I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S CALLED, BUT IT IS DELICIOUS MIX

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S CALLED, BUT IT IS DELICIOUS MIX
Olivia and I attended a hog roast hosted by a dear friend of her's who is a retired teacher.  It is a lovely gathering of friends, family, and church friends who all bring a dish to share and the hosts provide a delicious roasted hog that melts in your mouth. 

One of the people brought a version of Chex mix that was a big hit.  The best part about it was that it was both sweet and salty and provided lots of room for improvising with your own additions to the basic Chex cereal.  Try this and you won't be disappointed, especially if you load it up with lots of variety and personal favorite ingredients. 
-Nanette

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S CALLED, BUT IT IS DELICIOUS MIX

Bring the following to a boil:

2 and 1/2 sticks butter
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup

Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Pour over 1 box corn Chex cereal.

Microwave for 5 minutes, stirring every minute.

Cool and add in any goodies you would like!  Here we used M & M's, dried cranberries, and pretzels.  So yummy!!!

PORK CHOPS WITH CIDER PAN GRAVY

PORK CHOPS WITH CIDER PAN GRAVY
This time of years there are apples and apple cider everywhere.  Cooking with apple cider is an excellent way to get the awesome flavor of the beverage without going overboard drinking it every day until the big jug you purchased is gone.  It only remains at its peak for a short time so it is worth using every drop as soon as possible. 

Olivia found this great Taste of Home recipe that combines two all time favorites--apple cider and pork chops.  The recipe is easy and flavorful.  The broth, butter, and whipping cream give the gravy a delightfully rich, full taste.  Add this recipe to your fall line up and you'll get rave reviews.
-Nanette

PORK CHOPS WITH CIDER PAN GRAVY

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (6 ounces each)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons dried sage leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup apple cider or juice
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• Minced fresh parsley

Directions

Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper; rub with sage. Dip in flour to coat lightly.

In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat; brown chops on both sides. Remove from pan.

Add broth and cider to skillet; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Add cream; cook and stir until thickened. Reduce heat to medium. Add chops; cook, covered, until a thermometer inserted in pork reads 145°, 5-7 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

HISSY FIT DIP

HISSY FIT DIP
When Olivia showed me this recipe, her comment was, "It doesn't look like much, but the two groups of people we served it to loved it."  I laughed at that because I know the old adage about how you eat with your eyes first, but in this case beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think the golden brown look of this dip is a beautiful thing.  The combination of cheeses and spices paired with chorizo is a medley that can't be beat.  With fall gatherings coming up and football games to watch (which automatically means snacks to eat while watching) this delicious dip could become a crowd favorite.  Give it a try!
-Nanette

HISSY FIT DIP

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bulk chorizo
• 16 ounces sour cream with chives
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 8 ounces Velveeta, cut into small cubes
• 16 ounces mixture of cheddar and colby cheeses, grated
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon dried ground sage
• garlic powder to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9×9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the chorizo, crumbling it as it cooks, until browned and cooked through. Remove the chorizo from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Add the sausage and all remaining ingredients to a medium bowl and stir until well blended. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, spreading it into an even layer.
4. Bake for 1 hour, or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

PARMESAN ZUCCHINI ROUNDS

PARMESAN ZUCCHINI ROUNDS
This scrumptious recipe is from www.fivehearthome.com.  Olivia made it and found it is a big hit.  Not only is this recipe good, made with very few ingredients, and super easy, but it could be used as a snack, an appetizer, or a side dish.  The zucchini are long gone from the garden here, but they are still plentiful in  the store.  Zucchini often gets a bad rap because when they grow they are super abundant and people run out of ways to fix them.  Add this great recipe to your zucchini line up and you will have people coming back for more. 
-Nanette

PARMESAN ZUCCHINI ROUNDS

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized zucchini
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Garlic salt & freshly ground black pepper, optional

Instructions

1. Place oven rack in center position of oven. Preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil (lightly misted with cooking spray) OR parchment paper.
2. Wash and dry zucchini, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange zucchini rounds on prepared pan, with little to no space between them. If desired, lightly sprinkle zucchini with garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper. Use a small spoon to spread a thin layer of Parmesan cheese on each slice of zucchini. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until Parmesan turns a light golden brown. (Watch these closely the first time you make them and pull them out of the oven early if the Parmesan is golden before 15 minutes!) Serve immediately.

PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE

PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE
It's that time of year again...PUMPKIN TIME!  Olivia found this delicious recipe at a site called www.bunsinmyoven.com.  It is a winner and sure to delight all the pumpkin lovers you know.  The recipe bills itself as a coffee cake but this wonder is decadent enough to pass as a dessert for your fall get togethers, as a game time treat, or something really nice for a carry in.  The smell alone of this cake is enough to draw attention from a crowd.  Olivia and I hope you are enjoying this beautiful season and everything it has to offer.  We rarely met a season we didn't like to enjoy outdoors, decorate for, and of course, cook the appropriate seasonal fare. Dig in!
-Nanette

Before it goes into the oven...

When it comes out of the oven...

With the icing....

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel

Yield: 12 pieces
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:50 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the streusel: 

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups flour

For the cake:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown cup sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree

For the glaze: 

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. To prepare the streusel, stir together the sugars, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter in a medium mixing bowl until well combined.
3. Stir in the flour. Set aside while you prepare the cake batter.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Add the sugars and butter to a medium mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in the eggs and pumpkin until just combined.
7. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
8. Spread cake batter into prepared pan.
9. Take the streusel topping in your hands and press together to form large crumbs. Top the cake with the streusel. It will seem like too much, but use it all for the best streusel experience.
10. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
11. Cool completely.
12. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk to make the glaze. Drizzle over the top before serving.

RUSTIC TOMATO TART

RUSTIC TOMATO TART
This beautiful and colorful dish is great for every day but it is also a lovely way to treat your guests to a vegetable that is not only delicious but pretty as well.  This recipe came from www.tasteofhome.com.  It called for plum tomatoes but Olivia used cherry tomatoes instead.  This time of year you may have a variety of tomatoes still ripening on your vines so use any kind of tomatoes you like or mix them up for an even more interesting look.  The recipe calls for basil but Olivia used rosemary.  Again, use the herbs you like and experiment with various tastes.  Olivia made this for friends who came to her home for dinner and they requested she make it again!  That is without a doubt the ultimate compliment.  Try this wonderful tart and you'll add it to your vegetable recipe favorites.

-Nanette

RUSTIC TOMATO TART

Ingredients

• 7 sheets phyllo dough (14 inches x 9 inches)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 7 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
• 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
• 4 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced chives
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with oil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon goat cheese. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Repeat layers, brushing oil all the way to edges.

Sprinkle onion over top to within 1 in. of edges; sprinkle with fontina cheese. Arrange tomato slices in a slightly overlapping pattern over fontina cheese. Sprinkle with chives, basil, salt and pepper. Bring up edges of tart over filling.

Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Yield: 12 servings.

HOT CROSS BREAD

HOT CROSS BREAD
Hot cross buns are traditionally an Easter season treat that reminds us of the holy nature of the season by making a cross shape on top of the buns, but Olivia thought outside the Easter season and outside the box by making this delicious treat in her bread machine.  You can still add icing if you like and it would be a delicious breakfast bread or just about anytime bread.  The combination of lemon rind and raisins or candied fruit is what gives this bread its delightful flavor.  If you have a bread machine and perhaps you haven't used it for a while, give this a try.  We think you will really like it.
-Nanette

Bread

• 1 egg, plus
• 1 egg yolk
• 3⁄4cup  milk
• 1⁄3cup  butter
• 6 tablespoons  sugar
• 1 1⁄2teaspoons  lemon rind, grated
• 3⁄4teaspoon  cinnamon
• 1⁄2teaspoon  nutmeg
• 1⁄4teaspoon  ground cloves
• 3⁄4teaspoon  salt
• 3 cups  flour
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1⁄2cup  raisins or 1⁄2 cup candied fruit

• Glaze

• 1⁄2cup  icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon  milk
• 1⁄2teaspoon  lemon juice

Put all ingredients except fruit into bread machine.

Regular bread and light crust.

Add fruit at signal.  

After you've cooled the bread and removed it from the pan, make glaze adding sugar or milk to make consistency to drizzle but not run.

Drizzle icing on bread.