One Teaspoon From Disaster

Assuming you've already got the staples, here are my suggestions for everything else you'll need for a special and delicious Thankgiving dinner. While the traditionals are essential, the extras are what set your dinner a part.

Good luck!

Side dishes:
Fresh green bean dish
Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh green beans
1/2 cup butter
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons soy sauce
fresh garlic
1, 4 ounce jar diced pimento peppers, drained
3/4 cup chopped peanuts or almonds
Directions:
Melt butter with lemon juice and soy sauce over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook for about 10 minutes. Steam green beans until tender but crisp (about 10 minutes.) Pour sauce over beans. Stir in pimentos and nuts. Toss and serve.

Broccoli Casserole
Ingredients
2 packages frozen broccoli
½ cup (one stick) butter, melted
8 ounces Velveeta
¼ pound Ritz crackers, crumbled
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil broccoli and drain well. Then add ¼ cup butter and chunks of the cheese. Spread in a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and cover with crushed crackers and remaining butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and top is crunchy. Serves six.

Breads:
Pumpkin bread
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Combine flour, pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, eggs, spice, baking soda, salt and baking powder in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed until well mixed. Spoon batter into greased loaf pans. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes at 350 degrees.
Makes one large loaf or three mini loaves.

Zuchinni BreadIngredients
2 C. white sugar
1 C. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 C. grated zucchini
3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Directions
In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add grated zucchini. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground ginger and ground cloves; mix well.
Pour into two loaf pans with cooking spray. Bake in a 325 degrees for one hour. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Dessert:
Pumpkin Roll recipe
Cake
Mix:
3 eggs
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 C. canned pumpkin
3/4 C. flour
Step 1: Pour into greased and waxed papered cookie sheet. Sprinkle 1/2 C. chopped nuts on batter. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
Step 2: Sprinkle 1/2 C. sugar and 1/2 C. chopped nuts over a clean kitchen towel. Immediately turn baked cake on towel. Remove waxed paper and roll up cake in the towel. Let cool completely.
Filling
Mix:
2 Tbsp. butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese
1 C. powered sugar
Step 3: Unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on cake, and re-roll (without the towel). Wrap in saran and then foil. Refrigerate overnight before slicing and serving.

Snacks:
Creamy crab dip
Ingredients:
1, 8-ounce package cream cheese
1, 6-ounce can crab
1 1/3 tsp. minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. horseradish
4 Tbsp. mayo
Directions:
Mix ingredients and spread into a small casserole dish. Bake at 250 degrees until warm throughout. Serve warm with crackers, chips, crusty bread.

Orange-cran snack mix
Ingredients:
2 C. Quaker Oatmeal cereal squares
2 C. Corn Chex
2 C. mini pretzel twists
1 C. whole unsalted almonds
1/4 C. butter
1/3 C. o.j. concentrate
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 C. dried cranberries
Directions:
Combine cereals, pretzels and almonds in a large bowl. Melt butter and mix in o.j., sugar and spices. Pour over cereal mixture and stir well to coat. Spread in a sprayed 9- x 13-inch pan. Bake at 250 degrees for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. (Seriously.) Stir in cranberries and let cool until mixture is crisp. Store in airtight container.

Fall is here. And in its honor, I present three wonderfully delicious and very seasonally appropriate recipes.

All are easy to prepare, but here are a few pointers.

- For the baked apples, I suggest using green ones. Their tartness is offset by the sweet brown sugar mixture and there's no way red "delicious" could live up to their name. Also, I had trouble leaving the apples intact but cutting out the core. So, I improvised and cut them in slices (left the skin on) and layer them in a small baking dish with the remaining ingredients.

- I say make your chili meatless for two reasons: We're in a nationwide economic crisis and you'll probably put on a few pounds this winter anyway. Also try adding some tortilla chips (not super fatty Fritos) to your bowl. Yum.

- These pumpkin cookies are really good, but are enhanced by the icing, so don't skip it (never mind that fat comment above). I used reduced fat cream cheese, which worked fine. Also, you may need to add a little more milk, just do so sparingly - you want the frosting to drizzle, but not run.

Enjoy. Check back soon for the annual Thanksgiving side dish recipe roundup.

Baked apples
Ingredients:
5 apples
1/2 C. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
crushed walnuts, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Scoop out the core from top of the apple, leaving a well but not cutting all the way through. Mix ingredients and stuff equal amounts into apples. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until sugar caramelizes and apples are tender.

Chili (vegetarian or non)
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chili peppers, drained
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (with juice and slightly mashed)
1/4 cup chili powder
3 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin and oregano. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then add bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic and green chili peppers. When vegetables are tender, reduce heat and add tomatoes, chili powder and all beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer at least one hour before serving.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese drizzle
Ingredients:
4 C. flour
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 C. oil
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C. semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add pumpkin, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat on medium speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop dough onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes or so. Cool completely before drizzling icing on top.

Cream cheese icing
Ingredients:
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 Tbsp. milk
1 C. powdered sugar
Directions:
Blend cream cheese and milk until fluffy, adding powdered sugar until mixed well.

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I came across spinach fettuccini, which I loved as a child and haven't eaten in years. I remember wondering how in the world did my mom get those noodles that green color. So I tossed them in the cart and set about finding a sauce to go on top.

These noodles are pretty good with just a little drizzle of olive oil on top, but what kind of blog recipe would that make? So I ended up trying out a chicken and mushroom Alfredo sauce. It meets my stringent three-step criteria: 1. easy, 2. fast, 3. garlicky. The dinner wasn't as awing as when I was little, but not bad at all. I'll have to buy the green noodles more often.

Spinach fettuccini with chicken and mushroom Alfredo
Ingredients:
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 onion, diced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. half-and-half
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese
1/4 pound Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 package (about 1/2 lb.) spinach fettuccini noodles

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter and saute garlic for about a minute. Add chicken and Italian seasoning. Cook through; remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Melt remaining butter in skillet, adding onions and mushrooms. Cook until onions are transparent, then add four, allowing it to coat the veggies and cook for about a minute or so. Add milk and half-and-half, stirring until blended. Slowly add cheese, blending well. Reduce heat slightly and allow cheeses to melt. Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions. Once cheese is melted, stir in chicken mixture. Cook a few more minutes, top pasta and serve.