FALL/THANKSGIVING DELICIOUSNESS

Fall is in the air... pumpkin, cinnamon, caramel, cranberries, pecans, the list goes on... Seriously my favorite culinary season of the year. I love it. And the Thanksgiving holiday is definitely my favorite. Enjoying time cooking, praying, and eating with the family; the boys playing football in the yard that's full of leaves; playing with the little ones (which we have lots of in our family these days!!); thinking of and sharing memories of our loved ones that aren't with us anymore, and thanking God for the time we got to spend with them; and topping it ALL off with a big hunk of pecan pie.

And there's nothing better than sitting around with these very special ladies for which I am incredibly thankful...

L to R: Alison, Brandy, Laura, Lindsey, Belinda, Julie, Caroline, Michele, and Lori

Last semester, you may remember THIS POST where we made sweet treats for the elders in our church, The Joy Club. Well, this month, we teamed up with Mrs. Carl Ann to help with their November Joy Club breakfast. We decided to make them soups in a jar as to-go gifts. We decided to go with "Friendship Soup".

Each jar contained the layered dry ingredients and a tag with directions on how to prepare the soup.

L to R: Silly Brandi, Michelle, Julie, and Lindsey working on preparing the jars

L to R: Alison, Caroline, & Laura layering the ingredients

Check out that assembly line!

The final products!

Then, of course, we ate...

Brandi & Michelle (my apologies for the poor photography)

I now present to you, the recipes of the week:

CRANBERRY JALAPENO CREAM CHEESE DIP

Contributed by: Michelle

1 - 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cumin

2 tbsp lemon jiuce

Dash of salt

2 - 8 oz packages cream cheese

Chips or crackers for serving (wheat things preferred)

Put your cranberries in a food processor. Chop up your green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper into small pieces (de-seed the pepper if you don't want it to be super hot). Add all ingredients (but the cream cheese and the wheat things) into a bowl. Mix them all together, cover and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The sugar needs some time to soak into the cranberries and break up their bitter taste. When you are ready to serve, place your cream cheese bricks on a plate. Spread the cream cheese out as evenly as you can. Spread it all around. Serve immediately with Wheat Things, Ritz Crackers or Tortilla Chips.

SAUSAGE STUFFING BALLS

Contributed by: Lindsey

1 box Stove Top stuffing

2 eggs

2 cups cheese

1 cup chicken broth

1 lb sausage

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped celery

Preheat oven to 375F. Cook sausage, onions, and celery together until browned. Mix together all ingredients, roll into balls and cook at 375F for 15 minutes. *NOTE: cook in a mini muffin pan to make them perfectly round.

CHICKEN GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Contributed by: Laura

4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 cup mayonnaise

2 cans french style green beans

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

French's french fried onions for topping

Mix all ingredients and pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake on 350F uncovered for 45 minutes. With approx. 10 minutes to go, top with french fried onions.

FRUIT PIZZA

Contributed by: Lori

1 pkg (16.5 oz) refrigerated sliceable sugar cookies, sliced

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

Marshmallow creme (optional)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

4 cups assorted fresh fruit (kiwi, strawberry, red and black raspberries, drained canned mandarin oranges)

1/4 cup apricot preserves, pressed through sieve to remove lumps

1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12 in. pizza pan with foil; spray with cooking spray. Arrange cookie dough slices in a single layer in prepared pan; press together to completely cover bottom of pan. Bake 14 mins; cool completely. Beat cream cheese, optional marshmallow creme, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended; spread onto crust. Top with fruit. Mix preserves and water; brush onto fruit. Refrigerate 2 hours.

SPICED NUTS

Contributed by: Mallory

2 egg whites

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp water

3 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp salt

4 cups raw pecans, halved

2 cup raw almonds, whole

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and spray with non-stick spray. Mix pecans and almonds in a large bowl and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and water on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Add the sugars, cinnamon, and salt, gently folding until combined. Pour/spoon sugar mixture over nuts and stir to coat completely. Spread nuts over the bakin sheet and bake for 45 minutes at 350F, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely and enjoy. Store nuts at room temperature for a few weeks, covered.

SPINACH CHEESE ROLLS

Contributed by: Julie

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls

Spinach leaves

Mozzarella cheese (or any mixture of your favorite cheeses)

Preheat oven to 375F. Unroll the crescents and separate into individual triangles using perforations. Fill with spinach and cheese, and roll up into crescents. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375F for 13 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

APPLE CRISP

Contributed by: Brandi

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2-3 large apples (Honeycrisp preferred)

Group cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F. Peel and cube apples. Layer in a casserole dish. Sprinkle cinnamon over apple pieces. Combine flour, brown sugar, and butter in a mixing bowl. Pour dry mixture over apples. Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Optional to top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

CHOCOLATE ACORNS

Contributed by: Caroline

Mini Nilla Wafers

Hershey kisses

Melt kisses a little and adhere the bottom of the melted chocolate kiss to the bottom side of the cracker. Let cool completely before serving.

CREAMED CORN

Contributed by: Alison

3 - 15.25 oz cans whole kernel corn, drained

1 cup milk

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz cream cheese, cubed

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

Place corn into a slow cooker. Stir in milk, sugar and pepper until well combined. Without stirring, top with butter and cream cheese. Cover and cook on high heat for 2-3 hours. Uncover and stir until botter and cream cheese are well combined. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

PUMPKIN SPICE DIP

Contributed by: Belinda

4 cups powdered sugar
2 - 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
1 can (30 oz) pumpkin pie filling
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
Gingersnaps, apples, or Nilla Wafers for dipping

Combine sugar and softened cream cheese until well blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. This dip is good with gingersnaps.

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Tonight, I leave you with two things:

1. A "throwback" to 2012's Slapsgiving with my family. All of the cousins (minus Tyler)! This year we get to add 2 more new little cousins to the picture!

2. The Word of God

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Lord, I cannot express enough thanks for all that you have done for me. I am so undeserving of your unconditional love and outpouring of blessings, yet you still provide. And you are always with me, through the good times and bad. I thank you that I can lean on you during troubling times, and rejoice with you and praise you during the good times in my life. I am forever grateful for the family, friends, church home, job, material things, spiritual things, and more that you have put in my life and I pray blessings over each of these ladies and their families especially during this holiday season. In your name, Amen.