Monday, November 29, 2010

Pumpkin Pie & Crust (low sodium)

Many of you know that this blog started out as a way to keep track of lots of great healthy and low-sodium recipes. It's transformed into my journey with real food, and cooking with fresh and whole ingredients as opposed to packaged foods. It doesn't always happen that way, but I try my best.

This year, since we brined our turkey, though not much sodium transferred into the turkey (at least I don't think it did), I wanted to make K's favorite -- pumpkin pie -- from scratch, and healthy if possible. 

Success!

Imagine my excitement when pouring over Dick Logue's cookbook 500 Low Sodium Recipes: Lose the Salt Not the Flavor in Meals the Whole Family Will Love, I found recipes for both pie crust AND pumpkin pie filing. 
He's got some awesome recipes in here and I urge you to check them out, including recipes for low sodium onion soup mix, chilis, soups and so many (500 to be sure) more!

I learned an important lesson -- wax paper and parchment paper are not the same, nor are they created equal. Be sure to have wax paper on hand for a successful crust! :) With so much going on last Thursday, I completely forgot to take pictures of all of the yummies I was making!

Also, I would like to share that I was able to use my new KitchenAid food processor for the pie filling, along with almost every single one of my Thanksgiving recipes! :)

Dick Logue's Pumpkin Pie and Crust
Crust
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp water, cold

Add oil to flour and mix well with fork. Sprinkle water over and mix well. With hands press into ball and flatten. Roll between two pieces of waxed paper. Remove top waxed paper, invert over pan, and remove other paper. Press into place. (If not adding a baked filling, bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned -- 12 to 15 minutes.)

Pumpkin Pie Filling
1-1/4 cups pumpkin, cooked and mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine pumpkin, sugar, spices, and flour in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Add milk, water, and vanilla. Mix. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Allow to cool. SERVE!!

I'm linking this post to

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Nigella's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (BakeFest 2010)

After a very successful first Thanksgiving in our household, we're now faced with massive amounts of leftover turkey. We've got lots of great recipes planned. And, of course, you'll hear all about them.

This post is not about leftovers though. It's about BakeFest 2010

Though there were lots of great and yummy tasty treats made during BakeFest (banana bread and cupcakes, Drick's praline bread and cupcakes, chocolate pistachio fudge, white chocolate coconut pistachio fudge, not even counting the low-sodium pumpkin pies from Thanksgiving!), today, I'm going to tell you about the two fudges.


First of all. YUM! What a great treat.

I saw this on Nigella's new Cooking Channel show. I knew I had to try it.
So I made her chocolate fudge according to the recipe, but added some coconut flakes on top. I also made some white chocolate fudge with the coconut flakes mixed in. You've got to try these babies. :)

The biggest problem I ran into is the actual shelling of the pistachios. I couldn't figure out why my fingers hurt till I went to shell another one. :)

Nigella's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge

12oz semi-sweet chocolate, either chips or broken up
14oz evaporated milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup crushed pistachios

Melt the chocolate chips in a regular saucepan (No double boiler needed!) and stir in the evaporated milk until smooth.

Fold in the butter.

Stir in the crushed pistachios. Once well mixed, pour into a foil pan. This makes removal easier down the road.


White Chocolate Coconut Pistachio Fudge

12oz white chocolate, either chips or broken up
14oz evaporated milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup crushed pistachios
1 cup shredded coconut
Just like before, melt the chocolate and stir in the evaporated milk and butter.

Add in the pistachios and coconut and stir together well.

As before pour into foil pans and refrigerate for at least an hour to harden.

Cut each pan into 64 one inch squares, and prepare to take to your holiday gathering. Or, place into candy/cookie bags and tie with ribbons. I purchased these from Michaels and think that they're great!

Meanwhile, be sure to save a few samples for yourself and your spouse, especially if your darling has as much of a predilection for chocolate as K does. 

Enjoy.


Friday, November 26, 2010

Friday Potluck #11

Happy belated Thanksgiving!! I hope that you all have so much to be thankful for and are blessed this holiday.
And of course, that you have a bounty of leftovers to feast on!

In my tryptophan-induced food coma, I watched movies last night with K and completely forgot that the next day (today) would be Friday. Actually I knew it would be Friday, but didn't make the connection that it was Friday Potluck. In fact, to K's delight, the only time that my computer was in use yesterday was to look up turkey cooking times and a gravy recipe. (I pulled other recipes using my much-loved iPhone. shhhh)

We forgot to take many pictures of our feast, but it was awesome! I'll be posting about our Thanksgiving in a few days, but suffice it to say for now, that my first Thanksgiving dinner was a wild success! Our turkey recipe was a hodgepodge of various advice given, and it's all awesome.

Welcome to Friday Potluck!

Last week's favorites
As always, I had difficulty picking which five posts from last week to include. Ultimately, I chose six this week. It's only my own rule that I'm breaking, but it's because two people posted two great twists on the same dish!
 
by Christina @ C & C Marriage Factory

I love French Onion Soup. Whenever I see a great post about it, I find it very important to investigate. I've never made my own, but it's only a matter of time!


by Trina of the Beans

Again, LOVE French Onion Soup! And, I love that Trina has made a meatless variety! YUM!



by Dan @ Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring
I saw this recipe this past week at the Hearth & Soul Hop at girlichef's blog! I loved it! Dan is now a blogland friend, and I'm so glad that he brought it to Friday Potluck! This is sure to be a recipe to make the hubby (and me!!!) happy!

by Michele @ Fit Foodista
I love finding new ways to make Chinese food from scratch, and healthy. I especially love Sesame Chicken! Love this post from Michele and we'll  be trying it (once we finish up our leftovers!)



by Marea @ The Foodie Fixx

I'm not sure how I first met Marea, but it may have been Twitter. I'm really glad she's started linking up to Friday Potluck, and that her first entry was delicious pizza. Both pizza recipes she's posted look great -- as does the crust... with yummy cheese!


by Permanent Posies

I think that this wrap looks awesome! And, as it's breakfast time, I may be cooking this up shortly! YUM!!!



Now on to this week's Friday Potluck!


grab the code!



The Rules:
1. Add the button above or a link back to this post/my blog in your own fabulous blog post.
2. Join the Party!!
3. Leave me a note to let me know you've entered.
4. Visit some of your fellow potluckers' posts to get inspired!
 *note -- if you forget to link back or add a button, you'll receive a gentle friendly reminder to add it in :)

AND, if you want to join in Friday-Potluck Daily, please let me know your Twitter handle. I'll follow you (you can follow me @ekatskitchen). To subscribe to the paper click here and then click subscribe!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Giveaway Winner!

I would like to, first, thank all of you for entering! 123 completed legit entries! :)

Secondly, I would like to congratulate lucky #13, Dr. Laura of Dr. Laura's Adventures for winning $35. to spend at CSN Stores! Dr. Laura, I'll be contacting you shortly with your gift code!

I hope all of you will enter my next giveaway...stay tuned!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Guest Post @ Wonderland Kitchen (Crockpot Stuffing)

Hello to all of you! I'm excited to be sharing today's post via Wonderland Kitchen!!



Wonderland Kitchen kettle


I first met Katie through Friday Potluck and am very excited to be sharing my Crock Pot Stuffing with her readers.  Katie regularly cooks for 6-9 people on any given day, and is therefore my hero!!! We've become pals, and I find her to be very inspiring! While you're at Katie's place, check out her homeschooling blog too!

Thanks pals!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Friday Potluck #10

Welcome to Friday Potluck #10! 

62 of you participated last week! WHEW! AWESOME posts, guys and gals! As more and more people join in, it's harder and harder to pick just a few favorites to highlight, but it's so much fun. Good thing though, that I can't consume calories simply with my eyes! :) 

GIVEAWAY!
As many of you know (and have entered!) I'm hosting a CSN Giveaway this week. I'd love it if you entered. Click here to open the giveaway up in a new page and enter to win $35. to spend in CSN stores!

Friday Potluck Daily
I've created an @list on Twitter with all of the Friday Potluck participants. All of their tweets with links are compiled into The Friday Potluck Daily a daily online "paper" where you can see what everyone's talking about. To subscribe, click here and then click subscribe. It's a lot of fun! If you want your tweets and links to be listed, just leave me a comment with your Twitter handle (mine's @ekatskitchen).

Highlights from last week


by Krystal @ Recipes of a Cheapskate

Other than these wonderful bite sized tacos, check out the cheese truffles. AAAAHHHHmazing. Krystal also hosts Saturdays Party - check it out!



by Trina @ Trina of the Beans

I adore lentils, and had never before considered using them in tacos. How yummy! I've never seen one of Trina's recipes that I don't absolutely adore.






by Susannah @ Susannah's Kitchen

I fell in love with these minis, but her full sized cheesecake also looks to-die-for.



by Louanne @ Louanne's Kitchen

It shouldn't be a surprise to any of you that I love Indian food. Chicken Tikka is one of my all time favorites, and I love that she's made it and brought it to the party!



by Shannon @ North Dakota Kitchen

My mouth starts watering everytime I think about this. Shannon's made my favorite dessert ever, and she's done it with pumpkin!!! 




Now on to the PARTY!!!

grab the code!


The Rules:
1. Add the button above or a link back to this post/my blog in your own fabulous blog post.
2. Join the Party!!
3. Leave me a note to let me know you've entered.
4. Visit some of your fellow potluckers' posts to get inspired!
 *note -- if you forget to link back or add a button, you'll receive a gentle friendly reminder to add it in :)

AND, if you want to join in Friday-Potluck Daily, please let me know your Twitter handle. I'll follow you (you can follow me @ekatskitchen). To subscribe to the paper click here and then click subscribe!




This linky list is now closed.

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