Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

A great treat during this time of year is...roasted pumpkin seeds!  They are really easy to prepare and are a tasty snack.

Ingredients:

The seeds from 1 pumpkin
Coarse salt

Instructions:

Once you've cleaned out the pumpkin and separated the seeds, you can rinse them off and then dry them with a papertowel.  Now, spread them out on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle coarse salt over them.  Bake at 350 degrees.  Every so often, open the oven and move around the seeds a bit with a spatula so that they roast evenly. Enjoy!

The chickens love to eat the leftover pumpkin pieces!

Fresh Brussel Sprouts

I love brussel sprouts.  This is the first year that my parents planted them in the garden, and we've been waiting for the first frost to harvest them.  Here are some that we picked from the garden today!

You can roast them in a pan or in the oven, and they taste great either way.  Here's how I like to cook them on the stove top:

Ingredients:

Brussels sprouts ~ 10 is usually a good serving size for each person
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
3 cloves garlic
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:

Cut the stem portion off of the brussels, then slice in half.  Bring a pan to medium heat and drizzle the bottom with olivve oil.  Then, crush the cloves of garlic and add to the pan.  When they start tp sizzle, add the brussel sprouts.  Add a dash of salt and pepper, and another drizzle of olive oil.  Once they have been cooking for a few minutes, squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto them.  Make sure to stir them around now and then so that they all roast evenly.

After 12-15 minutes, they will be tender.  What a perfect side dish to serve with a nice meal!  Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pies

Today my Mom and I made a batch of homemade chicken pot pies.  We made miniature sized pies and regular sized ones.  Here's our recipe for traditional pot pies, made simple. 

This recipe will yield seven mini pies, or 1 large pie.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken (to save time, we used a rotisserie chicken that was pre-cooked; we just cut pieces of chicken off the bone and diced into small chunks)
1/3 cup onion, finely diced
1/3 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables (we used a bag of peas and carrots from the store)
1/2 cup diced potatoes ~ (if using canned potatoes, use as is; if using fresh potatoes, make sure you microwave the diced pieces for about 2 minutes until they soften)
2 tablespoons butter
2 flavored bouillon cubes
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of chicken stock
Pie crusts ~ (if using store-bought crusts, 1 package will be enough for this recipe; if you want to make your own - see my past recipe for homemade crust in my Apple Pie post)
7 mini pie tins or 1 large pie tin~ disposable tins are easily found at the grocery store in the baking section

Instructions:

In a large saucepot on medium heat, add your olive oil. When it heats up a bit, add the celery and onions.  When the onions have cooked down a bit and the vegetables look translucent, add the butter.  When it melts completely, add the flour and start whisking immediately. Whisk until the flour is completely dissolved into the mixture.  

In a separate bowl, put the bouillon cubes into the chicken stock and microwave it for about two minutes.  Now, add the chicken stock to the saucepot.  Turn up the heat.  Add the potatoes and the frozen vegetables.  Add the chicken.  The mixture will almost come to a boil.  Let it cook for about 7-10 minutes.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  We used the mini pie tins as "templates,"  flipped them over onto the crust, and cut the crust around the edge of the tin.  As I said, a "top" and "bottom" crust in a package from the store made 7 mini crusts.   You are only using these as top crusts; the pies do not need bottom crust.

Now, ladle your veggie mixture straight into the pie tins, leaving a bit of room in the tin.  Lay a crust on top of each tin, and then slice a tiny slit into the top of each pie.

Cook in the oven for about forty minutes.  When the crust is golden brown, they are done! 

Look at these - so delicious!  The individual ones are great if you were having guests over for
dinner, and the larger pies would be a great item to bring if you are the guest!

Corn Chowder

*Guest post from Turtle's Mom*

Well, it is finally everyone's favorite season (Fall!) which means that it is time to start making soups and stews.  This corn chowder is great because it still tastes like summer (fresh corn - yum!) but it is a perfect dinner for a chilly night. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock 
1/4 cup half and half
2 potatoes
1 stick of celery
1/2 onion
3 ears of corn

Instructions:

First, get all of your vegetable ingredients ready.  Peel and finely chop the potatoes, dice up the onion into small pieces, and dice the celery.  Cut all of the corn off of the cobs.  To soften the potatoes, microwave the pieces in a bowl for about two minutes.  

Now, you'll prepare the base for the chowder.  In a three quart sauce pan, on medium heat, add the olive oil and butter.  When it is melted, add the flour and start whisking immediately.  When it is incorporated into the liquid and looks smooth, add the chicken stock.  Continue whisking.  Then, add the potatoes, celery, onion, and corn.  Cook for about fifteen minutes.  Now, turn off the heat and add the half and half.  Stir together.  The chowder is done!  

Another great thing about this chowder is that it still tastes great if you freeze it and reheat it later on.  If you feel like making a larger batch of it, just pour the extra into serving-sized containers and freeze them for another time when you want a quick meal.