All your dinners sound delicious! Ours was just for 4 of us and I did an 11 pound turkey, cornbread dressing, mashed taters & gravy, sweet potato casserole, jiffy corn casserole, the green bean dish, fresh cranberries and the canned jelled cranberries. But instead of regular pumpkin pie, I made this pumpkin cream cheese dump cake that was so good! The only thing I would change with the recipe is to add a little more milk to the cream cheese layer so that it is easier to pipe. I had to glob mine on top of the pumpkin layer, but it was still perfect! The cake mix on top with the melted butter became a streusel type topping. PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE DUMP CAKE Ingredients: 8 oz. cream cheese 3/4 C. powdered sugar 2 tsp. milk 1 can (29 oz.) pumpkin puree 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk 3 eggs 1 1/4 C. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 yellow cake mix (dry) 1/2 C. butter, melted 1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar mixture, optional whipped cream Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 X 14 pan. 2. Using a mixer (a KitchenAid or hand held) combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Set aside. 3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Pour into prepared pan. 4. Put cream cheese filling into a small ZipLock bag, and snip off the tip the make a mini piping bag. Then pipe over the pumpkin filling (see photo). 5. Pour the dry cake mix over the cream cheese layer then poke holes using the end of a wooden spoon or a table knife through the cake mix until you hit the filling (not to the bottom of the pan). 6. Pour melted butter over the dry cake mix. 7. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the entire cake for extra flavor and crunch. 8. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is browned and an instead knife comes out clean. 9. Let cool and serve with whipped cream! (Store in fridge) Here is a link that might be useful: pumpkin cream cheese dump cake

Amanda, I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner, I was going to suggest a bread type "calzone", or pasty. My girls loved it if I'd roll bread dough out pretty thin, cut into squares or circles and spread with various fillings, then fold over, seal edges and bake. We filled my homemade bread dough with everything from scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon or meatballs with sauce or pizza sauce with pepperoni, mushrooms and mozzarella, to corned beef and saurkraut type reubens, to chicken and broccoli. They froze well, warmed up nicely and could be filled with a variety of fillings for a nice change. Breakfast burritos freeze pretty well too, any combination of egg/vegetable/cheese wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla and then wrapped in foil or ziplock and frozen works well and I often froze breakfast sandwiches for Ashley with a fried egg and cheese on an English Muffin, sometimes it had sausage or ham too. I think many things that could be carried in a brown bag type lunch situation could be converted to this particular use, but the freezing thing makes it a bit harder. It's a very nice thing to do for a friend, I'm sure she appreciates all your efforts. Oh, and I want to see new pictures of YOUR handsome guy! Annie

* Posted by ruthanna (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 10:22 Another spinach lover here. We most often cook it the way Althetrainer mentioned, sauteed with garlic. I often buy the spinach pies at our Middle Eastern bakery but have never made them at home. Since I rarely buy tomatoes out of season, we eat a lot of spinach salads during the winter. I’ve posted this one before. It’s on the lighter side and a good complement to heavy dishes like lasagne. LEMON SPINACH SALAD 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms 1 lb. young spinach leaves, washed and stemmed 6 Tbs. olive oil 2 Tbs. lemon juice 1/4 tsp. salt 1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese 1 clove garlic, slivered Finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon 1 hard cooked egg Freshly ground black pepper Wash mushrooms and combine with spinach. Chill. Mix oil, lemon juice, salt, cheese and garlic. Chop up egg and sprinkle over salad. Add lemon rind to salad and grind pepper on top. Pour dressing over salad right before serving and toss. Note: Best if dressing is made about an hour ahead of time and garlic pieces removed before pouring on salad. Crumbled bacon pieces can be added if desired. ------------ Vegetable timbales have always been one of our family favorites for meatless meals. It’s common to find recipes for them in early 20th century cookbooks. Photobucket SPINACH TIMBALES 2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach 4 eggs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice Cheese or hollandaise sauce, if desired Cook spinach according to package directions; drain thoroughly. In small mixer bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Stir in cooked spinach and remaining ingredients except sauce. Divide mixture between 5 greased 6 oz. custard cups. Place cups on a rack in a 10" pot or deep skillet. Fill skillet with hot (not boiling) water to 1/2". Put a loose piece of foil over the cups, shaped so that the steam drips back into the pot instead of on the custard cups. Cover with lid and cook over medium heat for 18 to 22 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Loosen edges with knife; unmold. If desired, serve with sauce. Makes 5 (1/2 cup) servings. o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by annie1992 (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 11:33 Elery and I even made AND ate spinach this weekend, we did individual spinach and swiss cheese quiches for the "appetizer tasting". They were fast and easy and we did them without crust in mini muffin pans. Annie o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by bob_cville (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 14:46 beanthere_dunthat, The mint chutney that I usually use is a dark green runny paste. If you have a Coconut-mint chutney that you like then I'd substitute that for both the mango chutney and the mint chutney. A more authentic version of this recipe I came across started with making your own cheese. Yeah I'll get right on that. I found a mexican farmer's cheese at one local grocery store that was more like the "paneer" that is typically used, but to me the Feta cheese is pretty similar in in texture and "bite" in the dish, and although the Feta is much more strongly flavored than then usual "paneer", there are enough other strong flavors in the dish that you really don't notice it, and it is much easier to find feta than "paneer" or mexican farmers cheese. o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by denise8101214 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 23, 10 at 15:49 I got this from a friend who got it from epicurious. I have made it MANY times and everyone loves it. It is nice to make for a big family breakfast as a savory casserole in addition to the french toast type ones. Spinach and Cheese Strata, epicurious * 1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed (fresh works great too) * 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large) * 3 tablespoons unsalted butter * 1 teaspoon salt * 1/2 teaspoon black pepper * 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg * 8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian bread (1/2 lb) * 6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups) * 2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup) * 2 3/4 cups milk * 9 large eggs * 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop. Cook onion in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat. Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses). Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard). Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Strata can be chilled up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking. Here is a link that might be useful: Spinach and Cheese Strata o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 19:45 There's some pretty tasty recipes here! I don't do spinach, so I couldn't help much. Maybe I'll give it a try again....in the next 7 years. Then again.... I just drew a name for the next Cookalong... Caliloo (Alexa) hope you can pick something fast, so I can get it started, I have to leave town for a few days tomorrow. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 22:00 Caliloo?? o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 7:22 TTT o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by caliloo (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 7:46 Here I am! I actually already got to pick something (corn last time) so if I can have a second shot I will choose...... BROCCOLI! However, if you want to give someone else a turn to pick, I will certainly withdraw my suggestion :-) Alexa o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 9:07 Alexa, I drew your name fair and square so you are on! **********Broccoli*************** Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong #20-----BROCCOLI o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 10:02 Well, I almost didn't do spinach last night, because I've been eating spinach almost every day, and want to branch out into other veggies. But I decided to just try something different than what I usually do, which is spinach salad, or throwing a handful or two of spinach into whatever soup I'm heating up. So, I made spinach pesto. I used a basic basil pesto recipe as a template, but changed the ingredients quite a bit, keeping with the general idea of pesto. It turned out quite good, and even DH liked it. He says he doesn't like garlic with spinach (go figure) so I wasn't sure if he'd like this, but he loved it. I used 2 cloves of garlic, but I think one fat one would have been better - it was a bit strong. I'll write out the recipe as I made it, though. My recipe is adapted from Deborah Madison's recipe for Pesto, from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Spinach and Goat Cheese Pesto 1 or 2 plump garlic cloves salt 3 tablespoons (or small handfuls) of walnuts 3 big handfuls (or cups, loosely packed) of fresh spinach 1 4 oz. package goat cheese 2 tablespoons pecorino Romano (optional, to taste) 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 squeeze, aprox. 1 teaspoon lemon juice pinch cayenne pinch freshly ground nutmeg In a food processor, process the garlic, salt and walnuts until fairly finely chopped, then add the spinach and olive oil. When smooth, add the goat cheese, lemon juice, cayenne and nutmeg, and process to combine. Sally

DH's family dinner Christmas Eve went well, food-wise; one SIL brought the nibbles (rockmelon cubes wrapped in prosciutto, watermelon chunks, quiche, and little moneybag dumpling puff pastry balls filled with some kind of sausagemeat); other SIL roasted a turkey breast and one leg for those who liked dark meat, with sausagemeat stuffing, bread sauce, gravy (MIL made it, it's OK but thinner than I like it, more like jus), fresh brussels sprouts (so much nicer than the usual frozen ones but always a risk as I have found at this time of year they can be very buggy), carrots and roasted potatoes; I brought a whole glazed ham with Glenda_al's Spiced pineapple pickups, and the desserts- lime tart, coffee cheesecake topped with pecan praline and brownies. MIL made her usual trifle which I love and don't get to eat at home as no one else here cares for it (I got leftovers :-) ). SIL who did the nibblies puzzlingly brought a panettone for dessert as well (she had asked if I needed help with desserts and I declined with thanks) but I was glad as I love panettone and in the divvying up the leftovers phase I got some o bring home :-) I took a bunch of plastic take away containers to assist with the divvying up which worked well :-) Christmas Day it was just DH, DD, DSIL and moi at home. We had a big breakfast of bacon and really good smoked bacon after church in the morning that kept us going with snacks until a big early dinner. We had roast turkey with bread stuffing in the main cavity and sausagemeat stuffing in the neck cavity (SIL had never had it before and really liked it), hasselback potaotes, roasted asparagus, roasted sweet potato, herb bread, gravy, bread sauce, and pumpkin pie (DD's favourite) for dessert. I sent a lot of leftovers away with the kids yesterday along with a big containers of Christmas cookies when they went to a family picnic with DSIL's Dad and siblings. Apparently they traditionally take leftovers and I was very glad to be able to supply some :-) Also produced some disposable plastic platters and champagne flutes- the convenience of hoarding stuff "just in case" :-D ! Had a lovely text from DD thanking me for their stay and the "yummy food", which from her is a huge compliment, and said the cookies were a big hit at the picnic. Both SIL's turkey carcase and mine have been turned into stock (I used SIL's on Christmas Day for our gravy as our turkey had no neck!!) and about a third of the ham resides in all its glory in the fridge :-)