minutes. cut while warm.

Notes: If I am making this for just me and the kids, I use the above amounts, but I double it if Chad is sharing with us. Also, if it's just me and the kids, I half the amount of chocolate chips, and may add a bit of peanut butter.

Healthy Carrot Muffins

Last week we went out of town, so mom hadn't been shopping. When we got back there was very little food in the house other than carrots, corn grits and some canned pineapple. So the next meal we had was baked cheese grits and carrot, pineapple salad. I made way too much salad, as I usually do, so I made the leftovers into these muffins. Here is the carrot salad recipe, which I thought was pretty nice.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1 pound carrots, grated
• 1 cup pineapple yogurt (We didn't have yogurt, so I used mayo + juice from the pineapple)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Soak raisins in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and dry.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the raisins, pineapple and carrots.
3. Mix together the yogurt, sugar and salt. Add to carrot mixture; mix well, cover and refrigerate.

And here is the muffin recipe if you have any leftovers, or if you just feel like a warm, delicious breakfast.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 medium carrots, grated (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
• Special equipment: 12 cup muffin tin and paper liners

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin cups with paper muffin liners.
Whisk the flours with the brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl lightly whisk the egg, then whisk in the vegetable oil, and vanilla extract .
Quickly and lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Stir in the carrots and pineapple just until evenly moist; the batter will be very thick. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Turn muffins out of the tins and cool on a rack.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Meg, here is your recipe... finally! This is a delicious, hearty butternut squash soup recipe. It took some time making my ideal recipe, but here it is. And sorry for some things being vague, I'm not sure the exact amounts on certain ingredients... I just prepare it until it is the flavor I like.

1 small onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

6 cups of butternut squash, chopped into chunks (I do about 1 1/2 or 2 butternut squash)

Melted butter for brushing

Kosher Salt

White pepper

3-4 cups of chicken stock (for your desired consisentency)

4 Tbsp. honey

2-3 teaspoons of minced ginger

4 ounces of heavy cream

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 or 425 degrees.

Placed diced onion, garlic, and butternut squash on a large baking sheet. Brush with a fair amount of butter, sprinkle with kosher salt and a little bit of white pepper. Roast in the oven until the squash is nice and soft and smells strong.

Dump the roasted squash/onion combo in a soup pot. Add the chicken stock (preferably homemade tastes best), honey, and ginger. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Puree in blender for best results, but stick blender works well too. Stir in the heavy cream, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your taste buds =).

It is very tasty as is or with homemade croutons on top.