Thanksgiving requests

My mother-in-law requested that I make either roasted cauliflower or my special mini vegetable pot pies for thanksgiving. I made both.

This year for the pot pies, I put about 16 ounces of fresh cauliflower, carrots and broccoli in the food processor.

I bought Pilsbury pie crust because I got it on sale at Target. I greased muffin tins with butter and cut the pie crusts into weird shapes to stuff into the muffin tin.

The filling started as a cheese sauce. Some butter melted in a saucepan, mixed with a teaspoon or so of flour and then slowly mix in, over medium-low heat, about a cup of milk. I used soy milk this year but coconut milk would have been awesome.

I think I added about a teaspoon of ground four color peppercorns. 

Mixed in Colby jack and extra sharp cheddar until I liked the consistency. Then I mixed in the vegetables.

Poured the mix into the muffin cups. Topped with generous amounts of shredded Parmesan and then pinched closed.

Bake at about 375 until golden brown.

Sesame Turkey Barbeque

So, I cook like a spaz. Sometimes I start mixing so many flavors that in the end, I don't know what made the recipe work and what was completely unnecessary.

We have turkey left that had been frozen. We've been eating those super yummy spicy turkey mash up wraps.

I decided to make turkey barbecue, except my family isn't keen on barbecue so I thought I'd try something
more Asian inspired.

The base of this recipe was Betty Crocker's barbecue sauce. As written:

BARBECUE SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Boil. Then stir in:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

What I did:
3/4 cup no HFCS ketchup
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon black strap molasses
About 1/2 cup Iron chef orange teriyaki sauce
About 1/4 cup Newman's Own sesame ginger dressing
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon walnut oil
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup sesame seeds

Mash Up Turkey Soup

We got the leftover turkey out of the freezer and then I made last minute arrangements to cover someone's shift tonight.

I whipped out the crock pot and threw in:
(this could be nasty)
- one cup rice, unprepared, which I then steamed and ended up using about 1.5 cups prepared rice
- one can Campbell's cream of chicken soup
- one can broccoli cheese soup
- 1.5 cans unsweetened soy milk (then it ran out)
- 1/2 can vanilla almond milk
- shredded turkey
- 1/2 cup pickled mixed vegetables
- frozen white beans
- turkey
- 1 can green chiles
- 1 can petit diced tomatoes
- about 1/4 teaspoon country herb blend
- about 1/2 teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin and black pepper

Okay... One hour later. I cook by smell, I can't eat something if it smells bad. And this smells putrid.

I upped the chili powder, added a pinch of Indian chili powder, garlic powder, minced garlic and paprika. I tasted a piece of the turkey and it was edible- just smelled gross.

After the seasoning melded in the crock pot for a couple hours, my mother-in-law and other family members commented that it smelled delicious. My husband went shopping, and the soup evaporated into a pâté, or so he described it.

He filled tortillas with turkey and the leftover soup and they were FABULOUS!

Post Holiday Salad

I've been craving salads. I think it's carb overload from Thanksgiving. I don't crave salads often once the weather gets cold so I'm running with it.

I did something similar to this at work the other night:
• Fresh Express Veggie Lover's salad
• Marie's Ranch Dressing
• firecracker carrots from my canning with Gayle this summer
• Morningstar vegetarian buffalo wings

Today's lunch had a side of diluted Ocean Spray Cran-pomegranate juice, white earl gray tea for my husband and Tazo rest tea for me.

And I have to keep working on Nana's homemade cranberry sauce.

Bread stuffing

This is my third year hosting Thanksgiving at my house. And despite this, somehow, I have never posted the Betty Crocker recipe for stuffing.

Usually, I make homemade bread for my stuffing, but this year I bought white bread from Bottom Dollar because it was cheap. Last night child and I watched an episode of Ugly Betty and ripped bread into cubes.

We have about 16 cups of bread.

BETTY CROCKER STUFFING:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery with leaves (I omit, I hate celery)
- 3/4 cup finely chopped onions (I hate onions so I usually use chives from my garden that I froze)
- 9 cups soft bread cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat butter in Dutch oven over medium- high heat. Cook onions and celery for two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

Now, I'm going to probably use done fresh parsley that I froze from my garden as a substitute for celery. I have that country herb blend that I will probably use instead of straight thyme. But I won't mess with sage, because that's the key to that real stuffing flavor. I will mix fresh and dried, though.

Cranberry orange bread

I decided to modify my cinnamon raisin bread into a cranberry orange loaf. I started with the Traditional White Bread from my 25th anniversary Betty Crocker cookbook.

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD
- about 2 cups whole wheat flour
- about 5 cups unbleached white flour
- 1.5 tablespoons local honey
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons (or did I use a tablespoon?) yeast
- 1 cup triple sec, heated (plus more for bowl)
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup raisins and craisins

Mix the wheat flour and 2 cups white flour with the butter, salt, sugar, honey and yeast. Add liquid. Stir thoroughly with wooden spoon.

Add fruit and enough remaining flour until the dough is elastic and not wet to the touch. Need ten minutes.

Sprinkle light amounts triple sec into the bowl (straight from the bottle), and drop the dough in. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

Now, my house is always low so I preheat my oven to 200, turn the oven off and open the door and let most of the hot air out. Then I put the dough in and close the door.

The dough is ready when it doubles in size. Push a finger in and if the indentation remains, it's ready.

Knead again. Grease two loaf pans. Divide dough in half. Make rectangles, roll them tightly and then tuck the ends under. Put them in the loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 425. Cover dough and let rise 30 minutes. Until they double. I place my loaf pan on the burner where the oven exhausts so that hot air will keep it warm.

Bake 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Pre-Holiday Shopping (Hi, Bottom Dollar)

I finally remembered/ had time to go to Bottom Dollar. I had one of their "get $10 off any $25 purchase" coupons. Who can resist THAT?

Stores like this only save you money if you know exactly what you pay for your groceries. For instance: they charge $2.98 for Silk soy milk. Target charges $2.99. Fresh Express Veggie Lovers Salad was $2.49 at Bottom Dollar. The regular price at Target is $2.99, but it's usually on sale _most of the time_ for $1.99.

Bottom Dollar has lots of name brand merchandise. Lots of processed food. I don't typically use much of these items. I have to admit, I liked the variety of Bottom Dollar's fresh produce.

My mom came with me and I paid for everything and then she bought me a HUGE bottle of brandy in exchange for her victuals.

So, I bought:
- 3 containers (a quart each?) of mango nectar, $4.14 ($1.38 each)
- macaroni and cheese dinner, 2 @ 39 cents each
- big cans of yams, 2 @ 1.98
- black turtle beans (dry), $1.22
- light red kidney beans (dry), $1.14
- little red beans (dry), $1.06
- large can of tuna in water, 2 @ $1.98
- round top white bread (for stuffing), 89 cents
- pumpkin seeds, natural, $1.99
- crushed chili peppers, 99 cents
- Libby's solid pack pumpkin, 15 ounce can, 2 @ $1.29
- pineapple nectar, single serving can, 2 @ 44 cents each
- pear nectar, single serving can, 44 cents
- maiers Italian rolls, $2.79 (for mom)
- small bag of flour, $1.28
- 2 cans apricot nectar, 44 cents each
- bananas, 44 cents a pound
- pineapple (fresh, small, but ripe according to the pluck test), 2 @ $1.99
- green peppers (for mom, but I should have gotten some too), 2 huge ones at 50 cents each
- 3 lbs onions (for mom), $1.67
- 2 big bags of frozen broccoli spears, $1.98
- salted butter, one pound, 2 @ $1.98 each
- 64 ounces of half and half, $3.98
- 32 ounces whole milk, $1.18
- 12 large brown eggs, $1.58
- 18 large eggs, $1.46
- Kraft shredded cheese, 8 ounces, 2 @ 1.48 (for mom)
- huge loaf of French bread, $1.48

Total, after coupons: $45.25

Then we headed to Target. For more pre-holiday damage.

- two up and up fabric softeners, $3.99 each
- Cheetos, one crunchy regular and one crunchy jalapeño (with plans for my famous Cheetos broccoli on thanksgiving) $2.50 each
- tostitos spinach dip, on sale for $3
- Ocean Spray cranberry pomegranate juice, 2 @ $1.99 each
- Marie's ranch dressing, 3 @ $1.65 each (normally $3+ each)
- Fresh Express veggie lover's salad, 3 @ $1.99 each
- Bolthouse smoothies, 2 at $3.49 each (one mango-cherry and one blue)
- big jar of Market Pantry peanut butter, $5.09
- 16 ounces of almond-cashew-peanut butter, $5.99
- Kraft Italian dressing, $2.19
- kitchen basics, one vegetable stock and one beef stock, $3.04 each
- market pantry tomato sauce 16 ounce can, 2 at 57 cents each
- Archer Farms buffalo blue cheese dip, $2.99
- market pantry no boil lasagne noodles, $1.65
- market pantry brownies, 4 packages of four brownie bites, 49 cents a package
- pecans, $3.99 (normally $5.69)
Anyone else notice the skyrocketing cost of pecans?
- Hershey baking cocoa powder, $2.59
- SURPRISE for my husband for Xmas, $4.99
- 1 pound strawberries, $3.04
- 6 ounces raspberries, $2.09
- frozen strawberry slices, $2.29
- Silk vanilla almond milk, $3.19
- silk very vanilla soy milk, $2.99
- Silk unsweetened soy milk, $2.99
- 9 yogurts, 62 cents each
- market pantry whipped cream cheese, brown sugar and cinnamon, $1.29
- 4 boxes of tissues, $4.99
- Purina One salmon cat food, $10.99 minus $1 off coupon
- Archer Farms whole wheat bread, $2.59
- Archer Farms coffee, $6.49
*had a coupon for $2 off the bread and coffee*
- the BIG pack of 24 Scott triple rolls of toilet paper, $14.99 minus $1 off coupon plus free Kleenex hand towels

Subtotal: $138.31
Team member discount: -$13.86
Red card discount: -$6.22
Tax: + $1.31

Total: $119.54

Super leftover sandwich

I wait and wait for this beauty:

Heat up some turkey leftovers for a sandwich and a 1/4 cup of your favorite leftover stuffing (mine is homemade with apples, fresh sage and a pinch of lavender). Meanwhile, get two slices of bread and arrange a slice of cranberry sauce (my husband's Nana makes yummy cranberry sauce). Pile on the stuffing, then the turkey. Cap the sandwich and there's a Thanksgiving dinner on a sandwich.

Crockpot apple stuffing

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/slow-cooker-stuffing-2/Detail.aspx

My stuffing recipe is an apple variation of the basic version in Betty Crocker's cookbook. Tomorrow I plan on using this technique from "All Recipes" to open some space in the oven... The Thanksgiving link should take you to last year's feast.

Wegmans, before Thanksgiving

The items I had on my list did not require a trip to Wegmans.  Though my desire for sushi and curiosity about the new "Classic Escargot" appetizer... I had to...

I spent $62.61, but $15 of that was silver polish, $5 dryer sheets, $5 seafood forks and $22 between escargot and sushi.

• Giant loaf of Wegmans white bread, 99 cents (for stuffing)
• three packages of green giant green beans with almonds, $1.47 each?
• two boxes of classic escargot, $6.99 each
• Wegmans "super pasta," 14.5 ounces, $1.69 minus a coupon to make it free
• 160 dryer sheets, $4.99
• Pomodoro pasta sauce, $2.49 minus 50 cents "shopper club" special, minus a coupon to make it free
• Celestial Seasoning Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride herbal tea, $1.99
• McCormick cinnamon grinder, $1.79
• Hodgson's Mill Stoneground Rye Flour, $3.19
• 2 five-pound bags of unbleached white flour, 99 cents each
• three types of silver polish, $3.99 each
• four seafood forks, $4.98
• Sushi, $5.49 and $2.99 minus $1 coupon
• three pounds of gala apples, $2.49
• fresh sage, $1.99

minus $1 for a produce department coupon

pre-Thanksgiving

I haven’t done any real grocery shopping since I started at Target. And let’s face it, while Target has some good stuff (especially in their Archer Farm brand) paying $2.69 for a bag of tortilla chips that I know I can get for 99 cents at Aldi... Well, I have to get back into routine. Mind you, those $2.69 chips are organic, have blue corn and flax seed and have a rich nutty flavor...

I lost count of how much money I was spending by the end of the first row at Aldi. So I said the heck with it and went crazy. Apparently, even if I buy everything I want, it’s still only $100. Or in my case today, $102.20.

One of my goals was to lay off the cheese a little bit. I failed. Miserably. I got different cheese.

What did I get? Well, stuff for Thanksgiving and staples.

And a few impulse buys...

71 items...

• Clancy Hot & Spicy Potato chips $1.29 (when I was a kid I used to devour bags of Red Hot potato chips. That’s what these are trying to be. Blame PMS)
• Cheddar Jalapeno Kettle Chips $1.99
• Tortilla chips, two bags at 99 cents each
• Plain soymilk and chocolate soymilk, 64 ounces each, $2.39 each
• juice concentrate, frozen, 100% juice, white grape raspberry, 3 cans at $1.14
• butter, one pound unsalted and one pound salted, $2.29 each
• medium salsa, 2 jars, either 16 or 24 ounces, $1.69 each
• evaporated milk, 2 cans at 69 cents each
• big bottle of honey, $4.49
• five pounds of granulated sugar, $3.09
• premade refrigerated pie crusts, two boxes of two crusts each, $1.89 each
• thin pork chops, close to a pound, $3.91
• 2 small boxes of baking soda, 45 cents each
• 2 blocks of New York sharp cheddar, $1.79 each
• shredded asiago, $1.99
• macaroni and cheese, four boxes, 29 cents each
• sweetened condensed milk, one can, $1.29
• Rice stuffing, $1.29 (was curious to see what this was and if we’d like it. I can replicate it once I try it)
• Small wheel of American cow’s milk brie, $3.29
• brown sugar, $1.29
• split top wheat bread (to break into cubes for the stuffing) 99 cents
• Pitted dates, 3 bags at $1.69 each
• pint of heavy whipping cream, $1.59
• pitted prunes, $1.99
• chopped pecans, three bags, $2.89 each
• salt grinder, pepper grinder, $1.69 each
• tiny cans of tomato sauce, four cans, 25 cents each
• canned sweet potatoes in syrup, three cans at $1.19 each
• four cans of light tuna in water, 52 cents each
• two cans of whole potatoes, 59 cents each
• broccoli crowns, fresh, $1.49
• head of cauliflower, fresh, $1.59
• jar of minced garlic, $1.49 (I hate jarred garlic, yet once every two-three years I buy a jar because I keep running out of fresh)
• 4 cups of shredded mozzarella, $3.19
• flour tortillas, 2 packages, 99 cents each
• dozen large eggs, 89 cents
• small can of tropical fruit salad, 79 cents
• jar of mayo for my husband, $1.89
• a very large bottle of canola oil, $1.99
• sour cream, $1.19
• country spice grinder, $1.69
• Italian seasoning, $1.09

Breakfast

Yesterday for breakfast my husband made these little sandwiches. Today for breakfast, we're having fresh pineapple and gingerbread cookies... It looks like lunch will be commercial spinach asiago artichoke dip with crackers. I am very excited to report that my good friend Jessica gave me an adorable round cheese board and some cheese utensils for Christmas. This will be the family single cheese board, since my new slate cheese board is cumbersome and difficult to wash.

Oh, and my mother-in-law thanked me yesterday for Thanksgiving and commented on how nice it was. My sister-in-law mentioned that she's a tad disappointed no one is making pancakes for the family Christmas morning. I said I would gladly make her pancakes if she came to my house. My mother-in-law interpreted this to mean I would make breakfast for anyone who wanted it. So, we'll see...

Mulligutawny (II)

I've made Mulligutawny before, but today I'm revising slightly for the use of leftovers... I will place in crock pot on low...

• About 1.5 cups shredded turkey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon curry
• 1 teaspoon garlic pepper

Sauté in skillet.

Add:

• one can petit diced tomatoes, drained

Cook about 30 minutes on low, stirring occasionally. While that cooks, in crock pot combine:

• about 20-25 ounces Thai broth
• 14 ounces low salt chicken broth
• about 3/4 cup brown rice (I used instant)

Then put everything in the crock pot on low...

The original post on this soup:

http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2009/02/mulligatawny.html

Turkey Spinach Omelettes

So, for the last 24 hours I have thought about the omelette I wanted to make with the leftover white meat of turkey. I made it for dinner tonight and served with Nana's homemade applesauce.

Angel's Turkey Spinach Omelette with a hint of curry

• 6 eggs, beaten
• about 1.5 cups turkey, white meat, shredded
• about 1.5 cups cheese, cheddar, shredded
• about 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground four color peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon curry
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

In a skillet, not a huge one, melt the butter, add the olive oil and the two peppers. Add the spinach, sauté about one minute, add about half of the curry. Add the turkey. Add the other half of the curry to the turkey. Stir. Let sauté, stirring ocassionally, until the liquid begins to disappear.

Pour the hot turkey/spinach filling into a bowl and set aside. Pour eggs into the hot skillet. Let cook on medium or medium high depending on your cookware about one to two minutes. Add the turkey spinach filling. Let cook until the eggs are almost "solid." Add the cheese. Let sit another minute, probably would work best if you covered it to help melt the cheese. Then fold the omelet in half and press down to make sure nothing runny comes out. If it does, let the omelette continue cooking until the runny stuff hardens, as long as your frying pan is not hot enough to burn the eggs.

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Leftovers!

Yesterday we survived on leftovers! Delicious and magnificent!

Pie for breakfast (healthy, I know.)

I had a salad with hot bacon dressing, leftover spaghetti from Wednesday, a bit of corn bake and a broccoli mini-pot pie.

My husband took Wednesday's leftover rice and vegetables and mixed in some dark meat of turkey and lots of butter; he's skinny, he can do that.

Then for dinner we had big plates of the other Thanksgiving leftovers.

Mini broccoli pot pies

The last item for pre-prep is broccoli pot pies... I put little aluminum foil discs in the bottom of cupcake tins to keep them from sticking and rip ready-made pie crusts into pieces about the size of my hand.

We made WAY more filling than we needed. So we made a broccoli cheese calzone kind of thing for another day. And froze it. We started out with 24 cupcake tins with the crust in them.

In a bowl, we mixed:

• Three crowns fresh broccoli cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cans broccoli cheese soup
• about two teaspoons garlic pepper

We scooped a large heaping tablespoon into each tin, pinched the crust closed and then baked at 375 until brown (about 20 minutes.)

Sweet Potato Crunch

My husband's Aunt Carolyn makes a variation of this dish, so I thought the recipe came from her. It appears the one I have came from "Janet Muchoney" in the Weis Recipe Exchange...

Sweet Potato Crunch

• 4 large sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled and cooled
• 1 cup sugar
• 12 ounces evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
  

For the crunch:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cupped pecans, chopped
• 1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

In a large bowl, mix the first set of ingredients. Pour into 9x13 inch greased pan. Mix remaining dry ingredients. Layer on top of creamed sweet potatoes. Pour melted butter over topping.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

My modifications:
I didn't use fresh yams (and Gayle is mad at me for this, or perhaps disappointed). I used two 29 ounce cans of Taylor Yams in syrup, drained. I also reduced the white sugar to 2/3 cup. I upped the pecans to 1.5 cups because I like pecans...

And I used an 11x7 dish not realizing how small it is...

Apple Bread Stuffing

I'm prepping for the holiday tomorrow and I keep staring at the pile of bread cubes wondering if I'll have enough for stuffing. The 2-quart round casserole dish is full...

The Betty Crocker 25th Anniversary Cookbook offers this basic recipe for "bread stuffing."
Bread Stuffing

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1.5 cups celery (chopped with leaves)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 9 cups soft bread cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1.5 teaspoons fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat margarine in dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook celery and onion in margarine about two minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Now there's two pertinent variations to note from the cookbook:
Casserole Stuffing (the kind I prefer, baked not 'Stove Top') and Apple-Raisin Stuffing

Casserole Stuffing: Place stuffing in ungreased 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake at 375 until hot. About 30 minutes.

Apple-Raisin Stuffing: Increase salt to 1.5 teaspoons. Add 3 cups finely chopped apples and 3/4 cups raisins with remaining ingredients.

What I plan to do:
Angel's Baked Apple Stuffing

I hate onions and celery... so those are gone...
Using the basic ingredients from the list for Bread Stuffing... I will put the butter in my (Le Creuset) skillet and sauté about three cups apple with all the herbs/spices and four color pepper. I'm going to skip the raisins. I'm going to use fresh herbs I have in the freezer (some from my garden): hopefully sage, thyme, a pinch of rosemary and cloves if I have them.

I will mix my homemade bread (cubed) into the sauce and press into a baking dish, unless it's a small enough amount I can bake it right in the skillet...

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

I clipped this recipe from a Vegetarian Times in November 2000. I tried it because I was intimidated by a real cheesecake and liked the healthy aspects of it. What I didn't count on was A. The deliciousness and B. My family giving me a reputation for a "pumpkin custard" almost as good as Memmy's.

The crust is a cookie crust, which they suggest a graham cracker crust made with canola margarine. My husband made a ginger snap crust last night... (See earlier post.)

And I realized this morning as I began to type this recipe that I forgot the tofu! Last minute trip to the grocery store at 7:45 a.m...

Pie filling:

• 1 pound silken tofu (I use Mori-Nu, silken, firm. Although this year... I think I bought soft. Poop.)
• 15 ounces solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup soy cream cheese (Better than Cream Cheese); I'm not making it vegan this year so I'm using real cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon all spice (I rarely use all spice)
  
• 1/4 ground cloves

1. Position oven rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. If you haven't already, make a pie crust.

3. Combine ingredients in a food processor, starting with the tofu, then the pumpkin.

4. Add filling to a cool crust and bake 45 minutes.

5. Turn oven off and let pie rest without opening door for an hour. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least eight hours.

So... because I bought soft tofu instead of firm:
I used 12 ounces of silken soft tofu and the whole block of cream cheese, hoping that would help it firm.

And for some odd reason, I added 1/4 teaspoon ginger to the recipe. I thought the recipe called for it. Don't know what I was thinking.

I also reduced the sugar to about 2/3 cup because I ran out and didn't feel like opening the new bag. Maybe this blog should be "lazy cooking."

Daddy's pie crust

My husband made a pie crust last night while I was in class. He is responsible for my cookie crusts for certain pies. I believe it started because he didn't approve of the size of my crumbs.

Today I will make a variation of Vegetarian Time's Non-Dairy Pumpkin cheesecake. We favor two types of cookie crusts for pumpkin: either ginger snaps or oreos.

My husband made a gingersnap crust last night. This required:

• About a sleeve and a half of spiced wafers (not quite half the box) reduced to crumbs
  
• Most of a stick of butter, about five tablespoons

Take room temperature butter and mix with the crumbs in the bottom of pie dish. When dish is covered, bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.