Fudge Pecan Pie

I cannot believe that I haven't shared this recipe previously. I must've overlooked it as most of the recipes I've shared have come from handwritten recipes or ones that I've clipped from somewhere or gotten from friends, etc. This one is in a church cookbook from 1997 that is simply known as "the red cookbook" in our family. This poor cookbook has been used so much it is falling apart and really needs to be rebound. It's the kind of cookbook where ALL of the recipes are good. While occasionally we come across one that is not quite to our taste as written, the recipes themselves are sound. Anyway, this pie has been a tradition ever since DH and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving together ten years ago. I will be using a gluten free crust this year and seeing how rice flour works in place of the white flour....but I am determined to still enjoy our favorite pie. :)

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
1/2 cup butter
3 TB. cocoa
3/4 cup hot water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (5.33 oz) can evaporated milk
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup whipped cream

Preheat oven & cookie sheet to 350 degrees. In medium saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa and stir until dissolved. Add hot water and stir again. With wire whip, blend in sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, and evaporated milk. Stir until batter is smooth. Mix in pecans and pour into pie crust. Bake on preheated cookie sheet for 50 minutes or until custard sets. Garnish with whipped cream.

Notes: If using a disposable or regular size pie plate, this filling will easily make enough for two pies. Rather than putting the pecans into the custard, I spread the pecan halves out in my pie crust and then pour the custard filling over them. I also use way more than one cup. I mean after all, the pecans are the best part of a pecan pie, aren't they?

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing (regular & gluten free)

I found a recipe years ago in the newspaper around Thanksgiving time for Sausage Cornbread Stuffing. I thought it sounded so good. I clipped the recipe, made it, love it, and then lost the recipe. So the following year I made it from memory and didn't really measure anything and still loved it. LOL So needless to say it has been served every Thanksgiving since then. :)

3 Jiffy Corn Muffin Mixes (1 Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Corn Bread Mix) made according to package directions the day before. You can also make your cornbread from scratch...I'm just lazy with all the other cooking I have to do for Thanksgiving and resort to mixes. :)

Chicken broth (Pacific Foods Organic Gluten Free Chicken Broth)
1 onion, diced
celery, several ribs, diced
1 lb. breakfast sausage (I like the Jimmy Dean All Natural)
sliced mushrooms, optional
salt & pepper

In a large mixing bowl crumble the cornbread. I make it the day before and don't even bother to cover it so that it gets a little stale. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the breakfast sausage. Add the onion & celery and cook till softened. Add mushrooms if desired and cook until the juices have released. Add salt & pepper. Add the meat & vegetable mixture to the crumbled cornbread and mix well. Pour chicken broth over and mix until everything is well moistened but not gloopy....don't you just love my technical terms...if you add too much broth you'll end up with soggy stuffing. Spread into a 9x13 baking dish and bake until the dressing is dry and browned on top.

Taco Soup

I made this for dinner the other night as the weather has been getting cooler with the arrival of Fall. It is one of the ultimate comfort foods and as an added bonus super easy and quick to get on the table!

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
black pepper
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Mexican Seasoning (made by McCormick)

Brown ground beef with the onion and black pepper. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer until heated all the way through. Serve in bowls over Fritos or tortilla chips and top with sour cream and shredded cheese. Yum!

I haven't been able to find Mexican Seasoning for a while and didn't have any gluten free taco seasoning on hand, so I merely seasoned to taste with chili powder and cumin. The diced tomatoes I used also had diced green chiles in them. It turned out perfect! Oh, and I don't drain my cans of beans. I just toss them in juice and all.

Pickled Beets & Beet Juice Jelly

A friend of mine was very generous recently and not only taught me how to make pickled beets, but also gave me all of the beets from her garden that she didn't want. Needless to say I was just tickled because they are one of my all time favorite foods. I grew up eating them. She also sent me home with a recipe for Beet Juice Jelly so that I could use up everything from the beets. While that may sound very unappetizing, I would encourage you to try it if you are able to. My daughter who hates beets with a passion tasted some of the jelly and thought I was lying about it having beet juice in it! I'll give you both recipes for pickled beets - the one my friend uses, and the one that my grandma uses.

Virginia's Pickled Beets

Scrub beets and trim. Cook in pressure cooker until tender (about 18 minutes for decent size beets). Unfortunately I don't remember how much pressure she used. Remove peeling from beets and slice and set aside. Strain beet juice through a coffee filter and set strained juice aside.

Put sliced beets in a large stockpot. Using 1 part beet juice, 1 part vinegar, and 1/2 part sugar, create enough liquid to cover beets (2 cups beet juice, 2 cups vinegar, 1 cups sugar). Bring beets & syrup to a boil. Fill hot, sterilized jars with beets and then add enough syrup to fill the jar, leaving about a 1/2" to 3/4" of headspace. Seal jars and process in cold pack canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let cool.

Granny's Pickled Beets

Prep as above. For the syrup, use 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups beet juice, 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon mustard seed, and 1/2 teaspoon celery seed. Process the same as above.

Beet Juice Jelly

4 cups red beet juice, strained (what you don't use to make syrup when doing pickled beets)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package pectin
1 package Kool-aid (grape, cherry, black cherry, or raspberry)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a hard boil. Add 5 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil again and boil for 3 minutes. Ladle into hot jars and seal.

Peach Pie Filling

6 quarts sliced fresh peaches
7 cups granulated sugar
2 cups + 3 Tablespoons Clear Jel
5 1/4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups lemon juice

Peel peaches, slice, and place in water with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice. Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, and almond extract in a large pot. Stir and cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil sauce for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Fold in drained peach slices and continue to heat mixture for 3 minutes. Fill hot sterilized jars immediately, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately.

Processing time is based on altitude.

0-1,000 feet: 30 minutes
1,001 - 3,000 feet: 35 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet: 40 minutes
Above 6,000 feet: 45 minutes

Apple Pie In-A-Jar

10 cups water
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons lemon juice

Put all ingredients in large pan. Bring to a boil, stirring till clear and thick. Place slices of apples in sterilized jars and pour hot syrup over them. Process 6 minutes in cold pack. Makes 6-8 quarts.

Yummy Fruit Syrup

7 cups pureed fruit (I used peaches)
7 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin

In 2 quart saucepan add fruit and lemon juice. Add sugar and stir. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat and stir continuously for 1 minute.

Add fruit pectin and bring back to a rolling boil. Stir one more minute and remove from heat.

Pour into sterilized hot jars and seal (with new lids).