Cooking Season
Fall brings many things for us all to enjoy. One is the cooler weather and beautiful colors of fall. But most, I believe, look forward to the cooler weather after a hot, humid August in the south. I usually wait until the temps drop down to at least the thirties at night before I decided to put most of my summer clothes up and take out my winter clothes. There is nothing like putting on a big sweat-shirt and pants then crawling on the couch to watch scary Halloween movies. Some like to the coffee flavors of fall. My daughter, Emily, likes the new pumpkin cream cold brew at Dunkin Donuts. I personally like my coffee black with no sweeteners or flavors. But what I like most is taking walks in the cool brisk air and trying new soup and dessert recipes.
Recently, I made a chicken tortilla soup but I made a few adjustments in the recipe that was given to me. To make this delicious soup I cooked about a pound of chicken tenderloins in two cups of chicken broth. I added a can of Rotel, one can of roasted tomatoes, a can of green chilies, one package of taco seasoning, two cans of Mexican corn, and two cans of black beans. I let it cook for about forty-five minutes to an hour then I added a package of cream cheese. Stir well before serving. Add some tortilla strips to the bowl of deliciousness to add a little crunchy to the bite. It is warm and delicious. Inviting friends over to share makes the even more delicious.
I don’t cook too much but when Emily is visiting or friends I like to cook up a little dessert. Sometimes I make something extravagant or I do the simple dessert. My daughter shared one of her recipes and it is one of the easiest desserts I’ve made yet, Monkey Bread. I first thought it would be complicated but it is very simple. First get one can of the Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits (24 ounces) and prepare the dough. Separate biscuits and cut each one into four equal bite-size pieces. In a bowl combine one cup of granulated sugar and two teaspoons of cinnamon (you can use pumpkin pie spice, too). Take the bite-size pieces and drop into the sugar and cinnamon mixture, shake around until each one is completely coated. Gently arrange the cinnamon-sugar biscuit pieces into a Bundt pan. Put this aside until you make the heated syrup. To make heated syrup get a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter. Add ½ cup of the remaining sugarcinnamon mixture. Gently heat to melt butter (one cup) and bring mixture to a boil then immediately remove from heat. Stir until sugars have fully dissolved. Do not overcook the syrup. You simply want to help the sugar dissolve. Drizzle the warm mixture over the rolled dough balls in the pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees, and for about 30 minutes. This is a simple delicious dessert everyone will enjoy.
Maybe this week try a new soup recipe or fix that favorite chili that everyone has been asking for with a skillet of yummy cornbread. Let the little ones try-out a simple dessert recipe. But most of all enjoy family and fun.