Here’s a recipe I tried on my family this weekend. It would be especially fun for Halloween night.
This is adapted from a recipe from cooks.com.

Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 small or medium pumpkin
1-2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
2 c. cooked rice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut top off pumpkin and clean out insides. Draw a jack-o-lantern face on pumpkin with a permanent marker, if you’d like.
Brown beef, onion and green pepper in skillet; drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, soup, rice, water chestnuts and mushrooms. Put into pumpkin and replace pumpkin lid. Place on baking sheet and bake 1 hour.
When serving, scoop out pumpkin with meat mixture.
Serves 6-8.

By Tanya Manus

In these days when everyone is trying to stretch their money, and their groceries, as far as possible, my mother has revisited one of my grandmother’s often-used penny-pinchers: Thursday Casserole.
On Thursdays, my grandmother cleaned out the refrigerator and used up leftover meats and vegetables, then paired them with rice or macaroni, in a casserole to feed her growing family. Then Friday was payday, and it was time to buy groceries again.
My mom’s most recent Thursday Casserole was a meat-and-vegetable mixture topped with mashed potatoes, served along with homemade gravy. To get started on your own Thursday Casserole, try this recipe that can be made with a lot of things you’ve probably already got in your refrigerator or freezer.

Leida’s Potatoes Pie
1 lb. ground beef
1 can beef broth, divided
3 bay leaves
2 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon green onion, minced 
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 medium onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 large carrot, sliced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tablespoons flour
 
     In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in 1 cup of broth, bay leaves, cloves, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large pot; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Mash potatoes with milk, butter, green onions, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in cheese; keep warm.
Add the vegetables and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to the beef mixture. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the flour  and remaining broth until smooth. Gradually stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves and cloves. Transfer beef mixture to a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until heated through.

“Eeewww.” That was pretty much my response as a kid whenever squash appeared on the dinner table.
In recent years, though, I’ve come to like squash. There are so many kinds to try - and there’s something very cozy and homey and fall-like about the smell of baking squash.
Just now I have spaghetti, butternut, acorn, turban and carnival squash sitting around my house looking festive.
My question: What kind of squash do you like best, and how do you cook it?
I’d like to find some simple recipes to try. Please share

By Heidi Bell Gease
There’s nothing better than coming home on a cold day to the smell of a hot meal in the crockpot.
Unfortunately there are plenty of days at our house when 6 p.m. rolls around with nothing cooking and nothing planned.
When I don’t feel like going to the store I fall back on a few standbys that I almost always have the ingredients for.
Omelettes. If you’ve got eggs, shredded cheese, some lunch meat and a red pepper, you’re set. (And if, like me, you didn’t grow up on omelettes, here’s a tip from my omelette expert husband: mix the eggs with water, not milk, before pouring them in the pan.)
Spaghetti. We have a freezer full of buffalo, which I sometimes use with jarred sauce. Other times I prefer this meat-free version: Saute a few cloves of minced garlic in olive oil for a minute or two, then add canned tomato sauce and canned tomatoes (either diced or whole cut into large chunks, partially drained). Add some halved black olives, dried basil and a little Italian seasoning and let it simmer until it’s as thick as you’d like.
Pancakes. Sometimes they taste best for dinner - especially if the chef makes them into animal shapes, like my mom always did
Anybody else have any quick-fix ideas that don’t require a trip to the store? Please share!

By Tanya Manus

We’ve been eating a lot of BLTs at our house lately. In a household like ours, where schedules change often and mealtime varies, having all the ingredients pre-assembled - including the bacon - makes it easy to have BLTs any time.

Right now, we’re enjoying fresh lettuce from a friend’s garden. We try to keep lettuce and sliced tomatoes ready to go on a plate in the refrigerator, along with a packet of bacon we pre-bake ourselves.

You could buy pre-cooked bacon, of course, but pre-baking bacon doesn’t take a lot of time and you can use the kind of bacon you prefer. In our house, we like to use the thick-sliced variety. Simply lay as many strips as will fit on your broiler pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, turning bacon after 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on several layers of paper towels.  As it cooks, the fat drains away, the strips of bacon seem to shrink less, and you can prepare more bacon in less time than if you fried it.

When you’re ready for a sandwich, reheat the bacon for about 30 seconds in the microwave. What a great grab-and-go summer meal!

By Tanya Manus

I’m not what you’d call outdoorsy. I’m not a hunter, hiker or camper, but I do have fond memories of fishing for crawdads.
This week’s Food story takes me back a few years to a beautiful sunny day I spent crawdad fishing with friends in the mountains of northeastern Arizona.
Crawdads, also known as crawfish, crayfish or mudbugs, thrive in lakes and streams. My friends lived within easy walking distance of a stream where lots of the little mudbugs were just waiting for us. To catch them, my friend’s husband loaded up some old pantyhose with gobs of raw bacon. We dipped the bacon in the water and when we pulled it up, many little crawdads were clinging to it.
We must have caught dozens, which we carried back to my friends’ house. The crawdads were boiled, and then we stood in the kitchen taking them apart to nibble on the small but delicious meat inside.
The meat, which tastes much like lobster, can be used in all kinds of stews, entrees, salads and even as pizza topping. I encountered crawdads again just last Thanksgiving at a church potluck dinner. A local man with Louisiana roots brought a crawfish pie. Flavorful but not too spicy, it was a surprising and tasty addition to the holiday menu.
I’ll definitely be at next year’s Crawfish Festival in Sturgis. Meanwhile, I found a recipe from a home cook on RecipeZaar that is so tempting that it makes me want to go crawdad fishing again.

Shrimp, Crab, Crawfish, Sausage, Corn and Dirty Rice Casserole
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lb. smoked sausage, finely diced
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
3-3/4 cups water
1 (12 ounce) package dirty rice mix (low sodium)
1 (14 ounce) can shoe peg corn, undrained
1 (10 ounce) can cream of shrimp soup
1 bunch green onion, sliced
2 (10 ounce) jars mushrooms, undrained
1-2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet, as desired for color
1 lb. claw crabmeat, picked clean for shells
1 lb. crawfish tail

First melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Drop in the smoked sausage and cook until slightly browned. Stir in the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp. Toss in the bell pepper and cook another 3 minutes until tender.
Pour the water into the pot, stir everything and bring to a boil. Whisk in the dirty rice mix and return to a boil. When everything is fully combined, stir in the corn, shrimp soup, green onions, mushrooms and Kitchen Bouquet.
At this stage, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot tightly, and simmer for about 25 minutes or until almost all of the liquid is evaporated.
Fold in the crab meat and crawfish tails. Cover the pot, remove from the burner and let stand for about 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving. Serves 6.

By Tanya Manus

With all the rainy, stormy weather we’ve been having - not to mention the hail - barbecues will have to wait until the sun comes out again! And if our cool, rainy June puts you in the mood for some comfort food, I’ve got a great recipe.

This comes from a friend of mine who has concocted some delicious recipes. Her chicken fettucini is an easy dish that her family enjoys, and it looks and tastes fancy enough to serve to company or take to a potluck. Serve with a tossed salad and crusty bread.

Chicken Fettucini, Jennifer Style

3 cups boneless, skinless chicken chunks

fresh mushrooms

2/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 can creamy chicken mushroom soup

1-1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese

Saute the chicken with mushrooms and onions in chicken broth until done. Add soup and cheese to chicken mixture; thin with milk and simmer. Cook fettucini noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Top noodles with chicken mixture.

By Tanya Manus

We’ve probably all got cookbooks that are like old friends - we know that when we need a tried-and-true recipe, we’ll find it there.
One of the favorites in my collection is a self-published cookbook, “Home Cooking is a Family Affair,” that I got years ago after I interviewed the book’s author. A Southern cook transplanted to Arizona, she’d grown tired of trying to keep track of years’ worth of recipe cards for her family favorites, so she assembled all the recipes in a cookbook, threw out her recipe cards, and published enough copies of the book to give to family and friends.
This home cook’s sense of humor shines through in recipes for Elephant Stew and Fried Skunk. But there are plenty of good, practical recipes that she’d used for years while her children were growing up.

I revisit this book every once in awhile, and this week, I tried her recipe for Hamburger and Potato Boats. Although the recipe calls for baking the potatoes for an hour, I used those plastic-wrapped potatoes that are ready for the microwave and eliminated a lot of the preparation time. This turned out to be a tasty weeknight meal that I will definitely make again.
Hamburger and Potato Boats
4 large baking potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 pound ground beef
3 green onions, sliced thinly
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup grated Cheddar or American cheese
Bake potatoes in 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until tender. Saute bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. Pour off all the drippings from pan. Mix ground beef lightly with green onions and shape into a large patty. Brown 5 minutes on each side and break into chunks. Stir in 1/2 tsp. salt, sour cream and crumbled bacon. Remove from heat. Split potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out centers, being careful not to break shells. Place shells in a small baking pan. Mash potatoes and beat in remaining salt, butter and just enough milk to make them creamy. Spoon beef mixture into shells, evenly topping with mashed potatoes, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Another of my favorites from this book is Dirty Rice. Once a year, my church has a huge potluck and entertainment night, and Dirty Rice is a terrific addition to the buffet table because it feeds a lot of people.
Vickie’s Dirty Rice
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 pounds lean ground pork
1 cup diced yellow onions
1 cup diced green onions
1/2 cup diced bell peppers
1/4 cup garlic, preferably ground
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
4 bay leaves
1 tsp. black pepper
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups cream of mushroom soup
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 pound butter or margarine
In heavy pot, mix all meats together with 2 cups water on medium heat. Add all seasonings and vegetables at the start of the cooking. Cook over medium heat approximately 4 hours. Stir often! Then add the cream of mushroom soup and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Boil 4 cups long grain rice until completely cooked. After rice has cooked, mix with the meat and seasonings. Allow to cook on low heat for about 30 minutes before serving. Serves 10.

By Tanya Manus

One of my favorite salad-side dishes was inspired by a salad Albertsons used to make in its deli. Just three ingredients - cucumber, tomato and red onion - and some dressing makes a light, refreshing and delicious side dish. I don’t eat mayonnaise, ever, so I love finding summery salads like this one that are big on flavor without needing a mayo-based dressing.

We’re going to be trying a new grilled salmon recipe at my house, and this cucumber salad is a wonderful, colorful complement to fish or chicken. I am looking forward to eating this cucumber salad many times as the weather gets warmer (when it gets warmer!)

And if you have a great pasta or other salad recipe that is not made with mayonnaise, please share it! I’d love your suggestions.

Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad

1 large cucumber

1 medium red onion

1 large tomato

Zesty Italian dressing

Wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice cucumber and onion, and cut tomato into small cubes. Salt and pepper as desired. Add 1 tbsp. wine vinegar. Add enough Italian dressing to cover (more or less to desired taste).

By Tanya Manus

A well-stocked pantry is a great way to save time, money, and still put together meals that will please your family, that you can put together easily when you’ve got unexpected company, or that you can turn to when you’ve got to take a dish for a party or potluck.

Start with a few basic items. “Everyday Food” magazine editor Anna Last’s pantry list is one of the best and most practical I’ve seen. She recommends:

- Cans of tomatoes, beans and chickpeas

- Cans of tuna (some in oil, some in water)

- Cartons of stock (chicken, beef, vegetable, whatever you prefer)

- Various types of pasta

- Various types of rice and couscous

- Bread crumbs

- Extra-virgin olive oil, red-wine vinegar and Dijon mustard

- Peppercorns and sea salt

- Garlic, Parmesan cheese, capers

I also like to be sure I have a good variety of spices available for both sweet and savory dishes.

Chicken Bruschetta Casserole is a great recipe to keep in your files because it uses several items you might want to keep in your pantry. This dish can be assembled in about 15 to 20 minutes and, when prepared in a pretty casserole dish, is an attractive meal you can take from the oven to the table.

Chicken Bruschetta Casserole

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup prepared stuffing mix, dry

2 cups canned diced tomatoes in juice

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp. chicken bouillon concentrate

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube chicken and place in the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinkle the basil, pepper and mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Layer this mixture over the chicken and cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes. Serves 6.