Our church enjoys a traditional covered-dish luncheon each Sunday after the morning service.  Yesterday this dish was among the desserts on the buffet table and I was so impressed by it that I waited around after the meal to see who would pick up the empty dish so I could ask them for the recipe.  The lady who prepared the dish very graciously shared the recipe with me and it turns out that Southern Living printed it in their November 2005 magazine so I need to give them proper credit.

Although classified as a dessert, this dish could easily be served as a side.  I plan to prepare it next substituting canned sweet potatoes for the canned pumpkin … I’ll let you know how that turns out.  In the meantime, let’s cook a Pumpkin Crisp!

Makes 10-12 servings.  Prep time: 15 minutes.  Cooking time: 1 hour.

Ingredients:

1 can pumpkin, 15-ounces

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 package butter-flavored yellow cake mix, 15 ½ oz. box

2 cups chopped pecans (orig. recipe called for 1 cup)

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, stir together the first 5 ingredients.  Pour into a lightly greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture; sprinkle evenly with pecans.  Drizzle butter evenly over pecans.

Bake at 350-degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let stand for 12-20 minutes before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature with Whipped Cream (optional) and sprinkle with nutmeg (optional).

This is the easiest recipe in the world. It takes about five minutes to prepare and then eight minutes to cook … and, all the prep can be done in a large measuring cup!  Don’t do what I did and wait until Christmas morning to cook these delicious Sticky Buns … have them on many mornings throughout the year!

This recipe was torn from a magazine dated May 1975 … unfortunately the name of the magazine was not printed on the page so I can’t properly credit the source.  I’ve modified the amounts from the 1975 original because canned biscuits are much larger now.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons melted butter

1 can of refrigerated FLAKY biscuits

Instructions:

Using a large pyrex measuring cup, melt the butter and mix in the sugar, pecans and cinnamon.  In your muffin pan, lightly grease each cup with butter-flavored (or plain) no-stick cooking spray.  Next, spoon the topping mixture into ten of the cups trying to put an equal amount in each.  Next, place a biscuit in each of the cups over the topping mixture … don’t press them into the mixture.  Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Invert from pan immediately and serve.

Oftentimes, simple is the best!  Last week we enjoyed a trip to Orlando to visit our son and daughter-in-law.  They took us to several really nice places to dine, but the one that really impressed me was the Winter Park Fish Co. My meal was excellent and what really made it stand out was the side dish of couscous … that’s right, couscous.  When the manager, John Laverty, came by our table, I asked him about the couscous and (to paraphrase) here’s what he had to say, “we take Israeli Pearl Couscous and boil it in chicken stock instead of water; then we add a simple Alfredo Sauce of heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese.”  I recall jokingly telling John that I would have to purchase the Israeli Couscous in Orlando before leaving because it would be impossible to find it in our little East Texas grocery stores.  Accordingly, I made our hosts take me to a huge supermarket in Winter Park where I purchased two boxes of Osem brand Israeli Pearl Couscous which were carefully packed in our luggage for the return trip to Texas.

The second evening after our return home, I made the couscous as one of the sides to a grilled steak dinner.  The results met my every expectation and now Couscous Alfredo is destined to become one of my regular sides!  Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you the kicker to this story … several days after cooking the dish with the product I purchased in Florida, I was shopping in our local grocery store and, guess what … they had not one, but two different types of Israeli Pearl couscous and, as a result, I’ll be preparing tri-color couscous with my next meal!

Provides four ½ cup servings.

Ingredients & directions for the Couscous:

1 ¼ cups Chicken Stock (or broth)

1 cup Israeli Pearl Couscous

In a small pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil and add the couscous. Cover pot and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and remove cover.  Let stand uncovered for 3-5 minutes.  Carefully stir in the Alfredo Sauce (see below), season to taste and serve.

Ingredients & directions for the Alfredo Sauce:

1/3  cup of heavy Cream (not light and not half&half )

¼ cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese

In a small sauce pan, heat the cream (but not to a boil).  Once heated, slowly add the Parmesan while whisking vigorously until smooth and silky.

You never know when you’ll run into a good recipe.  Last week I had to run to the bank to sign some paperwork.  The bank staff had prepared a table of goodies for a fellow staffer’s birthday and I was invited to partake.  I politely declined but there was something about a small bowl of dip that intrigued me. Giving into temptation, I picked up up a corn chip and raked it through the pink colored dip …. the taste was absolutely fantastic!  I quickly filled three more chips with dip and then realized that people were staring at me so I stopped.  As it turns out, my banker, Cathy Cisco, had prepared this delicious dip and she was happy to share the recipe with me.

Makes 3 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 16-oz jar of Pace picante sauce, medium flavor
2 8-oz packages of Cream Cheese

Ready for dippin'

Directions:
Set out and allow the cream cheese to soften. Pour all but 1-inch of liquid from the jar of picante sauce into a blender. Blend until smooth. Cube the cream cheese and place it in a food processor; add the smooth picante sauce and mix the two together until well blended and smooth. Pour into a bowl and serve with your favorite chips.

Most people know that Paula Deen’s sons are restaurateurs and chefs, but did you know that her husband, Michael Groover, who is a tugboat captain in real life, is also a pretty darn good cook in his own right! Several weeks on her TV show, Paula’s Best Dishes, (episode name, Getting’ Down In The South) Michael, assisted by Paula, cooked his recipe for Deluxe Twice Baked Potatoes with Shrimp. Because is looked so fantastic and was also easy to prepare, I knew I’d have to give it a try.

Before we begin, let’s make sure that we know how to bake a potato. I’ve tried a number of different methods and the best so far is online at THIS WEBSITE (Click Here). Regardless of the method you end up using, please do not microwave the potato (especially in plastic wrap) and do not bake it wrapped in aluminum foil or you’ll never achieve the best flavor or skin texture. With that said, let’s get going with Michael’s recipe (with just a very few minor adjustments of mine) ….

Before going into the oven

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients
• 4 (6 to 8-ounce) russet potatoes, scrubbed and pricked all over with a fork
• Soft butter or margarine, to coat potatoes
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
• 1 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and light green parts; dark green parts chopped, for garnish (OPTIONAL)
• 1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Just out of the oven!

Prick the potatoes with a fork. Rub them with butter or margarine and then sprinkle them with coarse sea salt. Place them directly on the middle rack of the oven but be sure to place a large sheet pan on the bottom rack to catch any loose salt granules. Bake the potatoes until tender, about 1 hour.

While the potatoes are baking, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer the slices to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, then crumble. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of bacon grease from the skillet. Cut each shrimp into thirds. Reheat the bacon grease over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, Cajun seasoning, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the shrimp are just opaque, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes.

Ready to eat!

When the potatoes are done, let them cool slightly (leave the oven on). Slice off the top third of each potato and carefully scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Scoop out the potato from the top third, and add that to the bowl, then discard the skin. Leave about 1/4-inch border of potato inside the skin. Mash the potato flesh with 1/2 teaspoon salt, the green onion (optional), cheese, butter, sour cream, mayonnaise, shrimp, bacon and black pepper. Stuff the potato skins with the filling, mounding any extra on top. Return the potatoes to the oven on a baking sheet and bake them until heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven, sprinkle with the reserved chopped green onions and serve.
 
Instead of the chopped onions, I like to sprinkle some extra grated cheese over each potato before putting them back into the oven for the final bake. And when serving, I like to provide a dish of Ranch Style Dip and another dish of butter pats in case someone wants either.