Chili-Macaroni makes a healthy timesaver for Christmas rat-race days fast upon us

The clock ticketh in terms of Christmas Month Food Prep. Since Thanksgiving Week next week brings on the start of the Christmas ratrace, the days soon will be mega busy, with almost no available moments for preparing regular meals. I like to have the freezer well-stocked with food at the ready—usually doubles of items I've fixed in November or late October. When the Christmas marathon begins, I'm never regretful of having meals already on hand.

Keeping those meals healthy also is paramount now. In previous years I might have stocked up on such convenience items as rotisserie chickens from the grocery deli, takeout fried chicken, or readymade pizza. But last Christmas was our first year to be on our improved eating plan and to try to reform some of our unhealthy ways. Even the most motivated find Christmas time to be an automatic trap for weight gain, so I've tried to put aside only food items made the healthy way—meals that won't cause us to backslide.

Chili-Macaroni, made from a Better Homes & Gardens website recipe, fell into this category. Hubby and I enjoyed Chili-Macaroni during a November meal and spotted it as a perfect one to make in bulk and freeze for the "December-10K" time fast approaching. I loved the fact that it had fresh green beans and a fresh tomato cooked right into it, so veggies already were a part of the deal, as was whole-grain pasta. At the time I prepared it, I made and froze an extra batch, so it's waiting for a sure-to-arrive December night when the day has been jammed with Christmas "to-do"s and I feel clueless about mealtime that has arrived too soon.

Try as we might, most of us can do little about the fact that pre-Christmas days overwhelm us, but we can feel smug about the fact that meals already are taken care of. Chili-Macaroni joins some containers of Spaghetti Sauce Excellente, Vegetable Soup, King Ranch Chicken, and a few other freezables lying in repose in my deep-freeze right now for some for-sure future mealtimes when I'll be ready to hug them and kiss them just for being there to save my life.

Chili-Macaroni

12 ounces ground turkey

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes and green chilies

1 can tomato sauce (no-salt added)

1 fresh tomato, choped

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup whole-grain elbow macaroni or bow-tie pasta

1 cup fresh cut green beans

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

tortilla chips

In a very large skillet cook ground turkey and onion over medium heat until turkey is brown and onion translucent. Drain off fat. Stir undrained tomatoes and green chilies, tomato juice, fresh tomato, chili powder, and garlic powder into meat mixture. Bring to boiling. Stir in pasta and green beans. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until pasta and green beans are tender. Top with shredded cheese and serve with tortilla chips. Makes 4 servings.

This squash melange certainly rated best in our pre-Thanksgiving "show"

The saved recipe that once appeared in the newspaper stated only that it was "Best of Show—All American Casserole Contest". Since I cut the clipping out long ago, I didn't preserve with it the headline saying "Best of Show" where or when. The State Fair of Texas? Some other kind of local bakeoff? My info was incomplete. Yet any recipe that's labeled "best" of something, I eventually have to try.

So as I planned my menu for my "drive-by" Thanksgiving I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I automatically zeroed in on this choice, because I saw it had been a winner. Only winners for my family for this special gift we were handed of our son dropping in for a pre-Thanksgiving visit.

Fresh zucchini and fresh yellow squash, called for to make the casserole, were vegetables we had on hand after our recent stop at the Oklahoma farm stand I mentioned in a previous blog. They were diced and boiled and mixed with sour cream and cheddar cheese. On top went crushed butter crackers. Hubby and I enjoy the fact that a lightly salted variety of Ritz crackers (officially called Hint of Salt) is available; this works well for snacking in Hubby's sodium-restricted eating plan. These crackers I now used crushed for the crust on top.

Ultimately this squash melange looked fabulous in the mix of Thanksgiving offerings on our buffet table. Even some avowed non-squash-eaters that dined on this recipe gave it rave reviews and wanted to know how it was made.

The "Best-of-Show" title for this casserole certainly lived up to its name. Days later when we were cleaning up leftovers, everyone was begging for the last morsel of this tasty dish that couldn’t be more Thanksgiving fare than if it had been served by the Pilgrims.

Yellow Squash-Zucchini Casserole

6 cups large diced yellow and zucchini squash

vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup grated (2-percent milk) cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed butter crackers (tried with Ritz lightly salted variety)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line colander with clean dishtowel or cheese cloth. Place cooked squash in lined colander; squeeze out excess moisture and set squash aside. Sauté onion in butter for 5 minutes; remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour in buttered casserole; top with cracker crumbs. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Pumpkin-pecan pie is standout at "drive-by" Thanksgiving feast

We called it our "drive-by" Thanksgiving, but we would take a family Thanksgiving observance any way we could get it.

Earlier this week our son who lives in another state was in town overnight for a business meeting. Wish he'd been able to bring his wife and our two faraway grand preciouses with him, but since he couldn't, Hubby and I decided to round up any of our kiddos we could gather and have an official Thanksgiving feast. We decided it would have to do.

Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce—the works—was served at this rushed-up event, but all was wonderful and tasty and memorable. Gave us a chance to play "find the real leaf"—a tradition that has been part of many past Thanksgiving dinners. Hubby went out into the yard and brought in a colorful bit of fall foliage. We interspersed it with the traditional artificial decor leaves that accompany our annual autumn centerpiece. As as been our custom for many years the kids (all adults, but who will always be our "kids") searched until they found the authentic one. Winner got to be the first person to be served dessert. (Believe me, with our daughter, son, and son-in-law as contestants, this gets dog-eat-dog competitive!)

How to pick out a menu for our "drive-by"—since I couldn't cook my entire Thanksgiving recipe file, I zeroed in on the things the kids like best. A traditional pecan pie was there, of course—prepared from my grandmother's recipe that's featured in my first cookbook, Way Back in the Country. To appease Hubby I knew I had to have pumpkin represented. That called for Pumpkin-Pecan Pie, featured in my new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden. It's a blending of the things he likes best. The lower strata of the pie is a pumpkin layer formed from fresh pureed pumpkin. After that bakes for about 25 minutes and starts to set, I pour on a pecan layer. From the surface the finished pie looks similar to pecan, but the pumpkin layer at the bottom forms a surprise. For pumpkin-pie lovers such as Hubby, it's a true Thanksgiving delight.

Adored son blitzed in and out of town; our dinner is history, but we have this unusual Thanksgiving memory to add to our collection. In addition, I've saved and frozen a slice of leftover Pumpkin-Pecan Pie, so Hubby can have his traditional "day-after" pie piece for breakfast on the morning of November 26.

Pumpkin-Pecan Pie

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 cup brown sugar (1/8 cup if using brown-sugar substitute)

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2/3 cup cooked pumpkin, mashed and drained

2/3 cup milk (I use skim milk)

1 (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pastry shell

Pecan topping:

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar (1 tablespoon brown-sugar substitute)

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup pecan halves

In a mixing bowl beat eggs, sugars, flour, pie spice and salt until smooth. Mix in mashed and drained pumpkin. Gradually beat in milk. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes longer. For pecan topping beat eggs in a mixing bowl until eggs are foamy. Add corn syrup, brown sugar, molasses, flour, vanilla, and salt. Pour over filling. Sprinkle with chopped pecans; cover with pecan halves. Continue baking at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 6-8 servings.

Can traditional green-bean casserole be supplanted as TG favorite? My "subcommittee" was open to sesame.

I was sure I was committing some sort of heresy. After all, doesn't everyone serve the traditional green-bean casserole (cream-of-mushroom soup, French-fried-onion topping, etc.) at Thanksgiving time? Would I dare deviate from the norm? Would a lightning bolt zap me in my kitchen?

Yet the cook who submitted Sesame Green Beans to the Family Circle magazine recipe collection vowed that her family members had been diehard green-bean haters before she tried Sesame Green Beans on them. Her blurb attached to the recipe indicated that her loved ones fairly beg for this vegetable now because of the new way of preparation. That moved Sesame Green Beans up to my must-try category. Traditional green-bean casserole got jettisoned for a new experiment (for now).

Unlike most recipes calling for fresh green beans, this one asked the cook to sauté the beans in olive oil rather than to steam or boil them. Garlic in the sauté process amped up the flavor. A brew of light soy sauce and water (sesame seeds added) tenderized the beans for about 10 minutes, with the skillet covered. Although the green of the beans darkened in the cooking process (one family member ultimately asked whether she was being served asparagus because of the darker color), it did nothing to detract from the end flavor result.

One night this week I tried Sesame Green Beans out on a "subcommittee" of the eventual end-recipients of Thanksgiving dinner. Would Thanksgiving magic be the same without my tried-and-true green-bean casserole?

All I know is that the bowl full of green beans disappeared quickly--not a single one remained for next day's leftovers!

Sesame Green Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed

3 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and tilt pan to coat. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add green beans and sauté, about 2 minutes. Pour in soy sauce along with 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Reduce heat to medium and cover pan. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Uncover and stir beans to coat. Sprinkle a few more sesame seeds over the top. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.

Late-season farm stand yields zucchini for delightful mini-muffins

Oh boy, oh boy, we found a roadside farm stand still open and still offering fall veggies! Sometimes this late in the year we end up disappointed when we go on a hunt for outdoor produce stands, but the one to which we were directed in rural Oklahoma (where we traveled for Hubby's physical exam that I mentioned last week) was well-stocked and ready for business.

I jumped for joy when I saw zucchini on the produce table. Now I could make my Carrot-Zucchini Mini-Muffins that always smell so autumn-y when they're in the oven. The recipe was from a Family Circle magazine of several years back. I love the fact that these muffins are bite-sized and taste wonderful by themselves or with some of my homemade peach preserves that I put up during the summer.

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating about a simple solution to recipes calling for buttermilk: any recipe calling for buttermilk has an easy substitution. In this case put 3 teaspoons vinegar in a one-cup measuring cup; then fill the remainder of the cup with skim milk. Let this stand for five minutes. You can forget about having to purchase buttermilk which has a high fat content and then be stuck with the remainder sitting around in the refrigerator unused.

We enjoyed these as a little "extra" with our breakfast cereal in the mornings, but they also would be great as an "extra" (healthy) side dish with a Thanksgiving meal. Thank you, little Oklahoma roadside stand, for being available to us with this fresh produce just before closing-down time for winter. Makes us eager for spring when the whole cycle starts up again.

Carrot-Zucchini Mini-Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 large egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup buttermilk (or 3 teaspoons white vinegar mixed with the rest of the cup filled with

skim milk)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar (or 1/4 cup brown-sugar substitute)

1 small zucchini, shredded (1 cup)

2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (1 cup)

1/2 cup pecans

2 tablespoons chopped pecans for topping

Heat oven to 375 degrees. With nonstick cooking spray, coat just the bottoms of three mini-muffin pans. In a large bowl whisk together both flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In medium-sized bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, oil, and sugar until blended. Stir in zucchini, carrots, and nuts. Make a well in flour mixture; pour in egg mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. Into each cup spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter. Sprinkle tops with chopped pecans. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes until toothpick emerges clean. Cool pans on rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins; cool on rack. Makes 36 mini muffins.

Flexing netted a great (substitute) broccoli/carrot/cheese soup recipe

Flexibility—that great byword that characterizes most missionaries and lots of other exemplary folk—is not in my constitution. As I've mentioned before, give me LOTS of warning before you switch gears on me. And when recipes are involved, if I've picked one to feature in my blog, I've picked it—as well as the date and the occasion for which I'll prepare it. It's set in stone!

So I was zooming along gathering ingredients for a broccoli-carrot-cheese soup recipe. The recipe of choice was satisfactory enough and had lain in my "untried" section for several years. I was tearing into the package of fresh broccoli crowns when I saw it printed on the back—the recipe of my dreams for creamy broccoli soup. It contained the broccoli, carrots, and onion that I had on hand already; what's more, it already had all the substitutions made for me—low-sodium chicken broth, skim milk, salt substitute—without my having to desperately hope that my "subs" would work out OK.

Well, this was a no-brainer. My old plans had to go to make room for Creamy Broccoli Soup, whose recipe appeared on the package. Thank you, Kroger, for featuring this healthy version on your brand of broccoli crowns.

The result was the soup of my dreams, plus I just had to toss in a little cheddar cheese to give that creamy sauce a cheese-y taste. See, I can flex and do so on my own! Hubby said it was his favorite broccoli soup ever. We kept dividing the leftovers in half and dividing them again to make it stretch for as long as possible.

And my old recipe? I've tossed it. Nothing like the healthy version that was dropped in my lap, just as I was about to prepare the former one. Must have been meant to be.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

4 cups broccoli florets

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium (may substitute vegetable broth)

2 cups skim milk

1 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 cups low-fat shredded cheese (optional)

In large pot bring water and onion powder to boil and add broccoli, celery, and carrots. Bring to a boil, drain, and set aside. Saute onions in butter until tender. Stir in flour to form a smooth paste Slowly add broth and milk. Stir constantly. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute; add vegetables and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until tender. Remove from heat. Add 1 1/2 cups low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, if desired. Stir until melted. Can be prepared 4 hours in advance. Makes 4 servings.

Think you've tried everything pumpkin? Bet you've overlooked these pumpkin cookies.

Yesterday at a roadside fruit and vegetable market, the proprietor was extolling her delight in cooking with fresh pumpkin. She told me she had prepared every type of pumpkin recipe imaginable and knew of nothing "pumpkin" she hadn't cooked.

I asked her whether she had ever tried pumpkin cookies. She wagged her head "no". I hadn't either until I encountered this recipe. I told her that if she was a purveyor of fine things pumpkin, she must give these a whirl.

As with many other food items I've written about in The Newfangled Country Gardener, this recipe for Easy Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting had secured a place of honor in my fall recipe binder but had remained there, untried, for several years. Well, this was my year!

I loved everything about this recipe—especially the close-to-Thanksgivingy smell that invades the kitchen when these delectable little cookies are baking. I also love the tip that was provided at the end of the recipe (which appeared in my Kroger grocery circular some years back): the fact that you can substitute fresh pureed or canned pumpkin puree for half the oil in many brownie, muffin, and sweet-bread recipes.

Considering that at the outdoor market yesterday I brought home six mini pumpkins and one large one, I'll have pumpkin puree to substitute for oil in recipes for a very, very long time.

I plan to give a tray of these to a neighbor at Thanksgiving, take some to my kids on an upcoming visit, and put a few on my Thanksgiving table for our family. They are wonderful!

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

1 box spice cake mix

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 cup canned pumpkin)

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream-Cheese Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) package Neufchatel (cream-cheese substitute) cheese, softened

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl stir together all ingredients until well blended. Drop by the teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets; press down cookie batter with a fork that has been dipped in sugar substitute. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on rack. While they cool, make cream cheese frosting by beating cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until the mixture is creamy. Gradually add sugar and salt; beat until blended. Stir in vanilla. When cookies are cool, frost with Cream Cheese-Pecan Frosting. Sprinkle on chopped pecans. Makes 3 dozen cookies.