Extra Cream Anyone?

Homemade Butter

 A young girl in my ward here gave me the coolest suggestion.  Every year for Thanksgiving, she and her siblings make homemade butter!  When she explained how simple it is - as simple as pouring heavy cream into a jar and shaking it...no 100 year old wooden barrel required;)- I knew that we HAD to try it!

After cleaning the house this morning I rewarded the kids with a movie.  They chose Star Wars 2.  While watching, the kids took turns shaking the little jar of cream mixed with a tsp of salt.  It wasn't too terribly long before the novelty wore off and I had to rotate in a turn of my own;)  The kids don't yet grasp the coolness of making your OWN BUTTER!!  After about 20 minutes of moderate shaking, mixed in with resting and a few minutes of vigorous shaking, we opened the lid and found this:

YEAAA!!  Butter!!  I'm drooling at the sight of it!!

We poured of the liquid (buttermilk) into a cup and then loaded our fresh butter into our Thanksgiving Day serving dish and placed it in the fridge:

Really and truly, it tastes silkier, smoother and richer than the store bought stuff AND it's fun!!  It's like jumping back in time...and taking Star Wars with you;)

Tip:  At first the cream is, of course, thin and easy to shake...keep shakin'.  After a while it becomes the consistency of frothy cream and seems to hardly move in the jar at all...keep shakin'.  A few minutes after this, small lumps will begin to appear in your cream...still...keep shaking.  Your honin' in on it.  Within a few minutes it will look like the picture above and you can separate it from your butter milk and enjoy!  Hope my suggestion is worth something to you and you give it a try!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Some Halloween Cookin'

Spicy Pumpkin Casserole

This dish wormed its way into our Halloween traditions about three years ago. My Mom gave me a strictly pumpkin cookbook and this dinner was our favorite. I urge you to give it a try on Halloween night. That's when we'll be feasting on it in a little bit different form...from inside the pumpkin.

Begin your project with a 2 lb pie pumpkin, top removed, 1 lb cooked ground turkey sausage, 3 cups of cooked, brown rice and 1 cup cheese (I've used all kinds).

Scrape the insides of your pumpkin and reserve the seeds for later roasting. Place pumpkin in a 350' oven, lid on, for 1hr or until soft.

Meanwhile, prepare the bechamel sauce.

The recipe says to stir constantly. They're not telling the truth! I think almost constantly would suffice until it starts to steam and simmer. Then you should stir constantly to prevent lumps.

When the pumpkin is done roasting, scrape the soft flesh into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Begin your layering and...

Voi La!! Bubbly, cheesy deliciousness!

Spicy Pumpkin Casserole

2 lb pumpkin, washed and seeded

3 cups cooked rice

1 lb ground turkey sausage, browned

1 c Swiss cheese

1T butter

Bechamel Sauce:

2 T butter

2 T all purpose flour

1 ¼ c milk

freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 325’. Bake pumpkin until soft, about 1hr. Meanwhile, prepare the Bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

When Pumpkin is done, scoop out the flesh, mash slightly and season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange alternating layers of rice, sausage, pumpkin and béchamel sauce until your dish is full. Sprinkle the top with cheese, dot with butter and cook in a 425’ oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

In actuality, our favorite way to eat this dish is inside the pumpkin itself. Instead of scraping out the pumpkin after its cooked, take it out of the oven when its still a little bit firm. Layer your rice, then sauce, then sausage and cheese inside the pumpkin, flesh intact. Repeat. Then serve the pumpkin whole, in the center of the table and scoop out bits of cooked pumpkin with each serving. It makes the perfect Halloween night dinner!