Family Chow Hall

Okay, folks — this is one recipe that I have not used in years, so I’m sure I’ve never posted it on this site.

The recipe card was written by my son, I’m guessing when he was eight (he just turned 14 yesterday).

Even though it’s been a long time since I’ve made these little things, he still remembers and asks for them almost every time we have leftover mashed potatoes. (At our house, leftover mashed potatoes is practically an oxymoron, considering my hubby’s love for mashed spuds.)

We did have leftovers last night and the kids have wheedled me into making these drop donuts this morning. I hope your family enjoys them as much as mine does.

Here’s the recipe:

Drop Donuts
makes about 25 donut “holes”

1/2 c. leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder

shortening for frying
powdered sugar for coating, or…
cinnamon-sugar for coating

Using two bowl, combine the wet ingredients in one (the first four listed), and the dry ingredients in the other (the last four ingredients). Then, combine the two. You will get a thicky, sticky dough, similar to biscuit dough.

Heat the shortening to 375 degrees. Drop the donut dough into the oil by tablespoon - fuls. (Like making chocolate chip cookies) Fry for a minute or so, and turn them when you can see that they are turning golden brown. Fry another minute and remove to let them drain on paper towels.

While they are still warm, dip them in the powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Warning: Eat these while they are still warm for full tastebud pleasure.

Have a Super Day!

One thousand uses for Pecans, that’s what I’m gonna need this year.

We have two large pecan trees in our backyard, and two small ones in the front.

Pecans are unpredictable. In 2002, we had loads of pecans. So many you couldn’t walk from the garage to the house without crunching on them. In the years since then, we didn’t even have enough to bother picking up.

We’ve heard that trees only produce every other year. We’ve heard they produce every third year. I don’t really know what’s true, but I know this:

This year is a good year for them. They are on our patio, our driveway, in the yard, on the sidewalk, and on the street. When we walk or drive, we crunch pecans. The squirrels must think they are in heaven!

Taken from a Taste of Home magazine years ago, today’s recipe is one of many ways to use pecans:

Cattleman’s Spread

1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 packages (2-1/2 ounces each) dried beef, chopped
4 teaspoons diced onion

Toast the pecans in butter in a hot skillet. Careful - they burn easily and I have done that several times! Set the nuts aside.

Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, and onion together with a mixer. Add the chopped beef and mix that in, too.

Spread the cheese mixture into a greased 8 inch square pan. Top with the toasted pecans. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Serve this warm with your favorite crackers or breadsticks. This makes a great appetizer for a football party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve.

Check out these other recipes for ways to use pecans:

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breasts
Cinnamon Pecan Waffles
Banana Nut Muffins

I am honestly afraid of what my family might do to me if I didn’t make pies on Thanksgiving. Generally, the argument is WHICH KIND of pies I should make.

There are seven members of this family and I would have to make seven pies to please everyone perfectly.

If you are looking for a recipe today, check out my post on making pie crust.

Here is my top-ten list of good fall / harvest pies to serve for Thanksgiving-dinner-dessert:

1. Pumpkin
2. Pecan
3. Apple
4. Apple Crumb
5. Custard
6. Pear
7. Cherry
8. Cranberry-Pecan
9. Fresh Lemon
10. Chocolate Cream

I come from a big family with plenty of siblings and loads of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. When we ate Thanksgiving dinner, children ate at a separate table wherever the women found room to stick them. Usually this was a card table or two set up in the den. We gobbled as much or as little food as we wished, went back for second helpings at will, and were pretty much ignored by the adults, who understandably wanted adult conversation.

As a teenager, I was still at a “kid’s” table for holidays. I think the requirement for moving up to an “adult” table is marriage. Anyway, eating holiday meals with my in-laws-to-be was an entirely different experience. My husband, being an only child from a smaller family with fewer cousins, always ate at the “adult” table. There was no “kid” table. He didn’t help himself from a buffet-style serving line like I had. He was served, family-style, on the “good” tableware and with the “good” silverware.

This was completely foreign to me. Something I’d seen in the movies, maybe. His family ate like human beings, civilized. Slowly savoring each dish. Dinner might take an hour. At my house, it might take 10-20 minutes, max.

And after dinner, it was time for pie and coffee. Pat’s mother would meticulously clean up the dishes and the kitchen while everyone remained at the dining room table. She would not allow me to help. Eventually, she would bring out the pies and a fresh pot of coffee for whoever wanted it. By this time, our full bellies were not sure if pie was a good idea. We forced the issue anyway. When you eat a fast meal, you can cram the pie in before you realize how full you are. When you eat slowly, you are completely aware of how much you have eaten. You feel stuffed, and yet you are offered pie – the very best part of Thanksgiving dinner. How can you refuse?

Simple. You can’t. Sometimes you have to sample two pies because you can’t choose which looks best.

Overindulgence. Probably not what the pilgrims had in mind when they gave thanks almost 400 years ago.

Well, what doesn’t get distorted after 400 years?