Yum, yum, yum.  I did some experimenting with new recipes for Christmas dinner and the results were fabulous!  We always get a recipe sheet in our Angel Food boxes so I looked through them to find something different.  This is a slightly adapted version of theirs.

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 medium celery stalks, chopped
• 1 bag (15-16 oz) cubed seasoned stuffing
• parsley flakes
• 1.5 chopped apples
• 1 lb andouille sausage (I’m sure I spelled that wrong…sorry!)
• chicken broth

1. In a large nonstick skillet, brown sausage and break up well.  Drain and set aside.
2. Using the same skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion and celery.
3. Transfer vegetables and butter to a large (VERY large!) bowl.
4. Add stuffing and parsley. (I eyeballed the parsley amount, about 1 tablespoon I think!)
5. Stir in enough broth to moisten the stuffing, about 2.5 cups.
6. Add the sausage and apples.
7. Place stuffing in a baking dish, drizzle with additional 1/2 cup of broth, then cover and bake until heated through.

It was delicious!  And this made a ton of stuffing.  We’re still eating it but the good news is it’s so yummy that we’re not tired of it yet!  Let me know if you try it.  It was a hit at my house…definitely a good change from the standard stuffing we have been eating here.

I had some more pumpkin, so I did some more recipe searching.  Pumpkin Bundt Cake + Basic Cake Glaze = Absoulutely delicious!

The butterscotch pudding in the was just the right ingredient.  It’s sweet, but not so sweet that you feel bad after eating it.  Yummmmmmm!

A friend shared this recipe on her facebook page and I thought it sounded good, especially since I had all of the ingredients on hand.  We actually baked it rather than doing it in the crockpot and added carrots and an onion.  It was a really delicious autumn-y dish that was inexpensive and easy.  Even my picky kids liked it, so it was a hit all around!

It’s that time of year!  I bought a ginormous can of pumpkin the other day and needed to figure out what to do with it.  I started with this one. I’d call this a pumpkin cake more than I’d call it a bar type recipe.  I did use the cream cheese frosting and it’s quite yummy.  The instructions aren’t great…I’m unsure why it says to use 2 9×13 pans.  I used one and it came out fine, I just had to cook it a bit longer.  I think you could halve it and it would be plenty!

The next one I’m trying is this one.  Pumpkin bread with cream cheese cooked right in?  Yes please!

Any other suggestions?  I stuck with these 2 because I had all of the ingredients on hand, but I’m not averse to a shopping trip if there’s a super yummy suggestion!

We get massive quantities of dry beans via WIC and Angel Food Ministries.  I don’t make them as often as I should, though.  There’s the whole soaking overnight thing which I always forget to do, and then they’re not ready and I get frustrated and blah blah blah…it just doesn’t happen.  But Saturday night, I put out a pound of black beans to soak and was determined to use them for Sunday’s dinner.

I searched my old standby website for a good recipe and found this one.  Easy and we had most of the ingredients already!  I tweaked it a little…left out the jalapenos, used some water instead of chicken broth, tossed in some chicken breast tenderloins we hadd thawed that needed to be cooked.  It turned out really good!  We steamed some rice and it was a nice spicy meal, high in protein and fiber, low in fat.  My kids weren’t big fans of it, but my husband and I thought it was quite good.  And we had a ton of leftovers, so we’ll have some great, healthy lunches this week.

Next up…recipes for all of the red beans I have.  Time for some good old red beans and rice.  Yum!

This one is an old favorite.  We don’t do it as often as we used to (can’t afford the shrimp) but every once in a while we find a great deal on shrimp or are able to order some through Angel Food Ministries.  It’s easy and delicious with some really crusty french bread and a salad.

Here’s Paula Deen’s version, which is the one we always follow.  Enjoy!