Chiffonade of Brussels Sprouts with Diced Bacon and Hazelnuts

The Cranberry Relish, Apple Crumble Pie and this Brussels Sprout side are recipes gathered from the same friend at a recipe group last year. She is one amazing cook. We served this with our Thanksgiving meal. It is really delicious.

(Serves 8-10)

2 lbs. brussels sprouts
3 slices bacon, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts *see note below
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Trim the stem end of the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellow or spotted outer leaves. Cut the Brussels sprouts into 1/16 inch slices, and use your fingertips to separate the slices into shreds. Alternative Method, shred the Brussels sprouts using a food processor with the course shredding disk attached.

Place in a bowl and set aside until ready to saute.

Heat a 12 inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan.

Just before serving, reheat the bacon fat until hot and add the Brussels sprout to the pan. Saute until crisp-tender and bright green about 3-5 minutes. Add the bacon, hazelnuts, salt and pepper and stir to mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasonings and serve.

Cranberry Relish (...or is it jam?)

Cranberry Relish

I love this as a cranberry sauce with turkey, mashed potatoes, etc., but I also use this as jam with fresh rolls or on crackers and it is delicious too! It keeps up to a week in the refrigerator or freezes up to a year in the freezer. This recipe makes a lot, so you can have a big supply in your freezer or gift it to friends for their holiday meals.

1 package fresh cranberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
8 apples - tart granny smith or golden delicious, peeled and cored
2 oranges

Put in a food processor and chop (or blend in the Bosch), then add one cup of sugar for each cup of fruit mix (i.e. 8 cups of fruit mix, you need 8 cups of sugar). Put into jam jars or freezer safe Tupperware.

Apple Crumble Pie

I have never loved an apple pie the way I love this pie. My second favorite pie.

Pie Filling:
3-4 large tart apples (about 5 cups) cut into small slices
19” unbaked pie shell
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more for stronger taste)

Pare apples, cut into eighths or smaller. Arrange in pie shell. Mix ½ cup sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle over apples.

Crumble:
½ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine

Mix sugar with flour and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream on top.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Adapted by Chef C from Cooking Light. My ultimate favorite pie.

½ (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking Spray
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
2/3 c. regular oats
¾ c. chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites, beaten into peaks
½ cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Roll dough into an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under, flute.

3. Combine sugar and next 7 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Fold in egg whites and chocolate chips. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until center is set (Sometimes takes as long as 1 hr. 20 min.). Cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Devour!

Sour Cream Pancakes

Oh my goodness, these are some of my absolute favorite pancakes and remind me a lot of Grandma Woods.  They are so light and fluffy, and cook like Grandma Wood's at certain temperatures and on certain griddles. We make Shelley's coconut syrup with them (well we use that with almost any pancakes we make), and these pancakes soak it right up!

1 1/4 cups flour sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons salad oil
3/4 cup sour cream (I pretty much always use light)

Sift dry ingredients together.  Combine egg, milk, and salad oil; add to dry ingredients.  Stir until moistened.  Add sour cream and stir again (some lumps in batter are ok).  The batter will most likely be thinner (or lighter) than most other kinds of pancake batter.  Bake on hot griddle, turning once when top side bubbles. 

Karla's Green Beans with Craisins and Almonds

This is the green bean recipe that Karla made at the beach this last year, and is one of the few canned green bean recipes I really like.  I know some of you felt the same way, so decided to post the recipe! 

I warn you that she said she doesn't really have a recipe, she just adds everything to look or to taste, but the following were her estimates if making it for about 20-25 people:
1 #10 (Costco-sized) cans of regular cut green beans
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds
A little less than 1/2 cup bacon bits (the kind you can get in bags from Costco)
garlic salt

Cut the butter into smaller pieces, and drain the green beans.  Put everything in a pot on the stove, and cook until the butter is melted and everything is warm.  Adjust ingredients as you like, and add garlic salt to taste.

Grandma's Creamed Corn

We all know this creamed corn well!  Justin was kind enough to send me the recipe as I wanted it for Thanksgiving this year.

Note: I tried making this with fat free cream cheese to make it healthier, and it was still DELICIOUS!  Didn't taste second-class at all, so I would definitely suggest doing so if you want it to have less of an impact on your heart... :)

Ingredients:
2 one lb. bags frozen whole kernel corn
12 oz. cream cheese cut into cubes
1 cup milk
½ cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons white or black pepper

Put the corn into a Crock Pot.  Top with the cream cheese cubes.  Stir all other ingredients together in a separate bowl on the side.  Pour the "other ingredients" mixture into the Crock Pot with the corn and cream cheese (do not stir).  Cook on high for 2-3 hours.  Stir before serving.