Give Thanks

My family is gathering this Thursday. We will be complete: one husband, one son, one daughter and two grand children. This is perfect. I don't know what the future will bring. Don't know how long my son will be here. We won't know if the chemo given to him has done anything, not until January. Meanwhile I enjoy every living moment we have together. And, I will give thanks for this. So much has changed since July 10th when we were told his diagnosis. Such news that a condition is permanent, terminal, makes you reevaluate your life, your attitudes, your beliefs, what you value.

We will laugh, we will eat our favorite foods, the ones we always have for Thanksgiving. We will savor each moment. We will take pictures to enjoy later. Grandkids will want more whipped cream on their favorite dessert: pumpkin pie. We'll have to watch them to make sure they don't devour it all! We'll talk of Christmas, getting our tree and decorating it. We'll be mindful of all our traditions, all our moments together. Football will be watched, cheers and grunts will be heard.
I will give thanks for all these moments.......they're precious.

Grandkids and Cowboy Spaghetti

Cowboy Spaghetti Recipe

With grandkids coming this weekend, I wanted to do something fun for them. They love bacon and spaghetti. How can I go wrong? This delicious spaghetti is topped with green onions and shredded cheddar cheese.

Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices smoky bacon (chopped)
1lb ground beef
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves (minced)
Ground black pepper (to taste)
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ cup beer
1 (14 ounce) can fired roasted diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
green onions (chopped)
Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. This can be done while you’re making the sauce. Heat a large deep skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and add bacon. Fry bacon until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Step 2: In the same skillet add ground beef and chop up with a spatula or metal spoon while cooking. Cook until the beef is browned. Add onions and garlic, stir into the meat. Season with salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add the beer to the pan and stir in. Cook for 5-6 minutes and stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Step 3: Add spaghetti noodles to the meat and sauce and combine. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and green onions.
(Makes 6 Servings)
You can vary the tomatoes you use, not add the beer, etc. As long as they don't see me putting in the beer, they'll enjoy the flavor of this sauce, not doubt, attributing the goodness to the bacon.

Cranberries

Cranberries are so very good for you. And, they're gorgeous. I love how they cook up. Our MJ Farm chapter is getting together to try out some cranberry sauces. I've had some very interesting recipes, one was to make fresh and the others were for canning. Some of us host families both on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We seriously need some sauces canned.
But, I've discovered one terrible thing! I'm not sure one of theses sauces will even make it to Thanksgiving, much less Christmas. I had some leftover from filling the canning jars. It went into the fridge to gel up and develop its flavors. Tried it this morning.....Wow! it's really good. The recipe called for up to 3/4 cup of honey. When I tasted the sauce in the pot, it was way too tart. I added some raw sugar. Let it melt and cook thru, tasted again. Still needed a bit more sweetness. A little more raw sugar. I was out of honey. It was so much better. (I noticed the fresh cranberries I used from Oregon were whitish pink and light red, so they were very tart, more than usual.) This sauce is combined with apples, some orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
The first recipe I made used jalapeno pepper. It was the last pepper in my garden. That made just one pint. It's on the tart side, and packs a little heat. Worth putting on the table for Thanksgiving. The final sauce I'm making is actually called a Cranberry-Pineapple Salad. Other than adding the crushed pineapple, the other ingredient that makes this one unique is some walnuts. It's great this time of year, one can find freshly dried nuts such as walnuts. My daughter requested this one. I read her the ingredients and she's so excited to know it'll be part of our meal. Having all these choices, I'll just serve all three. But, wait....there may be a fourth one! One of our members is making the cranberry sauce which includes fresh ginger. We're going to trade jars!! Soooo after our chapter meeting, four different sauces will be on our menu. Dying to try this one.
Cranberry sauce is fantastic with ham, chicken and some fish dishes. 
Here's the Cranberry Apple Sauce....
24 ounces fresh cranberries
6 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 - 3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice (you could use cloves if you like)
1 orange, peel off only the orange orange peel

Put all ingredient in a large pot. Cook slowly and on low heat. Once you see that the apples have lost their texture and becomes sauce, and all cranberries have popped, remove the peel. Taste for sweetness and spices. I added more raw sugar and more cinnamon and nutmeg.

This is how it should look when ready to can.
Use sterilized half-pint jars, fill 6. Water bath can for 15 minutes. Leave in canner for 5 minutes, then removed to cool on a towel. Check for seal 24 hours later. Label and store.

Another holiday's coming--time to bake and reflect.....

With company coming in a few weeks and in between, my thoughts  have gone to these delectable cookies and the wonderful people who may enjoy them. These are soft pumpkin and chocolate chip cookies. One will do you. So even my low carb friends will enjoy one! I'm baking a few batches and will freeze some because of all the people who will be dropping by before Thanksgiving. We have extended family and we hope to see them throughout this holiday time. Their little ones loves these cookies, so I need a bunch! I look around me and think of the people I love. How can one not be grateful? Life brings us surprises, some good, some very bad. We survive and then realize, we survived. We're still here, ready to take on another day. Make up a batch or two, they are "love" cookies. You'll see....
 Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients

1 c canned pumpkin pie mix (Note: this says MIX)

1 c sugar

1/2 c canola oil

1 egg

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chunks (dark chocolate works very well)

1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 tsp. milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Drop cookies onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.