Green Tomato Pie

I love the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes". It is definitely one of my all time favorite movies. There were some green tomatoes left in our garden recently. I took a few home with me. I kept thinking I wanted to try making fried green tomatoes. I did find this recipe for Green Tomato Pie on www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 cups sliced green tomatoes
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Sprinkle over sliced tomatoes, coating them. Pour into pastry lined dish. Dot with butter or margarine. Cover with second crust, fluting edges. Cut three or four slits in top to allow steam to escape. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

(The taste reminded me somewhat of apple pie)

Southwest Beef Stew

As the colder weather comes, I enjoy seeing the colors on the trees change. I also look forward to colder weather because I feel it gives me a reason to make soups, stews, etc. I like trying different soups. This fall/winter, I'm going to try soups that I can eat, put a serving in the fridge for dinner or supper the next day, and then freeze the rest for a later time. This way, I don't feel like I'm being rushed to eat it all before it goes bad.

With this recipe, that is what I did. I set some back for the next day and put the rest in freezer bags. I'm also stocking my freezer in the process. I did enjoy this recipe. I thought it was delicious and fairly simple to put together.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cups chopped onions*
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (16 ounces) frozen corn, thawed
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup picante sauce
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

Cook beef and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes, corn, beans, picante sauce, water, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until corn is tender. Top with cheese.

Heinen's take Manhattan

My mom's family will get together at every holiday and the first weekend of August. They also try finding other ways to get together. My mom is number seven of nine kids (yes, I said NINE!).

Starting a few months ago, my cousin, Valerie, and her mom started planning another get together. This time, it wasn't at grandma's house. It was for the K-State versus West Virginia homecoming football game this weekend in Manhattan, KS.

My aunt, Donna, me, and my cousin, Payton photobombing us!

 My mom and my grandma

 



Just resting

We all brought our snacks and drinks and tailgated until kick-off at 2:45 pm. It was a chilly day out, but bearable. Only about half of our family game for the game (there are approximately 120 people altogether in this family).

About 20-30 minutes before kickoff, we all started making our way to the stadium to find our seats. We were all a little spread out, but still in close enough proximity to each other. Our seats were pretty high up. Not good for a person like me who is very afraid of heights. Let's say I felt a little nauseous that high up. We were on the fifth row from the very top of the stadium.

My brother and me

We were on the 50 yard line.

Go Wildcats!

K-S-U WILDCATS!

A little view of Manhattan, KS

Man, that sun was super bright!

Let's score a touchdown!

K-State won the game 28-12.

After the game, we all went back to our spot and some ate while packing their things up to head home. My sister and her boyfriend, my brother, and I said our good-byes and went to Aggieville to eat a little hole-in-the-wall taco place. It was good food.

Great way to spend my day: with my family!

Easy Apple Butter

I have wanted to try making apple butter for a long time. I came along this recipe and upon trying it, it was just like the name said: easy. Once the hot apple butter was in the jars, they sealed themselves, which was nice.

Ingredients:

5 cups applesauce (I used unsweetened since the recipe already called for a lot of sugar)
7 cups sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon or allspice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat and turn down and let boil for 15 minutes; stirring occasionally. Pour into sterilized jars. Seal at once.

Husband's Delight

I have been intrigued by the Amish and Mennonite lifestyles for a long time. I like that they live simple, sustainable lives. The farming type community, coming together to help each other out in times of need, passing down from generation to generation recipes and hand sewn items. This is an Amish recipe I found somewhere online. It was fairly simple and really delicious.

Ingredients:

24 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 bell pepper, chopped
1 (8 ounce) package wide noodles, cooked as directed
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Brown ground beef and bell pepper; drain. Cook noodles as directed; drain. Add noodles, sugar, and tomato sauce to ground beef. Stir. Combine sour cream, cottage cheese and cream cheese. Put into a 3-quart casserole dish a layer of noodles and meat, then a layer of cheese mixture; add the remaining meat and noodle mixture. Top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Pie

First off, I love peanut butter! By itself, with apples or carrots, or even a good old PB&J. So, when I found this recipe in a newspaper insert last fall, I figured I would keep it and give it a try. It was very delicious (and very rich!).

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ready-made chocolate cookie crumb pie crust

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except crust, in the bowl of a food processor and blend until very smooth. (Alternately, mix using and electric mixer on medium speed).

Fill crust with mixture. Place pie into freezer for minimum 2 hours.

Serves: 10

Banana Pudding

Last fall, I was looking for new recipes to try. I checked out a few books from the library and wrote down the recipes I liked or wanted to try. One of the books I was going through had recipes from different countries. This recipe was from Cuba.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this recipe, but figured I would try it anyways. In the end, I wasn't too fond of it. That's just my opinion so don't let it stop you from trying it.

Ingredients:

10 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Mash the bananas. Add flour, sugar, butter, and nutmeg. Pour into a buttered 8-inch pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes, or until delicately browned on top. Cut into squares and serve hot or cold, dusted with powdered sugar.