Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving Sides and Desserts

Each Thanksgiving my family goes over to my brother and sister-in-law's house. My sister-in-law makes the turkey and everyone else brings a side dish. I bring pineapple filling and zucchini garden chowder. They are both really easy to make...so I thought I would share them with you (along with some desserts). =)


Pineapple Filling
You need 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs 1 large can
crushed pineapple, and 5 slices of bread. First, you want
to cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs.
You need to drain the pineapple the best you can. I have 
this really cool can strainer that I got for a wedding present.
Add the pineapple in with the creamed butter and sugar and eggs.
You want to tear up your pieces of bread into cubes.
Mix everything together. Before pouring into your pan, 
make sure you grease it.
I used a 2 quart Pyrex pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour uncovered.
My family loves this! So hopefully you will too. =)

Pineapple Filling
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 large can of crushed pineapple, drained
5 slices of white bread, cubed

Directions
Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and drained crushed pineapple. 
Pour filling into 2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Zucchini Garden Chowder
First off you want to melt 2 tablespoons of butter in soup pot over medium heat. 
Then you'll add 2 medium zucchinis (chopped) and 1 medium onion (chopped...I 
used my handy dandy pampered chef chopper). You want to saute them until 
they become tender.
You'll need to add in 2 tablespoons of parsley and 1 tablespoon  of basil. 
If you can get it fresh, it definitely is better, but if you don't have it (like me) 
then the dried stuff works and tastes just fine.
Stir in 1/3 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon 
pepper in with your zucchini and onions.
Gradually stir in 3 cups of water to make smooth stock.
Add 3 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes and 1 teaspoon lemon juice 
and mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. 
Be careful not to burn it...I've done this already (but not this time).
Add in 2 cups chopped tomatoes....
2 cups corn...I did canned, but fresh is WAY better....
and 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk and return to a boil. Reduce 
heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes until corn is tender.
Before serving add both shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups) 
and parmesan cheese (1/4 cup). Stir until melted.
This is delish!!!! A friend gave me this recipe and it has become one of my 
favorite dishes!!! It's also great for this cold weather that's around the corner.

Zucchini Garden Chowder
Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
2 medium zucchini (chopped)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
1 Tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups water
3 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups tomatoes (chopped)
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
2 cups corn
2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

Directions
1. Melt butter in soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add zucchini, onion, parsley, and basil to pot. Saute until tender.
3. Stir flour, salt and pepper into vegetables. Gradually stir in water to make smooth stock.
4. Add bouillon cubes and lemon juice and mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, evaporated milk and corn and return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes until corn is tender.
6. Just before serving add both cheese and stir until melted.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
I made this one for a church dessert fellowship we had in lieu of Thanksgiving.
You start off with 1/4 pound butter, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 1/4 cups sugar, and 2 eggs. 
You mix until creamy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 
1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups flour. Add in the flour last, and in small increments 
to aid in smooth mixing. Add 1/4 cup milk last...you may not need a whole 1/4 cup 
of milk or you may need a little more. Batter should be creamy but not drippy. 
Stir in 6 ounces (I added more...heehee) of chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into greased 
and floured bundt pan. Fill about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Cake 
will rise and become a golden brown. Test by inserting a toothpick. When the cake is 
done the toothpick should come out clean.
Now for the pretty stuff....once you've flipped your cake out of the bundt pan...sprinkle 
some sugar, cinnamon, and some mini chocolate chips...just to make it look pretty. =)


Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Ingredients
1/4 lb butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
6 oz chocolate chips

Topping
Sugar
Cinnamon
Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions
Mix butter, cream cheese, sugar, and eggs in large bowl till creamy. Add vanilla, baking powder, salt, and flour. Add in the flour last, and in small increments to aid in smooth mixing. Add milk at the very end. You may not need the whole 1/4 cup of milk or you may need more. Batter should be creamy but not drippy. Stir in chocolate chips using large spoon. Spoon mixture into greased and floured bundt pan. About 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

Chocolate Pumpkin Shaped Cake
I made this one really simple...I cheated! =) I went out and bought 2 boxes of moist devil's 
food cake box mix. I followed the directions on the box and poured the mixture into 2 
greased and floured bundt pans. It is important to have a bundt pan that has those 
ridges in it...it give the effect of the ridges in the pumpkin. =)
You'll have one cake with the rounded end on the bottom of your cake dish and "flat" side up.
This cake will go on top.
Add a little icing in the middle to make them stick to each other.
ooppps...we had to cut off a little of the top cake to make it sit a little better. 
That's ok..we wanted a taste test anyway. =) haahaa!!
Tashia and I took turns trying to get the coloring of the icing right. 
We both succeeded in getting food coloring all over us.
Tashia is WAYYY better at icing cakes then I am...so I let her. =)
So, we were trying to figure out how to put our stem on the cake because there is such 
a large whole in the middle...so I cut a piece of card board and covered it in tin foil...
and placed that into the middle of the cake so we 
had a platform for our gum paste stem and leaves.
Almost finished...
What do you think? I just used a leaf shaped cookie cutter for the leaves.
I think we make a pretty good team. =)

Phew! All done! =) Hope you'll try these easy recipes. Let me know how they turn out if you 
do! I'm thankful for a mixer..can't imagine having to mix all this stuff up by hand. =) haahaa! 
I'm thankful for a niece who likes to indulge in my "projects". There is plenty to be thankful 
for this Thanksgiving (and ALL year round). I often forget to be thankful...lets not forget all 
the blessing we have here in America this Thanksgiving season. Happy cooking and baking...and a Happy Thanksgiving!! =)

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