Last night Jan was cooking dinner and she couldn't decide on a veggie. We had used the last of our potatoes the night before and we weren't going shopping till Saturday morning so she decided to make some Rice-a-roni.

To be honest, neither one of us are big fans of Rice-a-roni so she decided to see if she could jazz it up a bit.

She began by cooking a pack of Beef Rice-a-roni according to the cooking instructions on the box, but when it was just about done she added a can of whole kernal corn (drained) and a can of stewed tomatoes.

When I came into the kitchen and saw what she was making I thought she had finally taken leave of her mind, but necessity will make us do strange things, so I ate it. To my utter surprise, that mess was actually very good. Good enough in fact that I told her to plan on making that fairly often.

DULCE DE LECHE PUMPKIN- TOFFEE PIE

1 deep dish pie crust (frozen or make your own)
3/4 cup canned dulce de leche (about- maybe a little less)
2 large eggs
One 15oz. can of pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin-pie filling)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
12 ounce can evaporated milk
whipped cream and toffee bits for garnish, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place rack on bottom.

2. Press pie crust into a deep-dish pie pan (or remove frozen pie crust from freezer).

3. Scoop dulce de leche into glass bowl and microwave about 20 seconds to soften it up a bit. Spoon dollops of dulce de leche into the pie crust. Evenly spread the caramel all the way to the edges.

4. Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in pumpkin and next 7 ingredients until smooth. Whisk in milk. Pour filling on top of the caramel and place pan on a baking sheet to catch any caramel that may bubble out.

5. Bake on bottom oven rack for about 50 minutes (center should jiggle just slightly). Cool completely. Garnish with whipped cream and toffee bits, if desired.

Yield: 1 deep dish pie

Cooking Tips
Canned dulce de leche can be found in the Latin section of well-stocked supermarkets. Nestle makes it.
If you double the recipe for the filling, you will likely have enough to fill three deep dish frozen crusts. With one pie, you might have a little bit extra filling, depending on the size of your pie pan.

Sue

I;ve posted this before but it's worth a repeat. I think I'll make it this weekend. You don't even have to get the mixer out.

Hawaiian Wedding Cake

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 c. nuts, chopped
1 c. flaked coconut
1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple with juice

Mix flour, sugar and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. DO NOT BEAT. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan and bake at 350 for 45 min.

Frosting:
1 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar (or more if too thin)

Mix all together and spread on cake.

Carol in California, I posted a thank you before, but it was while your babies were visiting so in case you didn't see it I wanted to let you know I made your apple cider cake and we really liked it. It sure makes a big cake! Instead of serving the extra glaze on the side, I brushed it all over the sides of the cake. It was yummy! I'd like it really well in the Fall.

My version of country lo boil: this will be third year for gs and my combo birthday dinner:

country lo boil my way

3-4 lb shrimp OR less for your family--in shell and deveined, yes deveined. I get mine at Publix
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves or if they are small ones use 3 or 4
2 crushed garlic cloves (I used jarred crushed)
juice of 2-3 lemons **I used bottled for 3 lemons
1/4 lb melted butter
Melt the butter, stir in the ingredients.
Pour over shrimp and with hands, YES HANDS, toss with the mixture so each shrimp is coated, in a 9 x 13 pan, ( I used my large rectangle glass dish)
Cover with foil, bake 400 for 25 minutes. OR until they are all pink
I generally check and stir at least once.
To serve put on the table as is from the over, and spread with newspaper for tablecloth, and damp hand clothes as this is ls lots of fingers foods.
I also boiled some smoked sausage, cut into large single serving pieces.
-----------------------------------------------------
New Potatoes or Red Potatoes
12 10 medium serves 4
Salt
1 teaspoon
Fresh Chives ***I used dried parsley
1/4 cup
Butter
1 tablespoon
1. Scrub unpeeled new red potatoes and cut in half.
2. Bring to a boil in well-salted water.
3. Reduce to a simmer.
4. Simmer ONLY 10 Minutes
5. Drain
6. Add Chives and Butter to Taste. You may substitute a very good olive oil for butter.
---------------------------------------------------
My boiled corn, we like it crunchy
Fill a large stockpot halfway with unsalted water and bring to a rolling boil.
Add corn on the cob (husk and cornsilk removed) to the boiling water.
Let water return to a full boil.
Cover pot and immediately turn off heat.
Let covered pot sit undisturbed on the burner for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove corn and serve hot with your choice of butter, margarine, salt, and/or other seasoning

I make my own flavored butter for the corn.

I love red potatoes fixed that way, Glenda. I use dried parsley, too. What a feast and the best part is you get to cook, which I know you love to do!

I made this for dinner last night and we just loved it. Took some to a friend to try and they gobbled it up. This recipe came from allrecipes.com

Eggplant supper soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 pound eggplant, diced
3/4 cup sliced carrots
3/4 cup sliced celery
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry macaroni
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion, beef, and garlic until beef is evenly brown. Drain grease, and mix in eggplant, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Pour in beef broth. Mix in sugar, and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through.
Mix macaroni into the soup, and continue cooking 12 minutes, or until macaroni is al dente. Mix in parsley. Top with Parmesan chreese to serve.

I did a couple of things different:

Instead of buying the 2 cans of Italian diced tomatoes I bought one large can of diced tomatoes and added Italian seasoning to the pot. One small cans of diced tomatoes cost the same as the large can. I also doubled the amount of macaroni. Instead of adding the eggplant, carrots and celery to the pot I sauteed them for about 5 minutes first as I wanted them to be tender. Then added the mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the pot.