1/2 lb (500g) mild Italian sausage, removed from casing if cased 6 cups Swiss chard, thinly sliced stems and leaves 1/2c (100mL) dry Vermouth (or broth or water) 15oz cannelini beans (canned), rinsed 15oz diced tomatoes (canned), with olive oil and onions Brown sausage over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked and oils have been expressed, using a spatula to break into small bits during the cooking process. Add the chard and cook quickly until just wilted, stirring constantly. Deglaze the pan with Vermouth (or broth or water). Add beans and tomatoes; cook until heated through and slightly thickened. Serve in bowls with fresh bread or, better, foccacia. We were lucky enough to have some beetroot from our chard that had wintered over in the garden, and it was a great addition. Chop into 1/2" (1cm) dice and cook with the sausage for a minute or two before adding the chard leaves.

1 baguette, cut into 1” cubes, stale or dried in the oven 1/2gal eggnog 1 cup fresh cranberries (optional) Zest of 1 orange (optional) Combine in a 9 x13 glass baking dish and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until custard is set and top is toasted.

For the hard version, alternately add one of: Bourbon Whiskey Applejack For a gallon of cider (128oz), you're going to want a fifth of alcohol.

Wassail Ingredients 1 gallon Apple Cider 4 cups orange juice 10 cinnamon sticks 1 tsp. whole cloves 1 Tbs. juniper berries 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into slices 1 apple, sliced into rounds 1 orange, sliced into rounds Optional: 4 hibiscus teabags Directions Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cover. Turn the slow cooker on high heat and cook for 3-4 hours, until the color has darkened and the fruit is soft. Remove the tea bags and serve hot Notes Being a non-drinker, non-alcoholic cider is used in this recipe. This can easily be swapped for hard cider, if desired.

Soup Section

1 lb (500g) butternut squash, cut into 3/4" (2cm) pieces 2 links (150g) pork-sage or mild italian sausage, casing removed 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts 6 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced Pre-heat the oven to 350F (175C). In an oven-safe saute pan, brown the sausage. Add the squash and walnuts; toss until coated with sausage drippings. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the squash is caramelized and the walnuts are fragrant, about 25-30 minutes. Carefully remove pan from oven; toss with fresh sage and serve warm. While an excellent side dish on its own, this can be served as a main over pasta. If you're really ambitious (or crazy like us), you can also mash the squash after roasting and use it as a filling for ravioli.

1-1/2 cup lukewarm water 1 packet (Or generous spoonful) yeast 1 tablespoon sugar or honey 2 tablespoons oil or softened butter 2-4 cups flour Mix water, yeast, and sugar in mixing bowl and let bloom. (About fifteen minutes, or until it starts looking like tan mold floating on top). Add 1 cup flour and oil, mix well. Add 1 cup flour, and mix thoroughly. Continue adding flour in small amounts until dough is about as sticky as play-dough. Let stand 10 minutes. Place on clean, lightly floured surface. (Countertops work fine) Knead until it begins to turn shiny (About 20-30 minutes.) Place in bowl and allow to rise until it doubles in size. (normally 4-6 hours) if the dough does not return to it's previous state after poking with your finger, knead again and form into desired shape. (Rolls, loaf, etc.) Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the bread sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. If not serving immediately, let cool in open air, then wrap in plastic wrap or place in breadbox. This bread has a fine crumb, which is best for sandwiches. The crust is crunchy. Like with most baked goods, this can be played with considerably. Adding more oil or butter makes the bread much richer and softer when done, more sugar makes for a good base for cinnamon rolls. there are other options, but this is basics.

Please note that I do my Breads largely by feel, so none of these are exactly researched. Play with it, have some fun, it'll be great, I promise. I'm also assuming you know at least a little bit about how to handle basic bread. If not, look that up. I may post some breads later. To make one 12" pizza: In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup water and some yeast. Amount of yeast will determine time required, but it is not advisable to exceed 1 tablespoon. (If you consider 'doesn't taste like beer' a desirable trait in pizza, 1 tablespoon may also be excessive.) Bloom according to directions on your yeast. Mix in 1-1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup cornmeal until fully incorporated. Add flour in small quantities until it is tacky, but doesn't cling to your fingers. Knead and let rise. After dough has approximately doubled in size, poke with one or two fingers. If it only regains about half the depth of your poking, then knead it and stretch flat on pizza baking surface of choice. (Baking sheet, pizza stone, convenient rock or slab of metal, whatever floats your boat.) Heat oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit. Add desired toppings to pizza. It is advised to layer applicable cheeses or similar dietary replacement between the sauce and other toppings, then spread some more on top of all other toppings to help hold them in place slightly while cutting. Bake until the top looks fully melted and the bottom sounds hard when tapped. Remove and serve, allowing to cool prior to serving optional. No, it's not a pretty recipe, but it does the job. Playing with the amount of water and flour can also help you make the crust more or less puffy by layering more or less dough, and the cornmeal helps make it crunchier. Adding butter/oil will make the dough softer, but not puffier.

1 (24 oz) jar of tomato pasta sauce (I like tomato basil garlic or garlic parmesan) 1 (16 oz) jar of Alfredo pasta sauce 1 tbsp lime juice 1 tbsp Aw Crap spice blend (can add more to taste, I used to like 1.5 tbsp; also, not the actual name of the spice) 1 lb ground beef Thaw and heat the ground beef until browned. While doing this, add the four remaining ingredients to a large saucepan, stir, and heat. Once the beef is browned, add to the sauce pan and mix. Serve with pasta of your choice. I find it's amazing with rigatoni or penne rigate.

Rules for avoiding candy turning to sugar apply here as well. Nutty Caramel 2 cups granulated sugar 2 cups whipping cream 1-3/4 cups light corn syrup 1/2 cup butter 2 cups chopped nuts pinch of salt 1 tsp vanilla extract Mix first five ingredients, cook slowly in large heavy pot (At least 4-quart, for safety. smaller if you feel like playing with fire) until it turns caramel colored and 238 Degrees Fahrenheit (or firm ball stage). Mix in salt and butter, pour into buttered 12x9 pan, let cool. Refrigeration is allowed, freezing is not. otherwise, cover and leave at room temperature for several hours. When room temperature or lower, cut into portions. Eat or wrap for later. Note: Will keep for several weeks Grandma C's caramel 2 cups sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 3 cups heavy cream 2 tsp Vanilla Mix Sugar, Syrup, and one cup of cream in large heavy pot. boil and cook to 234 Fahrenheit, or firm ball stage. Remove from heat, mix in 1 cup of cream, cook slowly until it reaches Firm ball again. Repeat with last cup of cream and cook slowly until it turns caramel colored and reaches Firm ball stage again. Take off heat and add Vanilla Pour into buttered 9x13 pan. Cool, cut, wrap or eat as above. Caramel chews Prepare one of the above caramel recipes and pour into 2 buttered jelly roll pans or a buttered baking sheet. Nougat filling: 2 cups sugar 2 cups light corn syrup 3/4 cups water 3 egg whites Cook first three ingredients together until they reach 235 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat egg whites until cooking mixture reached 240 degrees. Add 1/3 of Sugar mix to the whites while beating. Cook remaining syrup to 260 degrees. Slowly add syrup to egg white mix while beating. Beat until it holds shape. (Think merengue) Spread nougat over the hardened caramel. Let set. Cut into thirds by length and roll. Cut rolls into 1 inch pieces on buttered cutting board. Enjoy or Wrap for later

I give unto you all the art and recipes of my family: Candy making. Filled chocolates Filling: 4C White sugar 2 tbps Light Corn syrup 2T butter Pinch of Salt Flavoring of choice* Mix first four ingredients in large (at least twice as tall as ingredient mixture) thick bottomed pot. Stir continuously over medium heat until it starts to boil. Turn to low heat and add thermometer. Let boil on low until 238 Degrees Fahrenheit, or until a drop forms a firm ball when dripped into ice water. Remove from heat and place in cold water bath (Keep water out of candy). Cool to 110-120 Degrees Farenheit. beat until no longer glossy. Pour into mixing bowl without scraping sides**. Let cool and set completely. Knead in flavoring, and refrigerate covered until ready for use. When ready, cover baking sheet in wax paper, and dust hands in corn starch. Scoop out a marble-sized amount of filling with a spoon and roll into a ball. Refrigerate. Melt chocolate. If using a double boiler, do not let any water get in the chocolate. If Microwaving, melt in 5-10 second increments to prevent breaking. place a sheet of wax paper on a second baking sheet, and put dots of chocolate in each space the chocolates will go. This helps thicken the bottoms so they don't leak as easily. Dip fondant balls in chocolate and place on chocolate dots. Let cool. Eat alone or with friends/family. *Flavorings from the family, and please add your own if you like: Mint - a few drops of Peppermint oil Citrus - 1tbps zest. Almond - a few drops almond extract, add slivered or chopped almonds to outside of chocolate. Strawberry - a few drops of strawberry extract Cherry - chop dry maraschino cherries Maple walnut - maple flavoring and chopped walnuts Chocolate(Fudge) - Use favorite fudge recipe, or add cocoa powder with all other ingredients. Coconut - Coconut flavoring, roll dipped chocolate in coconut flakes before cooling. ** This is to prevent the candy from going to sugar. if your candy turns into a hard sheet of brown sugar-ish stuff, add a little water, and reheat (or break into fragments and eat, it's still tasty). While boiling, if you notice a large amount of crystal buildup on the sides, use a basting brush dipped in water to dissolve them into the candy.

Or, add tomato paste, continue to saute until fragrant and slightly browned. Deglaze with wine (or water), and cook down again. Mix into meatloaf meat for all that umami.

It also makes a good base to start a soup from. Take the above, add some diced chicken once the veggies are sautéed. Once the chicken is done, add chicken broth and water (ratio to taste), season to taste (basil and celery salt are good spices for this). Bring to a boil and add noodles.

Ingredients: 🥬 Carrot x2 🥬 Celery Piece x2 🥬 Onion x1 🧴 Olive Oil (tablespoon) x2 🧂 Crushed Garlic (teaspoon) x1 (optional) Tools: 🔪 Knife (any) 🔪 Vegetable Chopper (recommended; mandolin slicer or grater can also be used) 🍳 Frypan 🥄 Eggflip (recommended; wooden spoon can also be used) 🔌 Cooktop (gas or induction) Method: 1. Dice the carrot, celery and onion, using your knife and vegetable chopper. 2. Put the diced carrot, celery and onion in the frypan, and add the olive oil and garlic. 3. Heat the frypan on the stovetop until you can hear it sizzling. Use your eggflip to stir around the mix. 4. Saute for approximately 10 minutes, then remove from heat. This vegetable mix isn't a meal in itself, but can be used as a tasty filler in a variety of things. I've used it to supplement the meat in spaghetti sauce, in pies, and on one occasion as pizza topping. You can also use it to make olive oil pasta; cook some pasta in a separate saucepan, then drain the pasta, add it to the frypan with a little more olive oil and some chili flakes, and just stir to combine before serving. You can also use this vegetable mix in making minestrone; if you do, I recommend sauteing the vegetables in the bottom of the pot you make the minestrone in, rather than using a separate frypan.

Oh now I'll have to dig up my Imperial Chocolate Stout Brownie recipe...

A separate topic for Breakfast dishes. Maybe one for Breads/Muffins/Non-dessert baked goods, too. Oh, and snack-type things! For mine, I've been adding tags with the main ingredients in case somehow the tags are searchable, but also in case someone may have an allergy to one or more of the ingredients.

This is a variation on the Moscow Mule that I came up with one summer, and after... several rounds of experimentation, this is the formula that I think works the best. Hardware Double-sided bar measure Drinking vessel of at least 10 oz capacity Bar shaker (optional) Software 1 large + 1 small measure vodka -- see notes 1 small measure lime juice 1 small measure blood orange juice (can be upgraded to large measure) Ice Ginger beer -- see notes Assembly Fill drink vessel about 2/3 full of ice cubes If you are using the bar shaker, add 5-6 cubes to shaker Add vodka and fruit juices to shaker or vessel If the shaker is being used, shake well until chilled and mixed, then pour over ice in vessel If going straight to the vessel, stir until mixed and chilled Top off with ginger beer Ingredient notes Vodka - Best option is to use a blood orange vodka here. Skyy makes a good one. If that's not available, you can use an orange vodka. Plain vodka will work in a pinch. Ginger beer - Again, blood orange ginger beer is the best option. Yes, it exists -- my personal favorite is Powell & Mahoney which should be available at any Total Wine outlet. Fever Tree apparently makes one as well, though I have yet to locate and sample. I'm sure there are others out there. Of course, regular ginger beer can be used, as you'll have the blood orange juice in the cocktail. If you plan to use regular ginger beer, make it a good one. Gosling's would be my choice, since Stewart's hasn't made theirs in ages, which is a shame. If you really want to jazz things up, use an alcoholic ginger beer, such as Crabbie's. Granted, they don't make their orange flavor brew any longer, but the regular one will do just as well. Blood orange juice - This is a necessity. You can't make this drink without it. There are places to find it. Whole Foods had it when I last went looking for it. The only other option would be to get some fresh blood oranges and start squeezing. Drinking vessel - As with any Mule, a copper-clad mug is traditional. These days, all copper mugs have food-grade stainless steel interiors, as the acid from the beverage would leech copper from a pure copper mug, and that, if I recall, was not good for you in the long run. However, you can feel free to use a highball or cocktail glass as you like. Drink up and enjoy!

It's that lovely time of the year where this drink will get you through those nights that are getting dark earlier and cooler. Ah, I can smell the woodsmoke from people's chimneys already... Hardware Pint glass or pint mug (standard US pint) or larger Software 10 oz hard cider -- Brand is your choice, as is the flavor variety 1.5 oz apple pie moonshine 1.5 oz flavored whiskey 3 oz regular unfiltered apple cider -- Your choice if it's pasteurized or not. If you can find it, caramel-flavored cider is a good addition. Assembly Pour above ingredients into the pint glass/mug. No need to stir. Add-ons Sugared rim -- use apple cider or syrup (caramel, butterscotch) and then either regular sugar or cinnamon sugar Notes Hard cider -- your choice on brand. However, I'd keep track of the flavor, as sometimes strange flavor combinations will make the drink taste odd. Whiskey -- your choice here as well. Original recipe called for Fireball, but we can't stand the "fake" flavor of the stuff. I tend to use Ol' Smokey Salted Caramel or a peanut butter whiskey. I may not go with apple whiskey, as that just kind of gets lost in all the other apple-flavored liquids. Moonshine -- my preference is Ol' Smokey, but use whichever label you like and can obtain. Combination Suggestions These are some I've done and have worked well... Regular Angry Orchard + Salted Caramel or Peanut Butter whiskey Green Apple Angry Orchard + PB whiskey (always liked the tartness with the earthy peanut butter combo) Word of Warning!!!!! You will likely not taste the booze, so it will sneak up on you. My advice -- drink slowly, and limit yourself to one or two in a session.

Maybe methods of making (Instant Pot, air fryer, etc.)

The problem with cinnamon rolls is there's never enough cinnamon, and making them yourself is a shocking amount of effort. Wife had me do an "improved" can of cinnamon rolls, and it came out really good! Ingredients 1 can Grands cinnamon rolls 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 stick butter 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon 1/3 cup (or a bit more) brown sugar Dash of vanilla Directions Layer the premade cinnamon rolls in a 9x9 pan Add heavy cream to bottom of pan Melt butter Mix cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla into melted butter Pour mixture over the cinnamon rolls Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until heavy cream is absorbed End Result

Oh yeah! and we also have a version with Vodka, we call it Caipiroska, try it with kiwis or strawberries as well, both work very well with the two spirits!

A fun twist I tried out a few years ago is that you can replace the lime slices with berries of various kinds for a berry caipirinha. Muddle the berries as you would the limes but be sure to add a splash of lime juice as well to make the flavors pop. I got very favorable reviews of my blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry versions.

Is that how you talk about your kids? I loved it lol

Elder Spawn basically does these every evening so she can have a filling low-effort breakfast before school. It really works!

Yeah, I can definitely see some modifications to make it do different things. I've liked the concept of overnight oats for years - this is the first time I actually liked how they came out.