Some Recipes!

Oh boy, we ate and ate, and ate some more yesterday! It was quite a feast. I made our family favorite, broccoli rice casserole, a potato casserole, and a wonderful pumpkin cake. Mark's parents did turkey and dressing, a ham, mashed potatoes, corn, beans, rolls(alas, not the homemade kind), and pies. Here are my recipes, just in time to plan for Christmas or just a nice family dinner if you'd like. All of these make fantastic breakfast items eaten cold from the pan, trust me!

Broccoli Rice Casserole(modified this year to include spinach)...

***amounts are approximate, use your eyeballs for this***
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
2.5 cups frozen chopped or cut broccoli(from a bag)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach(from a bag, not the boxed kind)
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can each 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup
1 cup cheese whiz(I used walmart's Cheese Sensations, cheddar flavor, and liked it much better)*
garlic powder and black pepper to taste

Start cooking rice. Saute onion and celery, add broccoli and spinach, cook til heated through. Combine soups spices and cheese whiz, mix well and add to veggie mixture. Stir in rice and mix well. Pour into two buttered 8x8 pans or 9x13(will possibly be too much for this). Bake, covered at 350 degrees for about an hour. Check after 45 minutes. Remove cover to brown the top. Yum.

Special Dilled Potatoes(or Quick, let me throw something potatoe-y together!)

7 medium potatoes
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 cup cheese whiz(walmart brand)*
1 cup sour cream(I use fat free)
1 tablespoon dried dill
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Wash potatoes and put in pot with water to cover. Boil them, in jackets, about 20 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool. Combine soup, cheese whiz, sour cream, and spices. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel skins off and dice into 1/2 inch cubes(bigger won't be as tasty). Combine with sauce mixture in buttered baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 along side broccoli rice casserole, for about an hour, browning the top during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. These are even better cold!
*the reason I call for 1 cup in each of these recipes is because the jar is 16 ounces and I just scooped out a bunch for each recipe with about 1/4 of the total jar left over. Next time I will use it all. Velveeta would probably work as well but a bit of liquid might need to be added. The GV brand was thinner.

Pumkin Cake(adapted from a recipe out of Big Backyard magazine)

2 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves(I used more)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon alspice and/or nutmeg
1 teaspooon coriander
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 15oz can of pumpkin
1 cup chopped walnuts(optional)

Combine dry ingredients, combine wet ingredients and nuts. Bake at 350 in buttered 9x13 pan for 35 minutes. Test with cake tester! Remove from oven and let cool completely. Frost with butter cream cheese frosting.

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine well and try not to consume too much before the cake is cooled. Frost and enjoy.

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