ENTBN 2010

I tried a few new recipes at this year's camping event. Here are the ones that turned out well! 

Giant Cinnamon-Pecan Ring

2 1lb loaves frozen bread dough

1/2 c butter, melted

1/2 c sugar                    

1/2 c packed brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon                 

1/2 c chopped pecans

1-1/4 c sifted powdered sugar  

1/2 tsp vanilla

milk (about 4 tsp)

Cinnamon sticks (optional)      

Pecan Halves (Optional)

Lightly grease inside of dutch oven.  On a lightly floured surface, flatten thawed dough slightly.  Cut each loaf into 4 pieces (total of 8). Form each piece into a rope about 18" long.  Brush each rope on all sides with melted butter.  Stir together sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Place mixture on sheet of foil.  Roll rope in sugar mixture to coat evenly. Shape rope into a coil in the center of the dutch oven.  Roll another rope in sugar.  Attach securely to end of first rope and continue coil.  Continue coating ropes and attaching to form a 10-11" circle.  Sprinkle any remaining sugar over coil.  Sprinkle with chopped pecans.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30-40 min.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 3 min or till done.  Cover with foil last 15 minutes to prevent over browning if necessary.  Cool about 15 min.  Stir together powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make a thick glaze.  Spoon the glaze over top of cake.  Decorate with cinnamon sticks and pecan halves.  Serves 16. By Ann Audleman, Ft Walton Beach, Fl  From: http://usscouts.org/cooking/cook_05.asp

Pumpkin Delight

Crust                    

yellow cake mix; reserve 1 cup of mix

1 egg; beaten

½ C butter; melted

Filling

30 oz. canned pumpkin

3 eggs; beaten

3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 C milk

3/4 C dark brown sugar

Topping               

1 C cake mix                        

1/4 C sugar                           

1 tsp. cinnamon                                 

3 Tbs. cold butter                              

Prepare Crust: Mix together cake mix, egg, and melted butter. Press into bottom and 1 1/2" up sides of a well greased 12" Dutch oven.

Prepare Filling: In a bowl combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Pour filling into Dutch oven to fill crust.

Prepare Topping: In a small bowl combine cake mix, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to mix. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Sprinkle over top of pumpkin filling.

Bake: Cover Dutch oven and bake using 10-12 briquettes bottom and 14-16 briquettes top for 1 hour.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream as topping.

Serves: 8-10

Hearty Chili

2 lbs ground beef ( I used 93% lean)
2 med onions, diced
1 med green bell pepper, diced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
30 oz kidney beans, well rinsed and drained
30 oz pinto beans, well rinsed and drained
3 t cumin powder
3 T chili powder
1 t black pepper
1 t white pepper
2 t salt
30 oz diced tomatoes
30 oz pureed tomatoes
30 oz crushed tomatoes
2 C water, if needed

Brown ground beef.
Add onions, pepper, and celery. Cook until softened.
Add beans, stir to combine. 
Add spices, saute for a few minutes.
Add all tomatoes, stir to combine.
Cook stirring every 15 minutes for 2 to 3 hours.
If it is too thick, add additional water.

Adapted from this recipe.

And Liz's favorite...Becky's Israeli Couscous Salad from Trader Joe's

Lucky Dinner Guests!

I made this Lowfat Apple Tart for our dinner guests last Thursday and it was a hit! I followed the recipe exactly because I'm still not that confident of a baker. I thought the filling was great but the crust was too dry. Guy disagreed and thought it was perfect to go with coffee/tea. Try it for yourself! The website errors out and you can't save/comment on/view the recipe if you are logged in to eatbetteramerica.com.

Mushroom Potato Stroganoff from The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook

¾ C whole milk

1 bay leaf

¼ C dried shitake mushrooms, stems removed

1 large potato, peeled and diced into ¼ in cubes

1 lb white button mushrooms

4 T butter

1 ½ C diced onion

1 T fresh garlic, minced

1/3 C flour

2 t salt

1 t ground white pepper

1/3 C red wine

1 C water

1 T vegetarian beef flavored powder OR soy sauce

1/3 C tomato juice

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 C sour cream

½ t ground nutmeg

1 t paprika

Heat milk, bay leaf in small pan. Add shitakes. Cover and sit for 20 min. Drain. Reserve milk. Mince mushrooms.

Cook potatoes in salted water until just fork tender. Drain and set aside.

Slice ¼ of the Mushrooms, quarter ¼ of the mushrooms, and break apart remaining mushrooms to give better texture in the sauce.

Melt butter in the pan. Saute onion & garlic until light brown. Add flour, salt, and pepper, stirring for ½ min.

Add wine, water, beef flavor/soy, tomato juice, reserved milk to pot. Stir until well incorporated.

Bring to a boil. Add all of the mushrooms, including the shitakis and the potatoes.

Simmer 10 minutes until mushrooms are tender.

Remove from heat. Add sourcream, nutmeg and paprika. Add additional salt, if needed.

Serve over egg noodles. Keeps well for about a week.


Friday night dinner guests enjoyed Yankee Pot Roast  which is just perfectly savory and spicy!
Too bad all the leftovers are gone!

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Katie & I made No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake this Sunday that turned out wonderfully! We actually used the pre-mixed cheesecake filling, but still followed the linked basic recipe. After making it we realized that our cousin makes something really similar for Thanksgiving every year! We froze the pie for about an hour, then transferred to the refrigerator until it was served. So good & so easy!