Corn Pudding

Thanksgiving is only two days away and I'm prepping like a mad woman! Today's recipe is a long-time and childhood favorite of mine. It's corn pudding and it's sure to win over anyone. It's a simple dish that is perfect for a last minute side to your Thanksgiving feast. Because what Turkey Day meal doesn't include some type or corn dish?! And this one certainly doesn't disappoint!

• What You'll Need
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 can creamed corn
• 2 cans whole corn, drained
• 1/4 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 TBSP cornstarch
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 2 eggs

• What You'll Do
• Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together.
• Beat in the eggs, then add the evaporated milk, creamed corn, whole corn, and melted butter. Mix well.
• Put in a greased glass casserole dish and bake for one hour at 350°.

Wild Mushroom-Bacon Sourdough Dressing

This week and next, I will be sharing the Thanksgiving dishes I most enjoy over the holiday. This particular recipe was a new one for us last year, as Pete and I celebrated and hosted our first married Thanksgiving together in our new home. 

This particular recipe comes from Food Network's Bobby Flay. I love receiving holiday magazines in the mail and flipping through to find the perfect recipe to whip up for a special occasion. This was one of those and we loved it! If you're looking for a non-traditional dressing to make for Turkey Day, I highly recommend this one! It was delicious and we will be making it this Thanksgiving and for many to come! 

• What You'll Need
• 1 1/4 lbs sourdough bread
• 1 carton shiitake mushrooms
• 1 carton button mushrooms
• 1 carton cremini mushrooms
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 3/4 lb bacon
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves
• 32 oz low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 TBSP finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 TBSP finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
•  2 large eggs
• Butter for the baking dish

• What You'll Do
• Preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the crusts from the bread and cut into half inch cubes (about 12 cups worth). Spread the bread cubes in an even layer on the a large baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let them cool then transfer them to a large bowl.
• Increase the oven temperature to 375°. Remove the stems and chop all of the mushrooms. Combine them on a baking sheet and toss with 3 tablespoons of canola oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until soft and golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once cooked, remove and let the grease drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan and place it back on the stove top on high heat. Add the diced onion, once soft, add the minced garlic cloves. Cook one minute then add 3 cups of chicken broth and herbs, seasoning with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. 
• Add the mushrooms to the bread bowl, then add the broth mixture, the bacon, and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper, and gently stir until well combined.The mixture should be very wet, add more broth if needed.
• Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and add the dressing. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. 
• Remove the foil and let baked until golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts With Dried Cranberries & Sunflower Seeds

This week is the second of five weeks for themed recipes, all inspired by October. The next five days are all about cozy, feel good fall foods. With rainy weather and low temperatures, these recipes will be a great for warming up your belly. I wanted to kick this week off with a favorite side dish of mine, pan-seared Brussels sprouts with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds.

I fell in love with Brussels sprouts several months back, but felt that they needed a little extra texture and flavor. That's how I decided to add dried cranberries (a favorite of mine) and sunflower seeds. When coming up with new recipes, one of the greatest ways to pick ingredients to add to a basic dish is to start with what's already in your pantry. We keep dried cranberries and sunflower seeds in stock at our house, and turns out they make a great addition to your typical vegetable. 

• What You'll Need
• A bag of fresh Brussels Sprouts (not frozen)
• Dried cranberries
• Sunflower Seeds
• Garlic Salt
• Olive Oil

• What You'll Do
• In a skillet, swirl around about one tablespoon of olive oil. Put on low to medium heat.
• Wash the Brussels sprouts then cut off the end. Next chop them into the bite sizes you prefer. I cut mine twice to get four pieces per Brussels sprout.
• Add them to the skillet along with a sprinkling of garlic salt. Let them cook until they begin to brown. 
• Once the Brussels sprouts are almost done, add the dried cranberries. Add as many as you'd like. Typically, 1/4 cup or less. 
• Then add the sunflower seeds, as many or as little as you'd like. 
• Stir well and add just a dash more of garlic salt if desired. Remove from heat and serve once the cranberries and sunflower seeds have had time to warm. 

Baked Cinnamon Apples

It's Friday!! While I'm a bit sad to see the apple recipes go, I'm super excited to see the weekend arrive! This week of apple-inspired dishes has been a lot of fun for me to experiment with. Husband and I have so much fun concocting recipes together. It's the best, being in the kitchen, candles lit, spices, sugars, and flours atop the counters, and aromas from our baking/cooking foods filling the entire house.

I'm looking forward to sharing our Feel Good Fall recipes next week! They're good ones too! For now, some simple baked cinnamon apples, which are a perfect pair to some toast for breakfast, as a side for lunch and/or dinner, or just a snacky treat. With minimal prep work, and simple ingredients this is an easy addition to any meal.

• What You'll Need
• 8 Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 TSP cinnamon
• Dash of all spice
• Dash of cloves

• What You'll Do
• Peel and slice the apples. 
• Pour water in a saucepan and add the apples, sugar, and spices.
• Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for 30-40 minutes on low-to-medium heat (we put ours on '3').

**tip: if you want to make these for breakfast, you can do the prep work the night before. Go ahead and peel and slice the apples. Store them in an air-tight tupperware and before closing the lid, add several splashes of lemon juice to keep the apples from turning brown. Close the tupperware lid and shake so the lemon juice evenly coats the apples. The next morning you can throw them in the saucepan with the sugar and spices while you are getting ready for the day. 

Zucchini-Stuffed Turkey Burger With Sweet Potato Fries

The last of husband's favorite recipes is brought to you today. A whole handful of months back, he and I discovered a scrumptious and healthy (yay, for that perk!) burger. We wanted to take the ordinary, not-so-great-for-you-burger, and turn it into something amazing and yet, healthy. We already knew we would be substituting beef for turkey, but we needed something to take this better-for-you-burger to the next level. 

And that's when the light bulb turned on for us and we realized we could combine vegetables with our meat and eat a burger that was jam-packed with really great nutrients. Such a no brainer, yet we were bewildered as to why we hadn't thought of it sooner. So if you're one of those people, whom like us didn't realize that vegetables weren't just for topping your patty, here's a really simple recipe for getting more veggies in your meal. Hopefully it's a catalyst in your kitchen for coming up with new ways to look at everyday foods. 

• What You'll Need
• 1 lb. turkey burger (the leanest you can get)
• 1 small to medium zucchini
• 1/2 of a red onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• Salt & pepper
• Your preference of toppings; we used:
• baby spinach leaves
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• tomato slices
• onion (yes, we add more)
• 1 TSP of mayo per bun

• What You'll Do
• Start by shredding your zucchini and onion. With the zucchini, wash it thoroughly, leaving the peel on and cutting out any bad marks. For the onion, pull off the outer peel, cut in half, and then grate.
• Once you have grated both zucchini and onion, mince the garlic and add to the veggies. Next add your turkey burger, salt, and pepper; combine all the ingredients, using your hands, until well mixed. 
• Shape into patties of about 3-4 oz. proportions (about the size of a deck of cards) and cook in a skillet drizzled with olive oil on medium heat.

As it is with every burger, fries are the go-to of sides. But, your typical french fry isn't going to cut it on the healthy meter. So spice it up, quite literally, and try out this super easy recipe for spicy sweet potato fries (below):

• What You'll Need
• 1 large sweet potato (this is good for two people)
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 TSP chili powder
• 1/4 TSP white pepper
• 1/4 TSP garlic salt
• 1/4 TSP crushed red pepper flakes
• Sprinkling of salt

• What You'll Do
• Preheat the oven to 450° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cook the sweet potato in the microwave for 3 minutes, to soften it up. This will making cutting it into slices, much easier.
• After you have cut the potato, toss them with the olive oil in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine all of the seasonings and mix well.
• Sprinkle over the potato slices and stir evenly to coat.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the fries are lightly browned and crisp. Halfway through, pull the fries out of the oven and stir around so that they cook evenly, flipping if you have to. 

Now you can have your burger and eat it too, guilt free I might add! And if you're feeling extra healthy, go sans bun! Happy Friday!!

Fried Green Tomatoes

This was the very last recipe that I posted on Hill Collection. And because it is a summer treat, it had to be included in the summer wrap-up of recipes going on this week. 

It wasn't until late this summer that I had my first fried green tomato. I know, how had that not happened already? Honestly, I just don't know, because my dad grew and stills grows tomatoes every summer. Doesn't add up, does it?!

So when he called to say he had straight-out-of-the-garden green tomatoes I jumped, waving my hand in the air, "Me. Me. Me. I'll take them." I got to thinking about how exactly I would coat them and fry them. And this is how it turned out. Tooting my horn *toot, toot* they were delicious! You must make these. 

 ^^I think tomatoes are just beautiful. Their color is so vibrant and bright.^^

• What You'll Need
• 3 medium green tomatoes
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal 
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 TSP kosher salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• Canola oil for frying

• What You'll Do
• Slice the tomatoes about a half an inch thick. 
• In a small bowl whisk the egg and milk together. On one plate, put the flour. On a second plate, stir the cornmeal, crumbs, and salt.
• Dip each tomato slice into the flour and coat thoroughly. 
• Transfer to the egg and milk mixture. 
• Dredge the covered tomato in the cornmeal mixture.
• In a large skillet, heat the canola oil on medium (should be 1/2 an inch deep in the pan). Place the coated tomato slices in the oil. Flip them once they brown. 
• Drain them on a paper towel covered plate. 

These crispy bits of heaven were so easy to make and I am on the hunt for more green tomatoes, but as summer comes to a close, that might be far and few between. And might I add that you simply can't eat fried green tomatoes without watching the movie. That would be absurd. Now go find yourself some green tomatoes! Summer is almost over and gardens are starting to close shop! Run, quick! 

Macaroni Salad

This side dish reminds me of my summers during childhood. Macaroni salad was a go-to addition to any meal from April to August. Probably because it takes no time to make, uses fresh summer vegetables, and is a chilled salad to cool down hot summer evenings. Really, I can't be featuring summer wrap-up recipes without including this one. I bet it was a spring/summer staple in your home too, or something very similar to it. 

• What You'll Need
• 4 cups of cooked shells
• 1 medium tomato diced 
• 1 medium cucumber diced
• 1/2 cup mayo (more or less to taste)
• Salt & pepper (to taste)

• What You'll Do
• Boil the shells until tender. Drain and set aside in a mixing bowl.
• Dice the tomato and cucumber (peel first). 
• Add to the cooled shells. Then mix in the mayo. Sprinkle salt and pepper; stir well. 
• Chill for at least an hour before serving.

If you make a cold pasta salad, tell me what you add to it by leaving a comment below!