Okra tomato gumbo

 From Cheryl - lowcountry yum! Don't skimp on the cooking time - the slow simmer that allows the okra, tomatoes and beef to truly soften really makes the dish.

Okra tomato gumbo

Two medium diced onions
1.5 lbs beef chuck cubes
2 roasted beef rib bones
1.5 qts water
2 cans diced tomatoes
Bay leaf
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Beef bullion 2 cubes small size or 1 Knorr [nb: beef base or using beef stock in place of this and the water works, too]
1 tsp garlic powder
2 bags of frozen okra (the size they have at your Metcalf's is about 10 oz I think)
2 cups cooked rice

Dice two medium sized onions and brown with 1.5 lbs beef chuck in olive oil in a large  pot or Dutch oven. If you have left over rib roast that is an excellent use for your leftovers. Do not trim the fat off, leave it on as that gives flavor to the broth. Add roasted, beef soup bones or leftover rib bones from prime rib roast. Cover with water, approximately a quart to a quart and a half and let simmer for at least an hour and a half.

Add two cans of untrained diced tomatoes, a bay leaf, and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp granulated garlic, and beef bullion cubes and let the soup simmer for an hour more.

Add two bags of frozen okra and simmer until the okra is tender (about 1 HR or less depending on the size of the but okra) and just barely beginning to lose its shape. You ought to have enough liquid in the pot that the okra fills up the pot without leaving too much liquid. This is supposed to be a chunky soup.

Season heavily with black pepper and taste for salt.

Serve over rice.

Fudgsicles

 We loved this very chocolatey recipe - we added marshmellows:

https://lifestyleofafoodie.com/easy-homemade-fudgesicles/

Baked ham sandwiches

 From Heidi L- this is maybe the one thing everyone in my family will eat! 

Ingredients: 

2 12 roll packages Hawaiian rolls

1 1/2 pounds Virginia ham 

12 slices Swiss cheese 

One stick butter 

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 

One teaspoon garlic powder 

1 teaspoon onion powder 

2 TBP poppy seeds

Put the bortoms of the rolls in 2 9 x 13” pans or one really bigger pan. 

Put ham slices on each of the roll bottoms and then tap with a couple small pieces of cheese on each . Put the top back on

Melt together the butter or Worcestershire  sauce, onion powder garlic powder, and poppy seeds. Brush the mixture on top of the ham sandwiches. 

The best part you can make them the night before! Cover with foil and put them in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight. 

Bake at 375 or for 15 minutes until cheese is melted . Enjoy!!! 

Kale salad

 I really dug this fall kale salad:

https://cookieandkate.com/debs-kale-salad-with-apple-cranberries-and-pecans/

Nice tangy, dressing. The author also recommends massaging the kale with salt before dressing, which I've never done, and made it nice and easy to chew. Great way to celebrate fall apples. I topped with chicken, and added feta.

Instant pot tomato soup

 Great recipe - includes instructions for fresh and canned:

 https://urbanfarmie.com/instant-pot-tomato-soup/

 Love making this with my garden tomatoes and freezing for the winter!

Instant pot marinara

 My favorite recipe:

https://confessionsofafitfoodie.com/fresh-tomato-sauce-instant-pot/

I omit the tomato paste - thinner sauce but fresher flavor. I use mostly San marzano/ sauce tomatoes.

Pumpkin Pie

We celebrated an early Thanksgiving with Cam, Shana and Theo on Oct. 8, which Jody points out is two days away from Canadian Thanksgiving.  We omitted the dressing, and Shana brought a bountiful salad, but even for just the 5 of us, and some deviations from my usual T'giving prep, it was quite a production:  sweet potato whip (bourbon, lemon zest, the Vitamix was the champion here), brussels sprouts, rice, ginger and orange cranberry relish (no cranberries on the shelves so I had to get a canned jelly and fish out the berries), gravy, and one of the best-behaved turkeys (breast only) I'd ever cooked:  6.6 lbs, 2 3/4 hr in a 350 oven, and the little thermometer popped out exactly when my thermometer read 161 degrees.  And this was a regular Giant fresh, but not organic breast.  I didn't do the whole brining routine.  It was succulent and sweet in its own way.  I had searched on the Giant website for giblets and just came up with catfood.  We passed on that, but Reeves made an excellent gravy with a few pieces of meat, thickened with whole wheat flour.

This pumpkin pie recipe is from the back of the can :  

15 oz pumpkin; recipe calls for 3/4 c sugar, but I omitted that in favor of the cream, below

3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1.2 tsp nutmeg (fresh off the microplane), 1/4 tsp ginger1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs and ~8 oz heavy cream, mixed; recipe called for 12 oz can evaporated milk

all mixed together and poured into frozen shell and baked at 425 for 15 min then 350 for 40 min.  Omitting the sugar really highlighted the spices.

We finished off with little chocolate turkeys, Cocoa Mill not yet being in production.