Easy-Does-It Meat Loaf - Susanna Winston

8 oz. ground beef chuck
2 T. grated onion
2 T. chopped parsley
3 T American chili sauce (not Tabasco...more like ketchup) reserving 2 T for the top.
1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper

Mix lightly, form into a loaf or put into a loaf pan.  Brush remaining chili sauce over the meat and bake for 30 - 45 minutes, or until cooked through, but do not overbake.  This is also delicious when refrigerated overnight and used for sandwiches.

Mock Peach Cobbler - Susanna Winston

Mix together:

1 cup Bisquick
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
juice of canned peaches

Spread mixture onto 8x8 square pan.  Top with chopped canned peaches.  Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream

Lemonade Pie - Susanna Winston

1 can frozen lemonade
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 large carton thawed Cool Whip
1 graham cracker crust pie shell

In a bowl, mash lemonade with a fork.  Add condensed milk and Cool Whip.
Mix well and pour into the pie shell.  Garnish with more graham cracker crumbs, or with a sprig of mint and a thin slice of lemon.  Refrigerate.

A to Z Pasta Salad (vegan)

A to Z Pasta Salad

Susan D'Andrea

Ingredients

·       1 clove garlic, slightly crushed

·       1 pound penne or spiral pasta

·       1 cup asparagus or green beans, cut in 1" pieces 

·       2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices

·       1 red, yellow, or green pepper, chopped

·       8 ounces grape tomatoes

·       2 tsp. each:  basil, oregano, and parsley

·       your favorite fat-free or light Italian salad dressing, to taste

·       salt and fresh pepper, to taste

·       optional: sliced black olives, added just before serving

Instructions

1.    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (Add a small amount of salt, if you want.) Once it boils, drop the asparagus or green beans and zucchini pieces into it and blanch for exactly 1 1/2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl filled with cold ice water.

Use the same pot of boiling water to cook the pasta according to package directions. Once it reaches the 
al dente stage, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold water. Drain it well and add it to the vegetables. Add the chopped pepper, tomatoes, and herbs and toss with enough salad dressing to coat but not drown the pasta. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste, and serve chilled or warm.   

8 servings

Use any fresh vegetables you like:  broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, yellow squash, mushrooms, and artichokes. Try to use only fresh herbs, if you can get them, and use a salad dressing that you know you like.  The one unbreakable rule is to use only fresh vegetables and blanch them to soften slightly.

Deep Fried Pickles (seriously)

This must be a southern thing, but my oh my, if you've ever had a deep fried pickle have I got the recipe for you. They come out perfectly crisp on the outside and well, pickly on the inside. My dear friend, Amanda, ordered these at Alamo Drafthouse Theater and offered me one. It was hard to stay focused on the movie after that because I could smell the yummy goodness wafting from her basket.  Needless to say, I ordered myself a basket the next time I went and talked myself into parting with one for my cute little 7-year-old (who is the only pickle-lover in our home besides me).  He didn't love it and I cursed myself for wasting such savory goodness on an unappreciative soul. But, I digress.

I was making fried green tomatoes the other day (since my tomato plant suddenly decided to give birth to multiples just in time for the first hard frost) and I had lots of extra breading. So, I decided to fry up some dill pickles and hope for the best. I wasn't disappointed and you won't be either!

6-7 dill pickle spears or a bunch of sliced dill pickles

1 egg

1/4 cup milk (or soy or rice milk)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 quart canola oil for frying

Directions

1. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip pickles into flour to coat. Then dip pickles into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.
2. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place pickles into the frying pan in batches of 2 or 3, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the pickles, they should not touch each other. When the pickles are golden, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels. Serve with ranch dressing, for pete's sake!

White chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies

These. Are. Amazing.  But there's something else I should tell you. They're healthy, too. I know, strange combination, but true.  My kids tend to pick the cranberries out, but that's the beauty of this recipe. You can keep what you like, and get rid of what you don't (for the most part).

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

3 c. old fashioned cooking oats, finely blended in food processor
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. walnuts, finely chopped in food processor
1 c. white chocolate chips

1 c. craisins

1 tsp. salt
1/2 baking soda

Mix above ingredients together, then in a separate bowl mix:

1 c. canola oil (or 1 cup applesauce for even healthier version)
1 c. maple syrup
4 T. water
4 tsp. vanilla

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop spoonfuls on baking sheet and bake 350 for 8-10 minutes. YUM!

Healthy Pumpkin Cobbler and Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving is just two days away and my mouth is watering. Two of my favorite fall dishes are Pumpkin Cobbler and Sweet Potato Casserole, but I have to admit that they both have A TON of sugar. In fact, the last time I ate the cobbler I got a major sugar rush, so I decided to tweak it a bit to make it healthy. Don't worry, it still tastes great! A friend of mine figured you could do the same thing to the Sweet Potato Casserole and it would turn out pretty tasty, too.

Pumpkin Cobbler (Healthy remake)

                           29 oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)                     

¾  c. agave nectar or evaporated cane juice (sweeter) or 1 cup pure maple syrup (less sweet)

2 t. ground cinnamon   

1 egg or egg substitute

¼ t. ground cloves

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. salt

2/3 c. almond or soy milk

Mix all ingredients together and place in a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350.

Topping

3/4 c. rolled oats                                   ¼ t. nutmeg

½ c. chopped walnuts                           ½ t. cinnamon

1/2 cup whole wheat flour                      2-3 T. agave nectar

Mix all ingredients well and sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Obviously, if you are making the Sweet Potato Casserole just substitute 2-3 cups mashed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving!